New Jersey native M. Gerard Greco was a civil engineer by trade, but his true passion was building model ships — a passion he pursued full time after retiring to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
When he died in 2012, his family wanted to share the master craftsman’s ship models with those who would appreciate them.
Enter retired Savannah businessman and philanthropist Howard Morrison, whose interest in authentic ship models has spawned a Savannah-centric collection of 20th century vessels at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.
Morrison acquired a collection of 18 Greco-built ship models — representing historic vessels from the 9th century to the 20th century — and wanted to find a good home for them in an educational environment.
What better place than the Massie Heritage Center on Calhoun Square in Savannah’s Historic District?
The oldest public school still in existence in Georgia, Massie operated as a public school from 1856 until 1974, reopening in 1978 as a heritage interpretation center with a mission to help the Savannah-Chatham County school system provide curriculum-based social studies lessons.
As such, the Greco collection will be more than just a display of ships. It will be designed to help students understand how the Savannah River has historically shaped the history of our city and allow them to explore the industries that helped make Savannah a powerful port.
The exhibit will also feature information about the historic deepening of the river, which was a mere 12 feet deep when the colonists arrived in 1733.
A cooperative effort between the Savannah-Chatham school system and the Savannah College of Art and Design, the new Maritime Heritage Exhibit is set to open in the fall. A team of students from SCAD’s Industrial Design department have developed plans for the exhibit and will install it.
Meanwhile, the school system and Morrison will host a reception for Greco’s family at Massie this afternoon, commemorating both his birthday and his unparalleled craftsmanship in replicating some of the world’s most famous ships.
A five-minute port tour
Ever wished you could get an insider’s look at what goes on inside the gates of the massive, bustling Georgia Ports Authority?
Now you can get up close and personal with a series of short — less than a minute each — videos produced by GPA. Designed primarily to promote the port to potential customers, the videos offer various reasons why the Port of Savannah has grown to become the fourth largest in the country.
Five of the six videos are narrated by GPA executive director Curtis Foltz and highlight such attributes as strategic location, capacity, mobility beyond the port, the single largest continuous terminal on the East Coast and the advantages a deeper harbor will bring.
The final video, narrated by ILA Local 1414 President Thomas Stokes III and ILA Local 1475 President Ricky Deloach, spotlights the ongoing cooperation between the union and the port and touts a well-trained, highly skilled union workforce ready to meet tomorrow’s challenge.
Along with the narrative, viewers are treated to an up-close, ever-changing look at a major container port at work. To watch the videos, go to http://www.gaports.com/SeeMoreDoMore.aspx
Warehouse vacancy rates down
In a 2004 State of the Ports speech, then-Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Doug Marchand estimated the port would require as much as 30 million to 40 million square feet of additional warehouse and distribution center space if the ports were to continue to grow as projected.
And grow they did — from 1.5 million containers to 2.7 million by 2008, as developers quickly stepped up to the plate, adding more than 4.8 million square feet of new space to the market, with another 4.5 million under construction in less than three years.
Then came the Great Recession, slowing GPA container growth from double digits to less than 1 percent in a matter of months. And a respectable 8 percent vacancy rate at the end of 2007 had grown to nearly 13 percent by the end of 2008.
It takes a while to absorb that much empty space, but, according to Page Siplon at the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, Colliers International is reporting Savannah’s vacancy rates down to 8.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014.
Logistics Snapshot
Among the other encouraging statistics listed in Siplon’s Logistics Market Snapshot for July:
• Import volume through major U.S. container ports is expected to total 1.5 million containers in July as retailers prepare for potential disruptions surrounding the expiring West Coast Port’s labor contract. That’s the highest monthly volume in at least five years.
• Savannah’s container traffic reached 290,436 TEUs in May, an 11.1-percent increase year-over-year.
• The widening of the Panama Canal could eventually lead to a 90-percent increase in cotton exports for U.S. South Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports, and a 66-percent reduction in cotton exports through West Coast ports. Larger post-Panamax vessels will reduce ocean shipping freight rates from the U.S. to China by 28 percent, according to the Texas A&M University Department of Agricultural Economics.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
By mary carr Mayle
Shipping schedule
Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GPA and are subject to change.
TERMINAL VESSEL ETA
GCT MSC SHAULA Today
GCT UASC SHUAIBA Today
GCT MSC CHARLESTON Today
GCT PARTICI Today
GCT MAERSK IOWA Today
GCT MAERSK UTAH Today
GCT SEALAND ILLINOIS Today
OT ELEKTRA Today
GCT DUBAI EXPRESS Saturday
GCT SINGAPORE EXPRESS Saturday
GCT OOCL SOUTHAMPTON Saturday
GCT SUEZ CANAL BRIDGE Saturday
GCT MOL PARTNER Sunday
GCT MSC LOS ANGELES Sunday
GCT MSC SHANGHAI Sunday
GCT EVER LEGACY Sunday
GCT CHEMBULK SHANGHAI Sunday
GCT ZIM ISTANBUL Sunday
GCT CHARLESTON EXPRESS Sunday
OT SALOME Sunday
GCT FOWAIRET Monday
GCT KAAN KALKAVAN Monday
GCT YM ETERNITY Monday
GCT MAERSK COLUMBUS Monday
GCT NYK REMUS Monday
GCT CMA CGM SAMSON Monday
OT JUSTICE Monday
GCT APL CORAL Tuesday
GCT HYUNDAI VOYAGER Tuesday
GCT APL QATAR Tuesday
GCT MSC METHONI Tuesday
GCT NYK DIANA Tuesday
GCT ZIM RIO GRANDE Wednesday
GCT HANJIN NEWPORT Wednesday
GCT SWAZILAND Wednesday
GCT MSC CHICAGO Wednesday
GCT POHORJE Wednesday
GCT NEW YORK TRADER Wednesday
GCT NYK LAURA Wednesday
GCT MSC ARUSHI R. Thursday
GCT MAERSK WILMINGTON Thursday
GCT MSC TAMARA Thursday
GCT HS COLUMBIA Thursday
GCT ZIM HAIFA Thursday