News
October 15, 2012
Now that the new gates and locks are set to be transported to the Panama Canal Expansion site in 2013, and the project which is expected to triple the canals capacity, is set to be complete in early 2015. With the completion of the project just around the corner, U.S. ports on the Atlantic coast have been scrambling to get ready for the bigger ships. And bigger ships mean more cargo can be carried to more intended destinations faster. This advancement of marine transportation through this vital trade route is expected to have a major impact on the global shipping industry, as we know it today.
According to officials, the Panama Canal expansion will mean some ships that previously had to deliver their freight to the generally deeper ports of the West Coast, where goods are moved mainly by rail across the nation, will be able to deliver goods more efficiently via all-water routes directly to East Coast ports. This major advancement in marine transportation is projected to eventually trickle down to the consumer, as it is expected lower shipping costs and ultimately product costs. The question is, will the U.S. ports be ready for it?
Once the project is complete, these larger ships called, “post-Panamax,” ships will be calling on the major ports up and down the Atlantic seaboard such as New York, New Jersey, Charleston, S.C., Savannah, GA, Jacksonville and Miami and hopefully, these cities will be ready. Many of these cities are already busy dredging their channels in hopes that they will be able to answer that call. And the East Coast of the U.S. is not the only place getting ready. "Other countries throughout the world are looking at what is necessary in terms of their own (shipping) infrastructure to be competitive in world trade," says Kurt Nagle, president and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities. "It's something the U.S. really needs to be doing.”
Currently, only two U.S. ports seem to be ready for the post-Panamax arrivals, and they are in Norfolk, VA and New York. These ports already have deep enough channels. That means all the other cities are currently working on modernizing their ports with the multi-million dollar and some multi-billion dollar projects that have been being developed for years. Savannah is one of the cities already working on its port, as its $652 million deepening project is well under way. It is the second busiest container port in the nation for the export of U.S. goods and is currently dredging its channels and is hoping to rebuild its ports current infrastructures. Savannah is expected to play a vital role in stimulating the regional and national economy as well as the local economy come 2015 when the project is complete. "Well over 95% of the cargo that moves through this port doesn't come from Savannah and isn't destined for Savannah," said Curtis Foltz, the ports executive director. "Ports are conduits. We're shipping to and from central Florida, Texas, the lower Midwest, the Middle Tennessee Valley, North Carolina. Our port serves almost 45% of the U.S. population. The economic development and prosperity doesn't stop at the state border." Savannah has high hopes of being ready in time for the post-Panamax ships arrival.
Other port authorities still have much to do such as that of New York and New Jersey, which plans to spend $1 billion to raise the Bayonne Bridge roadway by 64 feet to allow the giant ships through on their way to to Newark and Elizabeth, N.J. The city of Miami is putting $2 billion into the improvements of its port. The Army Corps of Engineers approved its dredging project in April, and the city is building a tunnel costing an estimated $1 billion that will create a crucial link between the port and the Interstate System of highways.
Other port authorities still have much to do such as that of New York and New Jersey, which plans to spend $1 billion to raise the Bayonne Bridge roadway by 64 feet to allow the giant ships through on their way to to Newark and Elizabeth, N.J. The city of Miami is putting $2 billion into the improvements of its port. The Army Corps of Engineers approved its dredging project in April, and the city is building a tunnel costing an estimated $1 billion that will create a crucial link between the port and the Interstate System of highways.
As these projects are being carried out up and down the eastern seaboard, the demand for the services of marine transportation
companies that specialize in the shipping of heavy machinery and equipment worldwide is also on the rise. Without companies to transport the necessary machinery, such as the $40 million cranes shipped to Baltimore from China, these projects cannot be completed.
President Obama said in his 2010 State of the Union Address that within the next 5 years, the U.S. hopes to double its exports. That will certainly be more possible if the ports along the Eastern Atlantic seaboard are able to modernize their facilities in time for the completion of the biggest marine transportation project in history.
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© Copyright 2012 Ocean Trade Lines. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2012 Ocean Trade Lines. All Rights Reserved.
