The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) issued a letter of intent on June 2 to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Adam Telle, detailing plans to start a Savannah harbour modification feasibility study.
Working in partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the state agency intends to evaluate deepening the channel and adding passing lanes for simultaneous, two-way ship traffic.
Georgia Ports President and Chief Executive Officer, Griff Lynch, stated that the channel needs to be expanded to better accommodate the largest ships currently serving Savannah and to prepare for even larger vessels expected by the authority to serve the US East Coast.
These improvements will coincide with the construction of five new container berths and the development of the new Gainesville Inland Port.
“By initiating this study, we are taking a proactive step to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a competitive asset,” said GPA Board Chairman Alec Poitevint. The study was authorised under the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, receiving an initial $500,000 in federal funding from the fiscal 2026 budget of Congress.
While USACE will provide technical assistance and retain final review authority, the feasibility study will assess market demands and project future vessel sizes to guide harbour modifications.
GPA explained that a deeper channel is required to allow large ships to load more cargo and avoid tidal delays, maximising overall gateway efficiency.
The Savannah River shipping channel has been expanded three times since 1945, when it was first dredged to 38 feet (11.6 metres).
Following a subsequent deepening to 42 feet (12.8 metres) in 1994, the channel was most recently dredged to 47 feet (14.3 metres) in 2022 under the Savannah harbour expansion project.
Federal impact studies and seven years of construction delayed the completion of the 2022 project, which was designed more than 20 years earlier for ships carrying 8,200 TEU.
Currently, the port serves vessels capable of carrying more than 16,000 TEU, which is twice the capacity the channel was originally designed to accommodate.
Upon completion of the study, USACE will recommend whether Congress should authorise the expansion of the Savannah harbour. Any proposed physical work would then require further congressional authorisation along with federal and non-federal construction funding.
