Ports Authority, Savannah and Charleston
Charleston and Savannah have much in common — carefully preserved historic districts, a healthy tourist trade and more than a modicum of moss-draped Southern charm.
They also have deep-water seaports — international trade dynamos that fuel the economies of each respective state.
Separated by little more than 100 miles of coastline, the ports of Savannah and Charleston combined moved more than 4.2 million 20-foot-containers in 2011, with the potential to grow exponentially when an expanded Panama Canal opens in late 2014.
The Obama Administration put both on the fast track earlier this month.
For Georgia, the announcement put the power of a presidential promise behind the last critical steps in a 15-year effort to deepen the Savannah River channel.
Deepening the Savannah River to accommodate the larger container vessels that are already starting to call on the East Coast has long been on the Georgia Ports Authority’s radar screen.
In April, after more than a decade of study, $41 million and a stack of documents more than 10 feet high, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its final reports and recommendations on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, concluding that deepening the Savannah River channel from 42 feet to 47 feet at mean low water “is economically viable, environmentally sustainable and in the best interests of the United States,” according to Col. Jeff M. Hall, commander of the Savannah District.
A final Record of Decision, green-lighting the project, is expected in November.
Dredging contracts should be awarded by the end of 2013, he added, with the project completed by the fourth quarter of 2016.
For South Carolina, the administration’s pledge — coupled with a recent recalculation by the U.S. Army Corps — could shave as many as five years off its timeline to take the Charleston Harbor to a depth of 50 feet.
Across the river in Charleston, where the South Carolina Ports Authority is prepping to deepen its harbor, the mantra is “50 feet — at least.”
“There’s no doubt deep water is our major focus,” said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome, a Savannah native with more than 30 years experience in the shipping business.
“And we feel 50 feet is required.”
Newsome said he thinks most people will be surprised at the size of container ships that start calling on the East Coast once the Panama Canal expansion project is completed.
“With a number of ports deepening and plans under way to fast-track the raising of the Bayonne Bridge at the Port of New York/New Jersey, there is no doubt the East Coast is going to see much larger ships,” he said. “Shipping lines are adding more and more of these post-Panamax vessels.”
Charleston’s harbor is currently 45 feet deep. Like Savannah, it has tidal windows.
“We can handle (ships with a draft of) 43 feet anytime,” he said. “But we can only handle ships with a 48-foot draft two hours out of every 24.”
Beyond deepening, Charleston is investing $800 million in a new terminal on the old Navy base, situated on the west bank of the Cooper River about five miles north of the city of Charleston proper. The port is also looking to locate a dual service intermodal facility there, a proposition less daunting because of its location.
