8,500-TEU ship gives Savannah ?view into future?

8,500-TEU ship gives Savannah æview into futureÆ    The Georgia Ports Authority said the largest vessel ever to call on the Port of Savannah arrived Friday when the 8,500-TEU CMA CGM Figaro docked at Garden City Terminal.
   The port authority's Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz said the ship’s arrival was “a view into the future of shipping between Asia and the U.S. East Coast,” once the new locks on the Panama Canal become operational in 2014 or 2015.
   The ship is in the Columbus Loop service, which has called Savannah since June 2009. Columbus Loop service rotation is Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Tanjung Pelepas, Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai, Seattle, Vancouver, Yokohama and Shanghai.

The CMA CGM Figaro calls Savannah's Garden City Terminal.

   The service has operated with 15 vessels averaging 6,500 TEUs of capacity, but is expected to gradually increase capacity deployment through vessels larger than 8,000 TEUs.
   'The Figaro comes to us through the Suez Canal, but will be restricted in its loading capacity in Savannah from its designed draft of 49.5 feet,' said Foltz, saying it was a reminder of the need to deepen the Savannah River.