Trade war? Savannah containers near record volume

The GPA in September said that it officially started its new fast-track routing process for container vessels entering Savannah, optimizing the Savannah River transit for inbound vessels to Garden City Terminal. The process has ships temporarily docking at the Ocean Terminal “lay berth” until a berth at Garden City Terminal opens. The authority said the first vessel saved 12-15 hours in the process.

“This lay berth, combined with our eight start times for ship labor, creates exciting new possibilities for ships to stay on schedule or make up time. This is a gamechanger for GPA and our customers,” said Georgia Ports President and Chief Executive Griff Lynch, in a release. The port aims to reduce vessel idle time from 12-15 hours to three hours, to speed supply chain velocity and competitiveness.

“Our mission is to make it easy to do business. “We’re really focusing on high productivity at the berth, the container yard, the truck gates and the rail – and the numbers show it,” Lynch said.

Port activity in Georgia now supports more than 650,000 full- and part-time jobs across the state, according to an economic impact study by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, up by 41,770 jobs or 7% compared to fiscal year 2023, the period covered by the previous study. Georgia ports sustain 12% of total state employment, the study found.

The ports also support $77 billion in state gross domestic product, or 9% of Georgia’s total GDP, a gain of 7% or $5 billion compared to FY2023.

Ocean Terminal progress 

The GPA’s board as part of a master plan approved approximately $614 million in infrastructure improvements for Ocean Terminal in the container yard, terminal and maintenance and operations building.

The first half of the Ocean Terminal container yard renovation is scheduled to be completed in 2027, the remaining half in 2028. The $1.54-billion project will enable the 200-acre facility to serve two large container ships simultaneously. The terminal’s two berths are being renovated to serve larger vessels, and the project also includes expanded truck gates, and a new exit ramp for trucks. The authority funded the $29 million overpass to carry departing truck traffic directly onto U.S. 17/Interstate 16, and away from local streets.

The GPA over the next 10 years plans to invest $4.5 billion in infrastructure, adding three new ‘big ship’ berths at the planned Savannah Container Terminal on Hutchinson Island. Savannah Container Terminal will add more than 3.5 million TEUs of annual capacity by 2030.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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