Port of Savannah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Port of Savannah |
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| Location | |
| Coordinates | 32.128705,-81.151907 |
| Details | |
| Draft depth | 42 feet |
| Air draft | 185 feet, restricted by Talmadge Memorial Bridge |
The Port of Savannah is a very important seaport in the U.S.. It is located in Savannah, Georgia. A seaport is a place where ships can load and unload goods. The port's docks for large ships are along both sides of the Savannah River. This is about 18 miles (29 km) away from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) runs the Port of Savannah. This port is one of the busiest in the country. It handles a lot of goods that come into and leave the U.S. It also competes with other big ports nearby. These include the Port of Charleston in South Carolina and the Port of Jacksonville in Florida. The GPA also runs another port in Georgia, the Port of Brunswick. There are also smaller inland ports connected by rail.
The Port of Savannah grew very quickly between 2000 and 2005. It was the fastest-growing seaport in the United States. In 2007, it became the fourth-busiest and fastest-growing place for container ships in the U.S. The port handled over 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) containers in 2007. This was a new record for them! By 2014, this number grew to 3 million TEU containers. In 2018, the port handled a record 4.35 million TEU containers. This shows how much the port has grown over the years.
Because of all this growth, a new, even bigger port is planned. It will be called the Jasper Ocean Terminal. It is planned to be built upriver on the Savannah River. When finished, it will be one of the largest ports in the country.
What Makes the Port of Savannah Special?
The Port of Savannah has grown so much that it needed more space. So, it built special areas and warehouses away from the main port. These help handle all the goods.
- Garden City Terminal: This is a huge area just for container ships. It is the biggest container terminal in North America run by a single company. It covers 1,345-acre (5 km2) of land. It has long docks, over 9,600 feet (2,955 m), where many ships can unload at once. It also has huge storage buildings and many large cranes. These cranes lift containers on and off ships very quickly.
- Ocean Terminal: This part of the port handles different kinds of goods. It specializes in things like wood products, steel, and large machines. It also handles "RoRo" (Roll-on / Roll-off) cargo. This means vehicles like cars and trucks can drive directly on and off the ships. This terminal has 200.8-acre (0.8 km2) of space. It has deepwater docks and lots of covered storage.
- Big Company Warehouses: Many large companies have built warehouses near the port. This helps them get their goods faster.
- Target Corporation Facility: In 2005, Target Corporation built a huge warehouse here. It is two million square feet in size. This warehouse helps Target get products from overseas to its stores in the Southeast U.S.
- IKEA Facility: In 2005, IKEA also decided to build a large distribution center. It is 1,700,000-square-foot (160,000 m2) in size. This center helps IKEA move its furniture and home goods.
- Heineken USA Facility: In 2008, Heineken USA opened a distribution center. It handles millions of cases of Heineken and Amstel drinks each year. These drinks come from breweries in the Netherlands.
- Savannah Port Terminal Railroad: This is a special railroad. It connects the port's facilities to a larger railroad network. This helps move goods quickly by train to places far away.
Important Shipping Routes
Many big shipping companies use the Port of Savannah. They bring goods from all over the world.
- Maersk Line Services: In 2007, Maersk Line, a very large shipping company, added Savannah to its MECL2 service. This means more trade between Savannah and places like India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Maersk Line has a long-term agreement with the port. This makes Savannah one of its main stops in the South Atlantic.
- APL's New Routes: In 2007, APL, another major shipping company, started two new services to Savannah. One route, called the Suez Express (SZX), comes through the Suez Canal. It connects Savannah with India and Southeast Asia. The other route, the East Coast Savannah Express (ESX), comes through the Panama Canal. It connects Savannah with China. This ESX service is one of the fastest ways to ship goods from Hong Kong to the U.S. East Coast.
