International Cargo Seaport: Port of Savannah

Among many important seaports in the United States that support its economic lifeblood, the Port of Savannah is one of the most significant of these ports. Located in Savannah, Georgia, the port currently occupies the place as the fourth largest trade seaport in the country and the largest single-container terminal in North America.

About Port of Savannah

The port is located near the mouth of the Savannah River, an important river in the Southeastern United States that forms borders between Georgia and South Carolina. Under the authorized operation by Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), the Savannah Port lies in the southwest of Port of Charleston (South Carolina) and north of Port of Jacksonville (Florida), all of which compete against each other.

In Savannah itself, the port is located northwest of Hutchinson Island, east of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, and south of Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.

The History

The history of the settlement that predated the city and the port itself began hundreds of years ago, when the Creek Confederacy settled in areas that span Alabama and Georgia, including the area that will eventually become the Port of Savannah.

The port’s history began when the founder of the state of Georgia, James Edward Oglethorpe, founded the city of Savannah in 1733 along with other 120 settlers from England. After he named the state to honor King George II from England, Savannah was the first major city in the state.

For decades, the port commonly exported cotton to other places due to the prevalence of cotton plantations in Savannah. The number of commodities that were exported from Savannah then multiplied when resin and timber became notable exports from Savannah, as well as the emergence of new industries in the city.

Volume of Transaction in Port of Savannah

In 2020, the it managed to handle 4.44 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in FY2020. Despite the notable supply chain disruptions in that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the total container volume in the port increased by 2% or 56.400 tons, compared to the previous record of 33.5 million tons.

Disruptions from the pandemic do not deter the port from having an increase in handled cargo volume on all fronts. In November 2021, the port reported a 6.7% increase of TEUs, on par with 495.750 TEUs in total.

To handle an increasing amount of TEUs in the near future, the port began a series of expansion of facilities that can handle annual cargo capacity by 20%. The project is projected to be finished in the mid-2020s.

Interesting Facts

Compared to other major ports around the world and including in the United States itself, the Savannah Port isn’t actually located in the coastlines. However, this comes up as an advantage as the relatively calmer waters provide a safer place for cargo ships to unload their cargo materials.

Thanks to the awareness of the local population to preserve historical landmarks of the Port of Savannah and the city itself, many parts of the historic city are preserved in Savannah’s Historic District. In this way, visitors from other places can learn as much as possible about the port’s long historical legacy and the city’s equally significant history.