Morning News photo chief Steve Bisson was shooting on River Street earlier this week when he spotted a ship that at first appeared to be another of the many container vessels that transit the riverfront every day.
But as it passed, he noticed the stern end looked more like a roll-on/roll-off carrier, commonly called a ro-ro ship. We wondered what this particular ship was called and what it’s used for, so we asked.
“That’s what we refer to as a combo ship,” said Greg Lamb, operations manager at Georgia Port’s Ocean Terminal. “We have six different shipping lines that bring these kinds of vessels into port.”
The Grimaldi vessel Steve photographed is a typical combo ship, Lamb said, with space on the weather deck for containers and a ramp in the back to accommodate ro-ro cargo, such as autos, construction machinery or agricultural equipment.
Ocean Terminal will see a total of 15 such vessels this month, he said.
There was a time when almost all ships carrying freight were considered all-purpose cargo vessels, the only exception being the tanker, which first appeared shortly before the turn of the 20th century.
Today’s ships are more specialized, each designed for a specific type of cargo. Following is a look at the kinds of ships you’ll see moving up and down our river.
Container ships
As the country’s fourth largest and busiest container port, Savannah sees its share of these modern vessels, which were developed by Malcolm McLean — a New Jersey truck driver, not Savannah’s former mayor — in the mid-20th century.
Within the next two decades, the container ship had revolutionized the shipping business with vessels designed to hold standard-size shipping boxes of 20 feet, 40 feet and 45 feet. The term Twenty-foot equivalent unit — or TEU — was used to describe the smaller container.
Today, containers are used to ship everything from iPhones to luxury automobiles and account for the majority of seagoing freight.
Container ships are growing in size, with the largest able to hold more than 18,000 TEUs.
GPA’s Garden City Terminal is the country’s largest continuous container terminal.
Roll-on/Roll-off carriers
While the container is king in the shipping business, not everything that ships can be efficiently containerized.
Pure ro-ro ships are huge, chunky floating parking garages
designed to carry thousands of cars or other wheeled cargo, all packed in tightly on a number of movable levels. The vehicles are driven onto and off the ship.
Most notable here are the big orange Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessels that can be seen both from the
bridge and the Bay Street viaduct. GPA’s Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick is the third largest auto transport facility in the country.
Breakbulk vessels
Also seen at Ocean Terminal, these ships are used for a variety of cargo — bagged sugar or cement, for example; cargo shipped on pallets, such as chemicals or paint; bundled lumber. Both a combo ship and a Lift-on/Lift-off ship are examples of breakbulk vessels. Lo-lo ships have their own cranes on board and can load cargo into the hold and retrieve it at its destination.
Tankers
If you see a tanker headed upriver, it’s most likely going to Colonial Oil. These vessels carry a variety of liquid cargo, such as oil or chemicals.
Combo vessels
As described earlier, these ships are designed to handle a variety of different cargos, from containers to ro-ro.
Bulk carriers
These ships are used to transport items shipped unpackaged in bulk — everything from wheat and other grains to coal, iron ore and cement. Bulk carriers are a common sight at GPA’s Brunswick facility, where Colonel’s Island also has a large agribulk facility.
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.
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 SAINT NIKOLAOS Today
GCT SEA LAND EAGLE Today
GCT IVER EXACT Today
GCT PRAIA Today
GCT MAERSK MEMPHIS Today
GCT UASC JEDDAH Today
OT HOEGH ANTWERP Today
GCT SEOUL EXPRESS Saturday
GCT MSC MARIA ELENA Saturday
GCT JPO CANOPUS Saturday
GCT APL OMAN Saturday
GCT YM GREAT Saturday
GCT MAERSK DAMIETTA Saturday
OT BAHRI YANBU Saturday
OT ENDURANCE Saturday
OT HAMBURG Saturday
GCT HANJIN DALLAS Sunday
GCT MSC ROCHELLE Sunday
GCT YORKTOWN EXPRESS Sunday
GCT APL LATVIA Sunday
GCT DALIAN EXPRESS Sunday
GCT RESOLVE (DUP) Sunday
OT SIFNOS Sunday
GCT NEVZAT KALKAVAN Monday
GCT HYUNDAI INTEGRAL Monday
GCT ZIM BARCELONA Monday
GCT NYK DAEDALUS Monday
GCT AL RAWDAH Monday
GCT SYPRESS Monday
OT PACIFIC PRIMATE Monday
GCT MSC MELISSA Tuesday
GCT ZIM QINGDAO Tuesday
GCT MSC CANDICE Tuesday
GCT YM ELIXIR Tuesday
GCT ARTHUR MAERSK Tuesday
GCT MOL ENDURANCE Wednesday
GCT MOZAMBIQUE Wednesday
GCT SHIPPAN ISLAND Wednesday
GCT NYK DELPHINUS Wednesday
GCT HANJIN DURBAN Wednesday
OT GRANDE GUINEA Wednesday
GCT MSC BREMEN Thursday
GCT ZIM NEW YORK Thursday
GCT MSC LORETTA Thursday
GCT RHL AGILITAS Thursday
GCT CENTAURUS Thursday
GCT CSAV LARAQUETE Thursday
GCT MOL MARVEL Thursday
GCT CGM UTRILLO Thursday
OT TAMERLANE Thursday