US EAST coast ports need US$3.5 billion to accommodate the 5,500 to 13,000-TEU ships able to transit the expanded Panama Canal in 2015, but many will not have the money and permits needed
Major US eastern ports won't be ready for expanded Panama: Drewry
US EAST coast ports need US$3.5 billion to accommodate the 5,500 to 13,000-TEU ships able to transit the expanded Panama Canal in 2015, but many will not have the money and permits needed, says London's Drewry Maritime Research.
"The sums are huge, and are starting to approach the $5.25 billion cost of expanding the Panama Canal. The US Department of Transportation's recent $100 million award towards the funding seems like a drop in the ocean," said Drewry analysts.
Add to that, the difficulty of securing state and local funding to make up the difference. Also the US Army Corps of Engineers must authorise the dredging after it demonstrates best value and assesses environmental challenges.
The White House "We Can't Wait" initiative of mid-2012 aims to fast track dredging and bridging permits down to three years from the usual 10. While that cuts the red tape, it does not provide accelerated funding, said the report.
Norfolk, Virginia, already has 15.2 metres and can accommodate the biggest ships afloat. New York's Bayonne Bridge should be raised by the end of 2015, in time for the opening of the expanded canal, though there are environmental law suits in the way.
But Charleston, South Carolina, does not expect to be ready until 2018-19 if all goes well, and a ruling from the US Army Corps of Engineers still lies ahead. Savannah faces similar problems.
"Norfolk and Baltimore are already ready, and New York/New Jersey and Miami should be prepared by 2015, but some of the east coast heavyweights are lagging behind, so the political wrangling in Washington on budgets and spending is a hindrance," said the report.
Florida has approved a $150 million bond issue, with most spent in Miami, Port Everglades and Jacksonville. But such measures come up short when $733 million is needed to dredge from 12 to 14 metres in Jacksonville, said Drewry.
