[The Port of Savannah Announced Record Tonnage for FY 1998]

The Port of Savannah enjoyed another record performance in Fiscal Year
1998, ending June 30. A record total of 8,799,637 tons of containeriz
ed, general cargo and bulk cargo was handled via the deepwater port du
ring the 12 month period, representing a 4.3% increase over the previo
us fiscal year.
Container tonnage moved ahead 8.4% to 5,768,853 tons; marking the tent
h consecutive year of growth for container operations at the Port of S
avannah. The number of twenty-foot equivalent units transiting port fa
cilities rose by 5.4% as compared to the previous corresponding period
. Specifically, 733,866 TEUs were handled via the Port of Savannah dur
ing FY 1998 versus 697,146 TEUs handled in FY 1997.
General cargo tonnage, though declining by 8.6% for the year on a comp
arative basis, was nevertheless the second highest level recorded for
a single 12 month period at 2,102,443 tons. Primary general cargo hand
led via the Port of Savannah included iron and steel, clay, linerboard
, woodpulp, machinery and food stuffs.
A total of 928,341 tons of bulk cargo also moved through the Port of S
avannah during FY 98; resulting in a 13.6% increase over the previous
12 month period.
The Georgia Ports Authority has undertaken numerous improvement projec
ts statewide to enhance facility infrastructure. At the Port of Savann
h, projects include the development of a seventh container berth, the
addition of two post-panamax container cranes and two RTG’s, and expa
nsion of berthing and warehouse space for general cargo.
New or expanded services via Savannah during FT 98 include Evergreen’
s new weekly fixed-day North/South service to the East Coast of South
America; Contship/CGM/Marfret commenced a new ten day frequency round
the world service; CMA/Italia/Evergreen/Croatia commenced a new joint
service calling the Mediterranean every 9 day; Crowley/Ivaran began a
weekly container/general cargo/reefer service to South America. In add
ition, the formation of the ICA(Independent Carrier’s Alliance) consi
sting of Zim/Pan American/DSR-Senantor/Cho Yang/Di Gregorio/Hanjin, re
sulted in a consolidation of services and a weekly itinery to and from
South America. OOCL also joined the PAX service in providing weekly s
ervice to the Far East, the Mediterranean, Africa, Red Sea/Persian Gul
f and North Europe.
Georgia’s public and private marine terminal operations directly or i
ndirectly support 80,100 jobs, are responsible for 1.8 billion dollars
in wage, generate 23 billion dollars in revenue and account for 565 m
illion dollars in state and local taxes each year.
The Georgia Ports Authority operates modern and efficient deepwater fa
cilities in Savannah and Brunswick, Georgia and provides value added s
ervices to facilitate international trade. Inland barge terminals oper
ated under the auspices of the Georgia Ports Authority are located in
Bainbridge and Columbus, Georgia.