Port Of Savannah, USA

The Port of Savannah lies at the mouth of the Savannah River in southeastern Georgia on its Atlantic Ocean coast just south of the State's border with South Carolina. The Port of Savannah is an important industrial seaport and the seat of Chatham County. The city has a long and fascinating history. In 2000, the Port of Savannah was home to over 131 thousand people, and the metropolitan area had a population of some 293 thousand souls.

Savannah's port has long been vital to the city's economy, and it an important port for exporting goods manufacture in the southeastern United States. Savannah's economy depends on four major sectors: tourism, manufacturing, the military, and the Port of Savannah. Tourism is a major contributor, with more than six million visitors coming to the city each year who bring more than $2 billion to the city. The Port of Savannah is home to several major industries. International Paper is the city's biggest employer, and Gulfstream Aerospace makes the famous private jets in the Port of Savannah. JCB, the world's third biggest producer of construction equipment, is headquartered in the Port of Savannah.

The Georgia Ports Authority is responsible for regulating and managing the State's two major ports in Savannah and Brunswick. The port authority facilitates global trade by operating modern terminals and serving the needs of international business.

In 2007, the Port of Savannah handled almost 19.5 million tons of cargo, including 16.8 million tons of containerized cargo in 2.3 million TEUs. The Port of Savannah also handled over 1.1 million tons of bulk cargo and almost 1.5 million tons of breakbulk cargo. Two major terminals serve the Port of Savannah.
The Garden City Terminal is an ultra-modern dedicated container terminal and, covering 486 hectares, North America's biggest single-terminal container facility. The Ocean Terminal is a combined breakbulk, roll-on/roll-off facility that covers 81 hectares and handles forest products, equipment, steel, and heavy-lift and project cargoes.

The Georgia Ports Authority owns and operates the Garden City Terminal, the United States' fourth biggest container port. This Port of Savannah terminal offers immediate access to both rail and highway and has ample space for future development.

The channel leading to the Port of Savannah's Garden City Terminal is 152.4 meters wide and 12.8 meters deep at mean low tide, with plans to dredge to 14.6 meters in the future. Tidal range in the Garden City Terminal is about 2.3 meters. The King's Island Turning Basin covers 22 hectares, with dimensions of 457.2 meters by 487.7 meters. Vertical bridge clearance is 56.4 meters at high tide.

The Port of Savannah's Garden City Terminal contains nine container berths with a total length of 2955 meters and alongside depth of 12.8 meters. Berth 1 is 515 meters long, and berths 2 through 9 range from 219 to 366 meters. The terminal also contains 183 meters of liquid bulk berths.


The Garden City Terminal in the Port of Savannah contains 110.8 thousand square meters of warehouse space and 852 reefer plugs. Warehouses 83-A (37.3 thousand square meters), 83-B (37.2 thousand square meters), and 27 (12.1 thousand square meters) are served by 1030 meters of rail siding. Container Freight Station 1 covers 8.2 thousand square meters, and Container Freight Station 2 covers 9.6 thousand square meters, while the cold storage facility offers 6.3 thousand square meters. This Port of Savannah terminal also contains a total of 24.7 hectares of paved area, and the combined container field and rapid dispatch facility cover 200.5 hectares.

The Port of Savannah's Ocean Terminal is a secure facility dedicated to breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off cargoes. Covering an area of 81 hectares, the Ocean Terminal in the Port of Savannah contains ten berths with 2034 meters of deep-water berths, 139.4 thousand square meters of covered storage, and 34 hectares of open storage. The Ocean Terminal has immediate access to rail and highway networks.

The Port of Savannah's access channel to the Ocean Terminal is 152.4 meters wide and 12.8 meters deep at mean low water (with plans to extend depth to 14.6 meters). The Marsh Island turning basin covers 8 hectares with dimensions of 274.3 meters by 304.8 meters. The King's Island Turning Basin, with dimensions of 457.2 meters by 487.7 meters, covers 22 hectares. Vertical bridge clearance is 56.4 meters at high tide. The Ocean Terminal in the Port of Savannah handles breakbulk, roll-on/roll-off cargoes, containers, and heavy-lift and project cargoes.

The berths and slips at the Port of Savannah's Ocean Terminal are a total of 1758 meters long. Berths 1, 2, 12, 13, and 18 have alongside depth of 12.8 meters. Berths and slips range from 297 to 755 meters long. The Ocean Terminal contains a total of 132.6 thousand square meters of transit sheds and warehouses and over 3.3 thousand meters of rail siding. All sheds and warehouses are served by alongside rail and truck docks.

Sheds 1 and 2 cover almost 16 thousand square meters. Sheds 11 and 20 offer over 20 thousand square meters of storage space. Sheds 14 and 15 cover more than 19.8 thousand square meters. Sheds 16, 17, and 18 cover 10.6 thousand square meters, and shed 19 covers 5.3 thousand square meters. K Shed covers almost 6.2 thousand square meters.

Warehouses 1 and 2 each cover over 17.6 thousand square meters, and Warehouse 3 covers more than 19.3 thousand square meters.

The Port of Savannah's Ocean Terminal is constantly expanding and improving to meet the demands of the market. Plans are in place to further develop the site and enhance the services offered. The Ocean Terminal in the Port of Savannah has ample land area to accommodate growth.

The City of Savannah is a treasure of the Old South and a very popular tourist destination for visitors from around the world. In the last decade of the 20th Century, over 50 million visitors came to the Port of Savannah to enjoy its beautiful architecture, elaborate ironwork, many fountains, and lush squares.

The Port of Savannah's almost 300 years of history are evident in the beautifully preserved and restored structures that include Georgia's oldest standing brick fort, the US's oldest pre-Civil War railroad repair shop, and a great modern aviation museum. In addition to these attractions, the beaches of Tybee Island, the golf courses, and the salt marshes offer unlimited opportunities for outdoor and water-related fun. There are far too many places to see and things to do in Savannah than can be covered here. If you would like to know more about the city's attractions, visit the Savannah Area Convention and Visitors Bureau website.
The Port of Savannah enjoys a subtropical climate with hot humid summers and cool dry winters. Outdoor activities are possible throughout the year, although the hot summer days are often punctuated by afternoon thunderstorms. Temperatures range from an average high of 33 °C (91 °F) in July to an average low of 3 °C (37 °F) in January. The rainiest time of the year is in August.

The Port of Savannah has many historic districts, but the National Historic Landmark District contains the original planned city that was established by James Oglethorpe in 1733. The area contains the many squares surrounded by 18th-, 19th-, and 20th Century buildings.

The historic buildings that are popular with visitors include the 1754 Pirates' House, an inn that Robert Louis Stevenson mentioned in his famous book, Treasure Island. The 1734 Herb House is Georgia's oldest building. The Pink House is the site of the first bank in Georgia. The 1821 birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., is now a museum for that organization. The 1812 Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences was one of the first museums in the South. The city also contains many early churches, including the 1788 First African Baptist Church and the Temple Mickeve Israel, the third-oldest synagogue in the United States.