THE port of Savannah, restricted to 6,000-TEUers only a few years ago, has celebrated the arrival of the 13,092-TEU Cosco Development, the biggest ship to call to date. 

During the ship's 30 hours at dock, up to six cranes moved 10,000 TEU, or half the vessel's entire volume for its maiden voyage to the US east coast.

At present, dredging of the outer harbour to 49 feet is 60 per cent complete. 

"The Cosco Development is the start of a new era in the east coast container trade," said GPA executive director Griff Lynch. "With their shift to larger, more cost-effective vessels, the shipping lines are gravitating toward gateway ports."

Crews working the Cosco Development were able to complete 220 container moves per hour during a period in which the GPA and International Longshoremen worked a total of nine vessels, moving 12,000 total containers, or 21,600 TEU, at the Garden City Terminal that features 26 ship-to-shore cranes and 146 rubber-tyred gantry cranes - more than any other US terminal.

In the near future, vessels like the Cosco Development will be able to take advantage of deeper water as the Savannah Harbour Expansion Project (SHEP) makes further progress. At present, dredging of the outer harbour to 49 feet is 60 per cent complete. 

A study by the US Army Corps of Engineers showed that US companies moving goods through the Garden City Terminal will save US$282 million per annum once the harbour deepening project is complete in 2021.