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Dwarfing other ships moored along the riverfront — and blocking a good portion of River Street from the view of those watching from Hutchinson Island — the largest ship ever to call on the Port of Savannah sailed upriver Wednesday without a hitch.
Master River Pilot Robert T. “Trey” Thompson III made it look easy as the massive container vessel ZIM Tianjin passed under the Talmadge Bridge with just a little over 6 feet to spare — a visible reminder of the need to deepen the Savannah River.
If the channel were 5 feet deeper, the ship could come in more heavily loaded, which would sit her lower in the water and give her better bridge clearance as well as provide a better economy of scale for shippers.
As it is, the Tianjin — which can accommodate more than 10,000 containers — had to limit its cargo to 4,424 boxes as well as come in on a high tide.
“She was very light-loaded, only drafting 32 feet,” Thompson said, adding the conditions were ideal.
“It was a clear, sunny day, river traffic was very light. We’ve brought in ships almost as large under less than ideal conditions, so this was really no problem.”
Two tractor tugs from Moran Towing of Savannah helped maneuver the big ship, Thompson said.
The difference between a tractor tug and a conventional tug is that a tractor tug has stern drives with propellers encased in nozzles that create a powerful thrust, which allows the tug to rotate 360 degrees. Tractor tugs can push, pull, move forward, back and side-to-side.
The Edward J. Moran, tethered to the Tianjin’s bow, helped steer the vessel around curves in the river, while the James A. Moran at the stern helped control the big boat’s speed, Thompson said.
The James A. is Moran’s newest tractor tug, capable of docking anything that comes up the Savannah River, including the largest container ships expected to arrive with the opening of the expanded Panama Canal.
At 1,145 feet long, the Tianjin took up residence at Container Berth 9 at the western end of Garden City Terminal.
Four huge ship-to-shore cranes and the corresponding number of longshoremen gangs — 88 dockworkers in all from Savannah’s ILA Local 1414 — began working the ship at 1 p.m. Wednesday, wrapping up their 2,000-plus container moves around 6 a.m. Thursday. Taking advantage of the high tide, the vessel sailed shortly after, this time with Nick Groover at the helm.
Super post-Panamax ships like the Tianjin — so classified because they cannot fit through the locks currently operating in the Panama Canal — will become more the norm than the exception when the canal’s ongoing expansion is completed in the next few years, said GPA executive Curtis Foltz.
For now, the Tianjin, like most other ships of its size, must travel via the deeper and wider Suez Canal to get from Asia to the U.S. East Coast.
More shippers are opting for that route because the larger vessels allow them to move their cargo at a significantly reduced cost per container, which
lowers the cost to the consumer.
Senior business writer Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for Savannah Morning News and Savannahnow. Reach her at 912-652-0324 or mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
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 Ship Arrival
GCT ISLANDIA Today
GCT MAERSK DENVER Today
GCT CHEMICAL LUNA Today
GCT VEGA Today
GCT JULIETTE RICKMERS Today
GCT MAERSK KOTKA Saturday
GCT CMA CGM KINGFISH Saturday
GCT HANJIN GDYNIA Saturday
GCT NYK DIANA Saturday
GCT ARTHUR MAERSK Saturday
OT ALTAIR LEADER Saturday
GCT HANJIN MIAMI Sunday
GCT MAERSK KLEVEN Sunday
GCT JUIST TRADER Sunday
GCT APL HOUSTON Sunday
GCT MSC LISBON Sunday
GCT OOCL HALIFAX Sunday
OT MORNING CAPO Sunday
OT CLIPPER VALOUR Sunday
GCT ZIM MONACO Monday
GCT CONCORD Monday
GCT MAERSK DETROIT Monday
GCT YM EMINENCE Monday
GCT ZIM SAN DIEGO Monday
GCT ZIM HAIFA Monday
GCT CLASSICA Monday
GCT BREMEN BRIDGE Monday
GCT MAERSK KAWASAKI Monday
GCT HYUNDAI GOODWILL Monday
OT PANCALDO Monday
GCT RHL AGILITAS Tuesday
GCT MOL ENDEAVOR Tuesday
GCT PHILADELPHIA EXPRESS Tuesday
OT TOSCA Tuesday
GCT HANJIN RIO DE JANEIRO Wednesday
GCT MSC STELLA Wednesday
GCT YANTIAN EXPRESS Wednesday
OT BAHRI YANBU Wednesday
OT WEEKS 527 Wednesday
OT TALISMAN Wednesday
GCT ZIM TEXAS Thursday
GCT MOL MOTIVATOR Thursday
GCT VARAMO Thursday
GCT CAFER DEDE Thursday
GCT MSC SARAH Thursday
GCT AL SAFAT Thursday
GCT CONRAD S Thursday
GCT NYK RIGEL Thursday
OT THORCO ASIA Thursday