Jan. 22 was a red-letter day for the folks who work in gate operations at Georgia Port’s Garden City Terminal. On that busy Tuesday, they broke a gate record with 8,956 containers moved — and an hourly record of 988 moves — at Gate 4, the terminal’s main gate.
The streamlined, mostly computerized system of moving trucks in, checking and directing their cargo and sending them back out with another load or empties is a constant dance — one performed almost seamlessly by members of the Clerks and Checkers Local 1475 of the International Longshoremen’s Association.
Serving the longest continuous container terminal in the country, Gate 4 starts with six lanes where trucks stop and are checked in electronically with a special camera confirming truck, chassis and load.
The trucks then fan out into one of 13 pre-check lanes with scales, where they interact with gate operations. Once everything is squared away, the trucks proceed through one of 19 gates to their destinations. The 19 gates are composed of seven inbound lanes, seven outbound lanes and five middle lanes that are interchangeable according to traffic streams — more inbound during morning hours, more outbound later in the day.
“We have a system that works really well,” said Ed Murray, general manager of Gateway Terminals, which oversees the operation for Georgia Ports. “Everyone here understands the importance of moving cargo quickly and efficiently.”
It’s that efficiency that’s GPA’s stock in trade, said Griff Lynch, Georgia Ports’ chief operating officer.
“We’re always working to improve the process,” Lynch said. “It’s something our customers have come to expect. Finding ways to improve our service helps improve their bottom line.”
To keep operations moving smoothly throughout the terminal, the GPA is upgrading six older ship-to-shore cranes to increase hoist speed and improve productivity, executive director Curtis Foltz told the authority board Monday.
The $2.4 million contract was awarded in December, with work scheduled to start this month.
The Ports Authority also has purchased four new super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, due to arrive in May and be operational by September. The addition will bring the total number of ship-to-shore cranes to 27 — the most on any terminal on the East Coast.
The new cranes will allow GPA to more efficiently serve the larger ships that have already begun calling on the port, Foltz said.
Garden City Terminal also boasts the most rubber-tired gantry cranes — the large overhead cranes that move over the container stacks — at 110, with six more currently being assembled on-terminal.
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 MSC CATANIA Today
GCT MSC JOANNA Today
GCT ZIM HAIFA Today
GCT EVER DYNAMIC Today
GCT APL SARDONYX Saturday
GCT NEW DELHI EXPRESS Saturday
GCT MSC SORAYA Saturday
GCT PRESIDENT TRUMAN Saturday
GCT MSC MARINA Saturday
GCT CATHRINE RICKMERS Saturday
GCT ZIM QINGDAO Saturday
GCT DEIRA Saturday
GCT CANADA EXPRESS Saturday
GCT PHILADELPHIA EXPRESS Saturday
OT SAFMARINE SUMBA Saturday
GCT CMA CGM TOSCA Sunday
OT SERPENTINE Sunday
GCT ZIM VIRGINIA Monday
GCT MSC STELLA Monday
GCT MSC TOMOKO Monday
GCT YM EFFICIENCY Monday
GCT NYK CONSTELLATION Monday
GCT BARCELONA EXPRESS Monday
GCT NYK CLARA Monday
GCT MAERSK DELLYS Tuesday
GCT MOL ENDOWMENT Tuesday
GCT ZIM CONSTANZA Tuesday
GCT DUSSELDORF EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT SUEZ CANAL BRIDGE Tuesday
GCT HANJIN SAN FRANCISCO Tuesday
OT GRANDE CONGO Tuesday
GCT CONRAD S Wednesday
GCT MOL PARTNER Wednesday
GCT HYUNDAI INTEGRAL Wednesday
GCT SEA-LAND METEOR Wednesday
GCT STUTTGART EXPRESS Wednesday
OT BBC GANGES Wednesday
GCT MAERSK OHIO Thursday
GCT SCT ZURICH Thursday
GCT ZIM SHENZHEN Thursday
GCT MAERSK DAMPIER Thursday
GCT ISLANDIA Thursday
GCT YM MILESTONE Thursday
GCT UASC DOHA Thursday
GCT E.R. DENMARK Thursday