The Port of Savannah — and other major ports along the East and Gulf coasts — started the New Year with a collective sigh of relief that ship traffic was still moving and containers continued to be loaded and unloaded.
But there is still some uncertainty in the maritime community as 2013 gets under way.
Although an end-of-the-year strike was averted at the last minute when the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance came to a tentative agreement on the container royalty issue, other issues — primarily involving work rules and productivity — remain and must be settled before the extension expires at midnight Feb. 6.
Negotiations have been contentious since talks aimed at reaching a new six-year contract began last March. So, while both sides sound more optimistic about reaching an agreement, it’s not a done deal yet.
Mediation watch
In Savannah, port watchers are keeping a close eye on their neighbor to the north as South Carolina pulls out every weapon in its arsenal in an attempt to keep the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project from coming to fruition.
In one of the most studied civil works projects in U.S. history, the Corps announced last April that deepening the Savannah River channel from its current 42 feet to 47 feet at mean low water “is economically viable, environmentally sustainable and in the best interests of the United States.”
Six months later, Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy signed the Record of Decision, green-lighting the project.
South Carolina, however, contended its state permit for the project had been improperly issued, a contention upheld by the South Carolina Supreme Court in November when it ordered the two sides into mediation on the issue.
Meanwhile, Darcy has submitted letters to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Vice President Joe Biden and the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House appropriations and environment committees asking for Congress to exercise authority under section 404(r) of the Clean Water Act to “specifically authorize” the project.
Stay tuned. With mediation expected to wrap up in the next few weeks and Congress back in session, the muddy waters of controversy should clear a little.
How much money
Then there is the question of financing the project.
Gov. Nathan Deal already has pledged some $230 million of the $650 million the deepening will require. Now attention will turn to President Obama’s upcoming 2014 federal budget proposal.
The cost-sharing ratio for the project is estimated at 70-30 between the federal and non-federal sponsor.
“Georgia is ready and able to pay its share of the cost,” Deal said, citing the deepening’s benefit-to-cost ration of 5.5 to 1.
“For every $1 we invest, we get back $5.50 in economic benefits. Taxpayers will receive a handsome return on this project.”
As for the federal portion, having a record of decision will allow that to be addressed in the upcoming federal budget proposal, expected some time in February.
While the amount allocated is anyone’s guess at this point, it can’t hurt that Savannah’s harbor deepening is one of a handful of infrastructure projects designated “nationally and regionally significant” by the Obama Administration and slated for fast-track completion.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
Terminal Ship name Arrival
GCT CMA CGM JAMAICA Today
GCT MOL GENEROSITY Today
GCT CSCL BRISBANE Today
GCT NYK RUMINA Today
OT NEW PRIDE Today
OT GRANDE GABON Today
GCT EVER DIVINE Saturday
GCT OOCL ANTWERP Saturday
GCT E.R. PUSAN Saturday
GCT HANJIN LOS ANGELES Saturday
GCT CHARLESTON EXPRESS Sunday
OT CARMEN Saturday
GCT HANJIN MADRID Monday
GCT POLARIS J Monday
GCT APL AGATE Monday
GCT MSC TOKYO Monday
GCT YM BUSAN Monday
GCT MSC JUDITH Monday
GCT ROME EXPRESS Monday
GCT NYK JOANNA Monday
GCT MAERSK DHAHRAN Tuesday
GCT MOL ENCORE Tuesday
GCT ZIM TEXAS Tuesday
GCT NYK DENEB Tuesday
GCT NYK DEMETER Tuesday
GCT NYK KAI Tuesday
GCT CMA CGM SAMSON Tuesday
OT GEIRANGER Tuesday
GCT MOL TYNE Wednesday
GCT SEA-LAND CHAMPION Wednesday
GCT HYUNDAI DYNASTY Wednesday
OT STAR JAPAN Wednesday
GCT RANJAN Thursday
GCT ISLANDIA Thursday
GCT MAERSK MALACCA Thursday
GCT SEOUL EXPRESS Thursday
GCT ZIM SAVANNAH Thursday
GCT CSCL VANCOUVER Thursday
GCT MAERSK IOWA Thursday
GCT HANJIN MALTA Thursday