Container handling up a fifth at Georgia

The ports handled 447,590 teu, a rise of 17% over June’s figure of 381,825 teu.

“I would like to thank our customers, and commend our employees, our partners at Gateway Terminals, and the Savannah and Brunswick ILA for achieving one of our busiest July performances ever,” said GPA president and chief executive Griff Lynch.

“Their efforts were aided by the reopening of Container Berth 1 at Garden City Terminal, which is already making a positive impact on the flow of cargo.”

The dock renovations increased annual berth capacity by 25% and extended the port’s ability to serve vessels capable of carrying more than 16,000 teu.

“The expanded berth and four of the largest ship-to-shore cranes in North America came online last month, providing faster vessel service and an increase of 1.5 million teu in annual berth capacity,” said GPA chief operating officer Ed McCarthy.

“The Port of Savannah can now serve five big ships simultaneously, and has eliminated its vessel backlog.”

Eight new ship-to-shore cranes are joining Garden City Terminal with the first four fully operational last month. The remainder are expected this month and will be online by December.

The authority also has a number of other infrastructure projects in train, with a new transload facility expected in September, long-term storage at Garden City Terminal West opening in November and renovations to the berths and container yard at Ocean Terminal.

Taken together, the improvements will increase the Port of Savannah’s container capacity by approximately 3.5 million teu per year, for a new total of 10 million teu in annual capacity by 2026.