Port of Savannah Is Now No.2 In US For Exports

[GunnerJacket]

From today's AJC:

"Gov. Nathan Deal and his South Carolina counterpart, Nikki Haley, appear to have calmed an interstate rivalry over dredging the Port of Savannah, with considerable jobs and money on the line for both states."

Also included this line, which I think/hope is a typo:

"Interstate cooperation aside, the plan to deepen 32 miles of the Savannah River by 6 feet carries a daunting $600 million price tag at a time when state and federal governments are cutting back."

The port is no more than 20 miles upstream, AFAIK, and much of that at the mouth wouldn't need dredging, I assumed. Regardless, 32 miles takes it really far upstream. Maybe that includes some buffering for future sedimentation build up?

[GunnerJacket]

Yeah, Savannah will never be a massive, oceanside port. Georgia doesn't have the volume of deep-water coastline for that. What they are working on is trying to advance the delivery and storage systems the feed into/from the port to make sure the ships can move in and out as quickly as possible. Aspirations for upgrading the rail service are a big priority, as well as targeted industrial production within the middle part of the State that can feed into the ports. This is where SC's interests have come on board, as well, since they're equally trying to increase goods production in the rural parts of SC.

If both can appear full capable of handling the needs of stronger industry within their own borders, then all the better regardless of their national ranking.

[desertpunk]

I always thought there was much more potential for Brunswick to become a large port but it's a crowded neighborhood with Jacksonville just to the south and Savannah and Charleston further up north. Since Savannah has much more industrial development, it is a natural for exports and the rail hub at Atlanta benefits import operations in many directions. The river itself could use some shoring up along its banks as well as dredging to increase drafts. And while Savannah may never reach the natural harbor level of scalability in Charleston, compared with ports like New Orleans or Baltimore, it really is a short trip to the open sea.

[simms3]

New Orleans port is actually further upstream than Savannah's and Charleston's combined. It's not a deep sea harbor type of port and still manages to be one of the largest in the world. For deep sea harbor you're thinking of the Port of South Louisiana, which is by far the largest in the country.

Savannah's port has unanimous support from everyone in the state while Charleston's port is a divided topic for locals and state officials. People in GA love seeing the ships go by the old city while lots of folks in and around Charleston don't care to have the same effect on the Cooper River.

Expanded ports anywhere in the SE would not only just benefit local areas and the states in which they are located, but the entire region. Jacksonville's port is going to really be expanded soon with dredging projects and new wharves. The mayor of Jax is now in fact the chairman of the US Conference of Mayors' Metro Port and Export Committee, recently appointed. He's the city's first black mayor and already has political ties in Washington from working with the Clinton Admin. If he doesn't use that clout to get his damn hometown port mega-expanded, then maybe Savannah will remain king for a good while longer.

[GunnerJacket]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

I always thought there was much more potential for Brunswick to become a large port but it's a crowded neighborhood with Jacksonville just to the south and Savannah and Charleston further up north.

The other problem for Brunswick is the lack of quality river frontage (for harbors) compared to Savannah et al. A lot of what you see in the aerial images is marsh land or where the river features very shallow depths, so what open space there is outside the urbanized area is not suitable for industrial activity or impervious surfaces.

There was hope that with the closing of the naval base that the former hub for submarines could become additional port space. Not sure what the fate will be there.

There is great potential for the city as a tourist hub, though, with St. Simons and Jekyll growing ever more popular. If the city of Brunswick itself can ever develop a solid production base regardless of port activity that would serve as a nice(r) regional center. Not often at such coastal islands you have the chance for true urban city right next door that can handle the extra demands for civic and social services, leaving the tourist districts themselves to handle the flow of visitors and casual amenities. Might also alleviate some of the developmental pressure on the islands proper, so as to preserve environmental integrity.

[krazeeboi]

Originally Posted by simms3

Savannah's port has unanimous support from everyone in the state while Charleston's port is a divided topic for locals and state officials. People in GA love seeing the ships go by the old city while lots of folks in and around Charleston don't care to have the same effect on the Cooper River.

I think you're confusing the cruise port terminal with that of the Port of Charleston. There's no controversy in Charleston or SC regarding the latter.

[simms3]

^ Yea you're right. I was confused. Come to think of it, there has actually been more opposition to dredging in Savannah than Charleston, which needs it less. Still, it helps that Atlanta, the governor, and at least 90% of everyone in the state are behind the port in Savannah. It's more of an economic impact than the ports in Charleston or Jax and more people have more to gain.

[desertpunk]

ajc.com

Thursday, November 10, 2011
Savannah port passes key environmental hurdle
By Dan Chapman

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


http://savannahgeorgian.blogspot.com...-savannah.html

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Georgia's port ambitions cleared a huge environmental hurdle Thursday when an S.C. agency ruled that the deepening of the Savannah River – a potentially crucial economic development project for Atlanta – can move forward.

