The post Panamax giant whales wait for US Eastern ports to get ready

The completion of the Panamax project in 2014 will change the landscape of container shipping to and from the US Eastern seaboard. Whether our US ports will be ready to accommodate such giant whales that carry 8,500 to 13,500 TEUs (twenty foot containers) remains to be seen.

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), as the second largest Eastern port and the fourth largest in the US overall, struggles with the answer and a lot of uncertainty remains today now that the study conducted by the Army Corps of Engineering with regards to the deepening of the Savannah River has encountered another setback.

Mr. Curtis Foltz, GPA Executive Director, pointed out in a recent interview with the Savannah Morning News that if anyone doubts whether the river deepening project should be approved and commenced, should only look at the events that occurred during the weekend of August 28-29.

On Friday morning, August 27, the CMA CGM Figaro sailed up the Savannah River loaded with 8,500 TEUs as the largest container ship to ever berth at the GPA.

Fully loaded, the ship would have a drag of 49.5 feet, which is well over the current depth of the Savannah River which currently stands at 42 feet. Instead the ship sailed partially loaded and was only reloaded with 2,500 containers.

The ship was also delayed for 18 hours before it could sail out to sea and had to wait for the high tide to come in before it could carefully be navigated downstream.

A delay in berthing, unloading, loading and sailing is not only time consuming but very expensive in the competitive environment of international imports and exports.

The main shipping companies are ordering the construction of larger container ships in order to stay competitive and move our goods across the globe faster and more efficiently. A lot of their success will depend on whether our ports and rivers can sustain and accommodate the future of international exchange of goods.

The US is trying to revamp its manufacturing industry in order to compete with other export markets and that only means the need for larger ships to move our US made goods overseas as cost effective as possible.

The deepening of the Savannah River is delayed to at least late 2011 and the project, if approved, may not start until late 2011. That is precariously close to the opening of the new Panamax in 2014 and may result in a change of shipping lanes and the search for other more accommodating berthing places.

The economic impact of a further delay or possible cancellation of the deepening project may be dual for the South East region. The already existing infrastructure, which represents about $400 to $500 billion in new distribution centers and warehouses, may not generate the revenue or the jobs as projected, while the GPA itself will face a tremendous setback in their long term expansion plans.

Whether our US ports are ready or not to welcome the new giant whales, remains to be seen, but the sailing of the CMA CGM Figaro is a realistic picture of what is coming and how goods will be transported in large volumes around the globe.

The US can be part of this continued expansion of international trade by ensuring our ports are ready and our manufacturing output meets the demand for goods and services around the globe.

Written by Nick Doms © 2010, all rights reserved.