THE number of vessels anchored at the Port of savannah has fallen to less than five to begin the new year, and port officials believe a new stevedoring and terminal joint venture will further improve the discharging of vessels and raise overall productivity, reports IHS Media.
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) credits better coordination with shippers and trucking companies after signalling the alarm bell in September when the terminal was congested with containers and 30 vessels were anchored outside the harbour.
GPA said if shippers can continue to quickly remove their containers, it could take care of all the anchored vessels within a couple weeks thanks to four pop-up storage sites across Georgia and new capacity in the Garden City Terminal, which is now capable of holding up to 570,000 TEU per year.
At the beginning of the week, the average vessel wait was down to less than a day, according to GPA, compared with a nine-day wait in September.
'By the end of the week, we should have essentially 1 or 2 vessels,' GPA CEO Griff Lynch said, which is normal as there is often a lag between when a vessel leaves a berth and another takes its place. He said he believes ocean carriers will take notice of Savannah's progress in reducing its vessel backlog, and that the handful that decided to skip Savannah in favor of Charleston in the fall will reverse their decisions.
Mr Lynch said a new joint venture that debuted on Monday last week - a combination of Ceres Marine Terminals, Ports America, and SSA Atlantic services - will contribute to the efficient handling of vessels and containers.
Until now, each ocean carrier contracted with one of those three companies to provide terminal and stevedoring operations, forcing the GPA to juggle those relationships. The new structure puts the three under a single umbrella called Gateway Terminals, which will manage the loading and unloading of vessels, including hiring longshoremen crews on behalf of the shipping lines and overseeing cargo handling safety.
Mr Lynch said Gateway Terminals President Kevin Price will work closely with the International Longshoremen's Association.
'It will create efficiencies that will help us turn ships quicker and that's important because there's plenty of work to go around for everyone, including the ILA,' Mr Lynch said. 'This will allow us to work down these queues that are outside the harbour.'
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The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) credits better coordination with shippers and trucking companies after signalling the alarm bell in September when the terminal was congested with containers and 30 vessels were anchored outside the harbour.
GPA said if shippers can continue to quickly remove their containers, it could take care of all the anchored vessels within a couple weeks thanks to four pop-up storage sites across Georgia and new capacity in the Garden City Terminal, which is now capable of holding up to 570,000 TEU per year.
At the beginning of the week, the average vessel wait was down to less than a day, according to GPA, compared with a nine-day wait in September.
'By the end of the week, we should have essentially 1 or 2 vessels,' GPA CEO Griff Lynch said, which is normal as there is often a lag between when a vessel leaves a berth and another takes its place. He said he believes ocean carriers will take notice of Savannah's progress in reducing its vessel backlog, and that the handful that decided to skip Savannah in favor of Charleston in the fall will reverse their decisions.
Mr Lynch said a new joint venture that debuted on Monday last week - a combination of Ceres Marine Terminals, Ports America, and SSA Atlantic services - will contribute to the efficient handling of vessels and containers.
Until now, each ocean carrier contracted with one of those three companies to provide terminal and stevedoring operations, forcing the GPA to juggle those relationships. The new structure puts the three under a single umbrella called Gateway Terminals, which will manage the loading and unloading of vessels, including hiring longshoremen crews on behalf of the shipping lines and overseeing cargo handling safety.
Mr Lynch said Gateway Terminals President Kevin Price will work closely with the International Longshoremen's Association.
'It will create efficiencies that will help us turn ships quicker and that's important because there's plenty of work to go around for everyone, including the ILA,' Mr Lynch said. 'This will allow us to work down these queues that are outside the harbour.'
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