PORT OF SAVANNAH IMPROVEMENTS AIM TO ACCOMMODATE GROWING VOLUMES

PORT OF SAVANNAH IMPROVEMENTS AIM TO ACCOMMODATE GROWING VOLUMES    Recent improvements in gate operations and additional cranes at the Georgia Port's Authority's Port of Savannah are helping address record growth in container volume.
   The port authority recently added two Super Post-Panamax cranes, at a cost of $11.6 million. The cranes, which will be operational within 45 days, 'are 20 percent larger in size and have hoist speeds almost 50 percent faster than existing cranes in service at the Port of Savannah,' said Doug Marchand, executive director for the port authority.
   The port authority has also recently added four additional gate clerks from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays to improve gate moves, and has approved budget expenditures of up to $1.5 million to improve existing container interchange lanes. The port authority has also hired an additional 100 field service employees.
   During the first seven months of the port authority's fiscal year, the Port of Savannah has handled a record 888,149 TEUs, a 34.6-percent increase or an additional 228,175 units over fiscal 2002. The port handled 130,681 TEUs in January, 53 percent ahead of January 2002.