Port of Savannah sets new record

[thelakelander]

Lol, that's a feel good phrase used when you're lacking. It falls short when the competitor has the combination of confidence, size and knows how to use them.  Everybody can't be a foot-long. If you're working with a Vienna sauage, it doesn't mean you're completely out of the game. But don't bring a wiener to a sword fight either. You'll just have to develop a Plan B to compensate for your short comings!

[Tacachale]

The problem is that most of the 18 cranes you refer to cannot handle the bigger Post-Panamax ships.

However, Savannah has 6 Post-Panamax (17 containers across) cranes and 20 Super Post-Panamax (22 containers across) cranes, with 4 more expected to arrive in 2018.  Only, the 3 Jaxport just received are this big and can reach 17 or more containers across. 

So, yes Jaxport is way behind, in not only dredging, but also infrastructure.

Incorrect, again. Savannah will have only 6 of the cranes that can handle 22 containers (the new ones). The rest cannot handle 22 containers

http://www.gaports.com/Media/PressReleases/TabId/379/ArtMID/3569/ArticleID/98/Four-New-Panamax-cranes-arrive-at-the-Port-of-Savannah.aspx

As I said, Jaxport has 3 of these cranes (and plans for a total of 10). The number similar to or exceeds the number at most other Southeastern ports (but obviously not Savannah). No doubt we are behind the curve in infrastructure, but not nearly as far back as you're trying to make it appear. I'm afraid your desire to see the dredging thwarted is causing you to say things that are simply untrue.

[Tacachale]

Lol, that's a feel good phrase used when you're lacking. It falls short when the competitor has the combination of confidence, size and knows how to use them.  Everybody can't be a foot-long. If you're working with a Vienna sauage, it doesn't mean you're completely out of the game. But don't bring a wiener to a sword fight either. You'll just have to develop a Plan B to compensate for your short comings!

Ok that's like 5 mixed metaphors in 1 post. Go home Lake, your dick-crane-sword-sausage-sandwich is drunk.

[thelakelander]

LMAO!

[BridgeTroll]

 

[thelakelander]

Speaking of Jaxport and Plan Bs, we have none....Let's hope those 3am infomercial magic grow cream products work....

Despite Gulliford's concerns about the port needing a back-up plan if the federal money doesn't come through, Green doubled down on the port's intention to deepen the river.

"By no stretch of the imagination do we have a 'Plan B,'" Green said. "I can't tell you what this project means to the vitality of the port, the community and the citizens here in Jacksonville."

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-04-06/city-councilman-raises-concerns-about-port-deepening-project

[Tacachale]

^Unfortunately we sat around for so long that both our big hitters are out of Congress, and it will be trickier for two newbies, including one from Tallahassee, to secure the federal funding. If the feds don't cover their half, the project and/or the local coffers could be in trouble, but that's a bridge to be crossed when we get to it. JAXPORT hasn't even released its current funding plan yet.

I've been saying for years that the question we really should ask ourselves is, assuming the federal and state funding goes through, would it really be worth the local expense of $200 million or so to dredge the river? We could do a lot of things with that kind of money. There are massive opportunity costs in either direction: if we spend on the dredging, that's $200 million we don't have to spend on other things, but if we don't spend, our port will fall farther and farther behind competitors to the point that it's almost pointless to even have it. Unfortunately we have no clear sense of the economic impact the dredging would have, as both the Army Corps of Engineers reports and anti-port activists' claims are exaggerated. Waiting to answer these questions until we know if the promised federal money is available is putting the cart before the horse, but unfortunately few on any side of the debate are even bothering to ask them currently.

[spuwho]

Ock had this down years ago.

Shippers would rather spend an extra day at sea then pay more to use rail out of Miami or any Florida port.

Jacksonville offers a bypass to east coast rail congestion going west and to Chicago. But its cheaper to port at Norfolk.

[riverkeepered]

Incorrect, again. Savannah will have only 6 of the cranes that can handle 22 containers (the new ones). The rest cannot handle 22 containers.

You aren't reading the press release correctly.  You have it backwards. The release says the 6 can span 17 containers, and the others are New Panamax.   New Panamax cranes have a 22 container reach.

I agree with you on the need to assess the value of this investment as compared to other local needs and opportunities for economic development.

[riverkeepered]

This is also interesting from yesterday's AJC -
"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that ongoing work to deepen the harbor's shipping channel from 42 to 47 feet will cost $973 million, or $267 million more than expected."
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/04/05/price-tag-for-deepening-savannahs-port-balloons-by-38-percent/

[Jim]

The problem is that most of the 18 cranes you refer to cannot handle the bigger Post-Panamax ships.

However, Savannah has 6 Post-Panamax (17 containers across) cranes and 20 Super Post-Panamax (22 containers across) cranes, with 4 more expected to arrive in 2018.  Only, the 3 Jaxport just received are this big and can reach 17 or more containers across. 

So, yes Jaxport is way behind, in not only dredging, but also infrastructure.

Obviously.  Why would we order cranes for ship sizes we cannot currently facilitate?   Did Savannah?  No.

The dredging and larger cranes go hand in hand.

[thelakelander]

There are massive opportunity costs in either direction: if we spend on the dredging, that's $200 million we don't have to spend on other things, but if we don't spend, our port will fall farther and farther behind competitors to the point that it's almost pointless to even have it.

I do agree that a real conversation on this issue has yet to be had.  However, I seriously doubt the extreme here. There's growth opportunities out there outside of competing for Post Panamax containers with Savannah and Charleston. We're going to lose that one even if we do dredge.  Like Norfolk, they have some advantages in place that we'll never overcome (short of them getting taken out by a Cat 5). With that said, there's pros and cons for both dredging and not dredging. It would be good for a local conversation to finally materialize before an ultimate decision either way is made.

[thelakelander]

It appears that Savannah is setting another new record....

Savannah port dredging jumps nearly 40%; now approaching $1 billion, Congress only OK'd $709 million

SAVANNAH, Ga. | Deepening the shipping channel to the Port of Savannah is now expected to cost taxpayers a whopping $973 million, a price tag that's 38 percent higher than the federal government's previous estimate.


The Army Corps of Engineers updated its cost estimate for the massive dredging project last month, Russell Wicke, a spokesman for the agency's Savannah district office, said Wednesday. The last time the Corps estimated the project's total cost in 2014, the anticipated price was $706 million.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/metro/2017-04-06/savannah-port-dredging-jumps-nearly-40-now-approaching-1-billion

[jaxjags]

Savannah Port:

1. Concentrated a long time ago on containers - Not automobiles
2. It is GA really only port - How many ports compete against JAXPORT in FL
3. I drive by the port almost weekly. They do things FAST and on the cheap - Container stacking for instance and they double the size of the intermodal yard in half the time it took JAXPORT to build. They don't worry how it looks, ie blacktop will due.

[riverkeepered]

Another record - http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/04/11/georgia-ports-set-tonnage-record-for-march.html

And this....

Fed OKs groundbreaking collaboration between Georgia, Virginia ports
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-04-10/fed-oks-groundbreaking-collaboration-between-georgia-virginia-ports