The Savannah Port Society is one of the maritime community’s best-kept secrets, though not to the thousands of seafarers who come into the Port of Savannah each year.
For the better part of two centuries, chaplains and volunteers from the nonprofit organization have been meeting ships docked at the port to minister to the needs of mariners, who often wait expectantly for the van from the International Seamen’s House to pull up to their gangways.
“These seafarers are so far from home, and it’s rare for them to have a chance to come off their ship to a safe place, even if it’s just for a few hours,” said Janice Cantrell, an insurance marketing representative and 14-year veteran of the society board.
“We reach out to them to let them know someone cares that they’re here, to share God’s word and to help them with whatever needs they may have, whether it’s driving them to the mall or helping them get in touch with family halfway around the world,” she said.
Just as modern mariners are no longer exclusively male, the Savannah Port Society on Tuesday unanimously elected Cantrell its first female president.
“It’s an honor just to be part of this group,” she said. “The world really does come to us, and I’ve seen firsthand how much this organization’s outreach means to those men and women.”
Cantrell was introduced to the Savannah Port Society when she worked with veteran Savannah businessman and community volunteer Cliff McCurry.
“Cliff was on the board for years, and, when he was out of town and couldn’t get to board meetings, he asked me to fill in,” she said. “It only took a time or two before I was totally committed.”
That happens a lot, said builder Joe Marchese, who relinquished the presidency to Cantrell on Tuesday at the International Seamen’s House. He got involved six years ago when a friend asked him to look at some damage a truck had done to the group’s annex on Garden City Terminal.
He’s been on the board ever since and has become one of its most vocal supporters.
“This is one of the least recognized organizations in Savannah,” he said. “If people knew what these volunteers and chaplains do, I think they would be amazed.”
Indeed, in the first few months of 2015 alone, they made 355 trips to and from ships, transported 965 passengers, drove more than 7,000 miles and hosted more than 150 mariners at their on-terminal annex. They distributed Bibles in a variety of languages, helped sailors recharge cell phones and drove them to shopping trips and to church.
For more information or to learn how to help, go to www.seamenshouse.org or call 912-234-2438.
Ports businesses win awards
New York City’s iconic Plaza Hotel was the setting last week as 16 individuals and companies — including the Georgia Ports Authority, Neovia Logistics and AMPORTS — were honored at the inaugural Automotive Supply Chain North American Awards.
Automotive Supply Chain, a global logistics industry publication based in London, presented the awards “to recognize and celebrate excellence in one of the most important and critical sectors within the automotive industry — supply chain and logistics,” said Peter Wooding, editor-in-chief of the magazine.
Georgia Ports received the Container Terminal award for “strong and sustained growth across all business categories.” Cliff Pyron, GPA’s chief commercial officer accepted the award, calling it a
great honor.
“What really distinguishes what we do at GPA is our unique model,” Pyron said. “Strategically, the way we have invested over the last decade and continue to do into the future is designed for our customers and we thank them for their great support. Without them, it means nothing.”
AMPORTS, one of four auto processing companies operating at the Port of Brunswick, won the Logistics Quality award.
Texas-based Neovia Logistics, which recently opened a new container cross dock operation off Dean Forest Road to service Caterpillar Inc., was given the Aftermarket Parts Logistics award.
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.
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 VLADIMIR Today
GCT E.R. DALLAS Today
GCT MAERSK HARTFORD Today
GCT ZIM NEW YORK Today
OT TORINO Today
GCT MSC SILVANA Saturday
GCT MAERSK KURE Saturday
GCT MOL EXCELLENCE Saturday
GCT JADRANA Saturday
GCT VANCOUVER EXPRESS Saturday
GCT MAERSK SANTANA Saturday
GCT GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE Saturday
GCT YM VANCOUVER Saturday
GCT HANJIN NEWPORT Sunday
GCT STOLT INVENTION Sunday
GCT EVER LISSOME Sunday
OT SALOME Sunday
GCT MAERSK PITTSBURGH Monday
GCT PANGAL Monday
GCT MSC SAO PAULO Monday
GCT HYUNDAI DYNASTY Monday
GCT AL RAWDAH Monday
OT OCCITAN BARSAC Monday
GCT YM ETERNITY Tuesday
GCT APL PEARL Tuesday
GCT ORCA I Tuesday
GCT PACIFIC LINK Tuesday
GCT SEA-LAND INTREPID Tuesday
GCT CONRAD S Wednesday
GCT ZIM MONACO Wednesday
GCT HOUSTON EXPRESS Wednesday
OT TITANIA Wednesday
GCT PORTUGAL Thursday
GCT HANJIN MILANO Thursday
GCT AUGUSTA KONTOR Thursday
GCT HAPPY DYNAMIC Thursday
GCT MAERSK WAKAYAMA Thursday
GCT MSC BUSAN Thursday
GCT CMA CGM ROSSINI Thursday
GCT TURQUOISE Thursday
OT INTEGRITY Thursday .