All Georgia lawmakers will decide whether the busy shipping channel to the Port of Savannah needs to be deepened again following the recent completion of the $937 million port expansion in 2022. signed a letter calling for an investigation into the matter.
The offices of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Rep. Buddy Carter released copies of letters Tuesday to the leaders of the House and Senate committees handling legislation authorizing the probe.
The Georgia Ports Authority is asking Congress to consider a new round of deepening shipping routes in Savannah. Even though it’s been less than two years since the Army Corps of Engineers completed its last project that added 5 feet of water depth, a growing class of cargo ships are requiring deeper water depths to arrive at fully loaded ports at low tide. to the waterway, which agency leaders say is necessary.
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Savannah is home to the fourth-busiest port in the U.S. for cargo transported in containers, giant metal boxes used to transport a variety of goods, from appliances to frozen chicken. . Savannah handled imports and exports of 4.9 million container units in the 2023 calendar year.
The letter, signed by Georgia’s two Democratic senators and each House representative (nine Republicans and five Democrats), states that an increasing proportion of vessels arriving in Savannah will have to wait for high tides before reaching the port. “We cannot afford to sit idle,” he said.
“Such restrictions would prevent the Port of Savannah from operating at its full and efficient capacity and would significantly and unnecessarily restrict domestic waterborne commerce,” the lawmakers’ letter said.
The ship CMA CGM Marco Polo is seen heading up the river to the Savannah Harbor on May 26, 2021 in Savannah, Georgia. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File)
The letter, dated January 26, was sent to the chairs and ranking minority members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Before any new dredging work can begin, Congress must approve a feasibility study as part of a new version of the Water Resources Development Act that covers infrastructure projects across the country.
Griff Lynch, CEO of the Georgia Ports Authority, said in an interview last week that it may be difficult to approve new research by 2025.
“We want that project to happen as soon as possible,” Lynch said. “We’re just getting started, so we have to be realistic. But you know, we’ve got a lot of support.”
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Getting Congress to approve the study would be the first step in a long process.
Feasibility studies for the last round of dredging began in 1997 and took nearly 20 years to begin. This work was finally completed by him in May 2022.
Lynch said he believes the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees navigation projects in U.S. waterways, will be able to work more efficiently this time and complete new projects within 10 years.
