New berth boosts Savannah’s capacity

The initial phase of Container Berth 8 added 1,100 ft (335 m) of dock to the port’s capacity, with a further 1,000 ft (305 m) due to come on-line in July. Savannah will also have 30 additional acres (13 ha) of paved container handling and storage space available by the first quarter of 2007.

For the first 10 months of fiscal 2006, the GPA reported handling 1.7m teu, a 15.4 per cent increase year-on-year. It handled more than 1.7m tonnes of cargo in April, a 9.7 per cent increase from a year earlier and its second highest monthly total ever. March saw its biggest ever tonnage, at just over 1.8m tonnes. To keep pace with demand, the Port of Savannah has introduced eight new rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) and nine empty container handler toplifts, with a further two RTGs also poised to go into service.