Georgia’s victory didn’t come cheaply: at least $60 million will be added to the estimated $650 million deepening cost to satisfy South Carolina’s latest environmental demands. And, even before the deal was done, environmentalists and key S.C. legislators vowed to continue the 12-year battle to dredge the river and harbor, possibly by unsheathing legal and administrative weapons. Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), is ready for any additional challenges.

“This is a big step forward regardless of whatever bumps arise in the future,” said Foltz after the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) board’s unanimous vote. “It’s great to see the states work together. There’s no doubt the region needs all the port capacity it can get. We all wanted to move this forward and not fight each other.”

[...]

[RandomNameTag]

^
I heard on the news that at least one environmental group filed an appeal. Hopefully, that appeal gets overturned.

[desertpunk]

Saporta Report

Atlanta absorbs Savannah’s port; Mayor Reed becomes port’s local public face

Date: October 30th, 2011, 11:25 pm
By David Pendered

By osmosis, Atlanta has absorbed Savannah’s port.

Atlanta’s mayor, Kasim Reed, has become the local face of the proposed deepening of the Savannah Harbor. Atlanta’s media seems to pay more attention to the latest twists in the two-decade process of deepening the harbor than to progress on the new international terminal at Atlanta’s airport.

The main news out of last week’s State of the Ports luncheon was the number of jobs the ports created in the metro Atlanta area. Meanwhile, one of Gov. Nathan Deal’s comments – concerning the transportation sales tax referendum – barely registered.

Deal had made a connection between the growth of Savannah’s cargo business and the ability of the state’s roads and rail to handle the freight. Some of the cargo routes, both road and rail, are to be improved if voters from Atlanta to Savannah approve a proposed 1 percent sales tax for transportation.

Next year, the campaign for the sales tax in districts south of Atlanta is expected to include a pitch on behalf of moving the port’s cargo. The governor stopped short of making such a statement.

“There are portions of the overall (cargo distribution) plan embedded in the T-SPLOSTs, so we hope they pass,” Deal said during a panel discussion.

Deal elaborated after the event.

“Without revenue from the T-SPLOST (transportation sales tax), we’ll have to ask local governments and the state to come up with the money,” Deal said to clarify his remark.

“It will just take more time and won’t be as easy,” Deal said.

The jobs outlook is important in all communities in Georgia, where the unemployment rate tops the national average. On the morning of the ports luncheon, the state released the ports-related employment economic impact figures for the Atlanta area.

The second paragraph of the media advisory could do no more to make Georgia’s ports an Atlanta story. The following figures presumably involve mainly Savannah’s two terminals, though the state does operate ports in Brunswick, Bainbridge and Columbus.

“In FY2011 alone, more than 1,500 new port-related jobs and $295 million in investment were created in the Atlanta region, according to new figures released today by the Georgia Department of Economic Development.”

The news advisory also provided a break-out of the value of freight dispatched through Savannah’s port on behalf of companies in six metro counties.

Here’s the chart:

■Fulton: $4,144,336,503;
■Gwinnett: $1,561,881,063;
■Cobb: $935,889,096;
■Fayette: $551,499,241;
■DeKalb: $533,564,080;
■Clayton: $532,322,850.

[...]

[desertpunk]

The recent successes at the Port of Savannah have certainly got the attention of competitors.

Despite our advantages, Virginia currently lags behind in one critical arena.

In 2006, both the Virginia Port Authority and the Georgia Port Authority handled approximately 1.2 million containers. Currently, however, the GPA's Port of Savannah handles approximately 450,000 more containers per year than Virginia's ports. Much of Savannah's recent growth can be credited to Georgia's success in attracting the distribution, manufacturing, warehousing and other supply chain facilities necessary to support a major international port.

Georgia has been so successful in attracting these facilities because of the Business Expansion Support Act. The BEST Act created a number of different job creation incentives and a "Port Authority Tax Bonus." Incentives range from $750 per job in Tier 4 localities (those with higher levels of development) to $3,500 per job in Tier 1 localities (those with lower levels of development). Additionally, port-centric companies receive an additional $1,250 per job.

For Virginia to remain competitive and utilize our strategic advantages to realize the POV's growth potential, the state must commit to similar incentives to attract much-needed supply chain systems. This is why I have amended the budget to create the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program.

[desertpunk]

Fierce competition may be coming from South Florida: http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/20...rketed-by-idi/


The Panama Canal widening is sending every big port into overdrive as the race to deepen and build new facilities grows...


image hosted on flickr

Hapag Lloyd Ship Entering Savannah River by mlanza, on Flickr