He made his comments to a conference of shippers and logistics professionals one day after the head of the Panama Canal Authority told another logistics conference the U.S. wasn’t doing enough to get ready. “We’re doing everything in our power to move that project forward,” Deal said at the Georgia Logistics Summit. Congress authorized the project in 1999, and $40 million has been spent on studies of its environmental and economic impact. One concluded it would save shippers four times its cost. Deal noted the state has already set aside $134 million for its share of the $600 million deepening project with another $47 million planned in the next fiscal year. At the same time, the state has installed larger cranes to unload the ships, upgraded the port facilities and improved truck and railroad access to the port.
“We have a lot of things going for us in that regard,” he said.
Tuesday, Alberto Aleman Zubieta, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority, said he was puzzled by the pace of U.S. preparations when he spoke to the MODEX trade show for the materials-handling industry meeting in the same conference centre. In follow-up comments, Aleman said the canal’s expansion will create opportunities for ports that can accommodate the larger ships.
“As the Panama Canal expands to serve world commerce, we encourage the U.S. ports to take advantage of the projected growth in trade,” he said.
Georgia Ports Authority head Curtis Foltz said that Aleman was correct to be dismayed.

“Generally speaking, he’s spot on,” Foltz said. The canal’s expansion is on target for the 100th anniversary in 2014 of the system of waterways and locks. Aleman said delays with the marine-concrete mix and a recent labor strike upset the pace of production, but the construction schedule anticipated them. More equipment was deployed, and the concrete production was stepped up to
get back on schedule. “In addition, there are liquidated damages in the order of $300,000 per day for completing the works late, which does motivate the contractor to take completion date seriously and take whatever actions are necessary to avoid any significant additional cost for delays,” he
said.

Foltz said he expects to get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ final approval this summer so construction can begin next year, and he’s confident federal funding will be coming, too. While deepening could not be completed by the target date of the canal’s widening, the
two-year lag should not concern shippers enough to transfer their business to another port, he speculated.

However, Home Depot’s senior vice president for supply chain, Mark Holifield, told reporters, “If other ports can take these ships and Savannah can’t, that will divert cargo to other ports.”

For his company, the shift wouldn’t be immediate, he said, because of the large investment it has already made in building an international distribution center near Savannah. But it wouldn’t be able to ignore price differences at the other ports.

Industry experts estimate having bigger ships calling on East Coast ports could reduce freight costs as much as $1.25 per ton.

More importantly, Liberia’s GDP of approximately $1 billion USD has been forecast to expand by 9.4% for the year, among the highest in Africa.  As part of this economic success, Liberia’s main port, Monrovia, will play a key role fueling this growth. 

The Liberian government elected to privatize the port in response to the urgent need for port infrastructure improvement, as the original facility was developed prior to the introduction of containerized cargo transportation. Significant investment in equipment, technology and training of local staff will be undertaken to bring the facility up to modern industry standards. Liberia’s major exports include rubber, iron ore, cocoa and coffee, while leading imports include fuel, machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, manufactured goods and foodstuffs. 

The concession agreement for the privatization of the port was concluded in 2010, and represents the first port facility in Africa in which APM Terminals has 100% ownership.  APM Terminals Liberia, established to operate and manage the Port of Monrovia, the principle gateway for the West African nation of approximately four million, has committed to investing $120 million USD in reconstruction and equipment upgrades over the course of the concession period.

The Port of Monrovia’s wharf reconstruction, a major milestone of the planned modernization and upgrading of the facility under the terms of the 25-year concession agreement with APM Terminals is well ahead of schedule and will be completed prior to the previously estimated target date of August 2013. 

“The infrastructure investment underway here will enable Liberia to participate more fully in the global trade that will help drive economic growth in this dynamic market” stated APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer during a two-day tour of the facility.

Since assuming control of the port exactly one year ago on February 1st 2011, APM Terminals has already installed a state-of-the-art Navis N4 Container Tracking system, a 24-hour dedicated power supply to protect refrigerated cargo, new lighting, and refurbished structures. Obsolete buildings have also been demolished and removed to make space for an upgraded modern cargo storage area.

Work is currently underway to rebuild the quay, establish efficient yard handling procedures and install the new equipment required to transform the port into a more competitive, world?class facility capable of handling the larger deep?draft vessels entering the West African trades.

The APM Terminals Global Port, Terminal and Inland Services Network is very active  in the high-growth West African market with port facilities in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Cotonou, Benin; Tema, Ghana; Apapa (Lagos), and Onne (Port Harcourt),Nigeria; Douala, Cameroon; Pointe Noire (under development), DR Congo; and Luanda, Angola, as well as extensive cargo transportation and support services.

 S.W.L. is 50 Tonnes under telescopic spreader.  Hoist Speed is 28-60m/min and trolley speed is 70m/min. The RTGs will be delivered in 2012  Liebherr already has 4 RTG’s in operation at Petrolesport. This order will bring to 10 the number of Liebherr RTG’s in St. Petersburg.

That includes the $588,000 originally budgeted, with the additional amount coming from a fund created by Congress for underfunded port projects around the nation.

 “The credit for this important new funding goes to Georgia’s delegation in Washington and other Congressional leaders, whose efforts will move this project forward in a significant way,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “We are truly grateful to our Senators and Representatives for their work on behalf of the ports.”

According to the USACE, deepening the Savannah Harbor up to 48 feet will bring more than $115 million in annual economic benefits to the United States, primarily by lowering transportation costs. With excellent transportation infrastructure already in place, including two Class I rail terminals on terminal, the SHEP will quickly provide the nation greatly needed benefits to recover from the economic downturn.

This new funding will be used to develop the detailed construction designs required to provide the deeper channel as well as the environmental mitigation components of the project. The design work will need to be completed before moving to construction following the approvals by the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of the Army and the Administrator of the EPA.

The harbor project is necessary to prepare for a new class of larger container ships that are nearly three times the capacity of those currently able to transit the Panama Canal. In 2014, the Panama Canal expansion will be completed and increase the maximum draft of vessels traveling to and from the U.S. East Coast from 39.5 feet to as much as 50 feet. While the Port of Savannah regularly handles vessels that are too large to transit the Panama Canal, these vessels cannot load to their capacity.

“The Corps should release the final study documents this Spring clearing the way for federal approval of the project,” Foltz said. “Once construction begins, we anticipate the deepening to be completed in 2016.”

The Port of Savannah also fared well on maintenance dredging funds, receiving an additional $4,842,090 in federal dollars, for a total on the year of $21.9 million. Similarly, the Port of Brunswick received another $1,048,410 for maintenance dredging, for a total of $3,989,410 for the fiscal year.