THE US east coast port of Savannah has received its first containership via the new locks of the expanded Panama Canal - the 10,100-TEU MOL Benefactor, the biggest ship to call at the port to date.
The vessel moved over 3,000 containers at Savannah's Garden City terminal, which will dock such ships on the G6 Alliance's new NYX service.
The east coast rotation of the new service includes the ports of New York/New Jersey, Virginia and Savannah. The MOL Benefactor's next stop is Manzanillo International Terminal in Panama.
"The arrival of the MOL Benefactor today ushers in a new era of larger vessels and services that will increase capacity, volumes and economic opportunities for Georgia and this region," said GPA's executive director, Griff Lynch.
"GPA is well-positioned to handle the larger vessels and greater volumes due to the scale and scope of our operations," he said.
With eight new neo-panamax cranes on order, GPA will have a total of 30 ship-to-shore cranes by 2018. GPA has also added 30 rubber-tyre gantry cranes - used to handle containers on terminal - for a current fleet of 146 machines - the most of any single container terminal in the US.
"Over the next six months to a year, we expect a higher ratio of 8,000- to 10,000-TEU containerships among our vessels calls. Within two years, we expect market shifts to send 12,000-TEU vessels to the US east coast," said Mr Lynch.
To better accommodate the larger vessels, the Savannah harbour expansion project (SHEP) will deepen the inner harbour to 47 feet and the outer harbour to 49 feet at mean low water. The outer portion of the harbour is now 15 per cent complete with work progressing daily.
PORTS
17 July 2016 - 21:12
The 10,000-TEU MOL Benefactor biggest ship to call at Savannah
THE US east coast port of Savannah has received its first containership via the new locks of the expanded Panama Canal - the 10,100-TEU MOL Benefactor, the biggest ship to call at the port to date.
PORTS
17 July 2016 - 21:12
The 10,000-TEU MOL Benefactor biggest ship to call at Savannah
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