Terminal Operations: Georgia, Prince Rupert

Four new ship-to-shore cranes at Garden City Terminal – one commissioned this month and three to follow by mid-April. Each new crane can lift 65 long tons to a height 152 feet above the dock.
Photo/Georgia Ports Authority

The Georgia Ports Authority last week commissioned the first of four new Neo-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes at the Garden City Terminal in Savannah.

Garden City Terminal will add another crane every two weeks until late April, bringing the total number to 26 this year, including 20 Neo-Panamaxers and six Post-Panamax cranes. A separate, $45.3 million order will bring four more cranes to the terminal in 2018, for a total of 30.

These cranes are necessary to serve the larger vessels calling on Savannah. In the six months prior to the late June 2016 opening of the expanded Panama Canal, Garden City Terminal hosted no vessels with capacities or 10,000 TEUs or more. From July through December 2016, the Port of Savannah received 31 calls from 10,000 TEU vessels.

"Expanding our capabilities means we are able to grow along with our customers, and adjust to changes in the logistics marketplace, such as increasing vessel sizes," said GPA Chief Operating Officer Ed McCarthy.
The growing crane fleet, working along nearly 10,000 contiguous feet of dock, will be able to handle more than 1,000 container moves per hour when all 30 cranes are in place.

"The improvements we're making to our terminal infrastructure demonstrate the GPA's commitment to expand capacity, providing more opportunities for growth and greater flexibility to meet customer needs," Mr. McCarthy said.

Ray-Mont Logistics Adding Facility for Export of Containerized Crops at Port off Prince Rupert

An expansion project for containerized cargo on Ridley Island will help Canadian farmers reach international markets while expanding intermodal logistics capacities at the Port of Prince Rupert.

Ray-Mont Logistics is developing an integrated logistics and container loading operation at the south end of the Ridley Island Industrial Site on the recently-constructed Road, Rail and Utility Corridor. The operation will involve pulses and cereals (such as lentils, peas, beans, soybeans, flax and wheat), as well as other specialty agricultural crops transported in hopper cars by rail from western and central Canada and the U.S. Midwest. The cargo will be transferred to ocean containers for export via the Fairview Container Terminal, which is currently undergoing expansion.

The 10-acre facility will include a rail loop corridor capable of holding more than 100 railcars, a grain dumper pit, and a conveyance system. Once operational, it will employ approximately 40 workers.

The Ray-Mont facility will utilize rail tracks on the Ridley Island Corridor to take delivery of agricultural commodities and meet market demand for port-loaded export containers on the West Coast. Cargo will be sent to Prince Rupert by agricultural shippers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and further inland, to be unloaded at the facility via a conveyor unloading system.

A contractor is now clearing the site. The facility is due to be operational this fall, in time for the 2017-2018 crop year.

"We’re excited to partner with Ray-Mont Logistics to create a Canadian trade solution for high-value, high demand agricultural products," said Don Krusel, president and CEO of the Prince Rupert Port Authority. "This exciting development is another important step advancing the expansion of intermodal logistics services with our partners CN and DP World to meet the growing demand of Canadian exporters seeking to capitalize on the advantages of the Port of Prince Rupert in reaching their global markets."