GEORGIA Ports Authority has unveiled its ambitious big berth/big ship programme which aims for the port of Savannah to simultaneously handle six 14,000-TEU vessels by 2024.
'No other single container terminal in North America has the ability to expand berth capacity at this rate,' executive director Griff Lynch was quoted as saying during the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference.
Currently, Savannah's Garden City Terminal is equipped to handle two of these vessels and by April of this year that number will increase to three, reported American Shipper.
GPA chairman Jimmy Allgood said: 'GPA's big berth/big ship programme will ensure Georgia stays ahead of demand and ahead of the competition.'
Over the next five years, the GPA plans to add another 21 neo-panamax ship-to-shore cranes, replacing 14 of its older models to bring the total fleet to 37. Dock upgrades already are under way to support the new, larger machines.
In addition to the ship-to-shore cranes GPA is adding a dozen new rubber-tyred gantry cranes thay will bring the number of Garden City Terminal's container-handling cranes to 158. Ten RTGs will be commissioned in July and another two in September.
Phase one of the Mason mega rail project will be finished in October. Full completion a year later will double the port of Savannah's rail lift capacity to one million containers per year. In late 2021, the Savannah harbour expansion project is slated for completion, delivering the deeper water necessary to better accommodate the larger vessels now calling on the US east coast.
'These advancements are necessary to handle tremendous customer demand at our terminals,' Mr Lynch noted.
WORLD SHIPPING
'No other single container terminal in North America has the ability to expand berth capacity at this rate,' executive director Griff Lynch was quoted as saying during the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference.
Currently, Savannah's Garden City Terminal is equipped to handle two of these vessels and by April of this year that number will increase to three, reported American Shipper.
GPA chairman Jimmy Allgood said: 'GPA's big berth/big ship programme will ensure Georgia stays ahead of demand and ahead of the competition.'
Over the next five years, the GPA plans to add another 21 neo-panamax ship-to-shore cranes, replacing 14 of its older models to bring the total fleet to 37. Dock upgrades already are under way to support the new, larger machines.
In addition to the ship-to-shore cranes GPA is adding a dozen new rubber-tyred gantry cranes thay will bring the number of Garden City Terminal's container-handling cranes to 158. Ten RTGs will be commissioned in July and another two in September.
Phase one of the Mason mega rail project will be finished in October. Full completion a year later will double the port of Savannah's rail lift capacity to one million containers per year. In late 2021, the Savannah harbour expansion project is slated for completion, delivering the deeper water necessary to better accommodate the larger vessels now calling on the US east coast.
'These advancements are necessary to handle tremendous customer demand at our terminals,' Mr Lynch noted.
WORLD SHIPPING