The US Port of Savannah is expanding capacity to handle more larger containerships under a plan unveiled by the Georgia Port Authority (GPA).
Specifically, the port aims to be handle six 14,000-teu vessels simultaneously by 2024 versus the current capacity to handle just two.
“The container shipping industry continues to move toward larger vessels to achieve economies of scale and the PGA investment positions the ports to maintain or even take market share over the coming years,” said Deutsche Bank shipping analyst Amit Mehrotra.
“To this point, containerships over 15,000-teu make up just 10% of global capacity but account for over 45% of newbuild capacity.
“Other investments at the Savannah port include upgrading and expanding its crane fleet to accommodate the larger vessels and expanding rail lift capacity.”
Mehrotra said he continues to observe expansion and/or investment into US East Coast ports with recent port data indicating the East Coast is taking market share.
The Port of Savannah recently reported record volume growth in 2018, while January has just seen it achieve the busiest month in its history, moving 433,975-teus, a 28% jump over the previous year.
“No other single container terminal in North America has the ability to expand berth capacity at this rate,” said GPA executive director Griff Lynch.
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.
Over the next five years, the GPA said it plans to add another 21 neo-panamax ship-to-shore cranes, replacing 14 of its older models to bring the total fleet to 37.
