The Port of Savannah is planning a $410 million renovation of one of its main terminals to make room for larger ships to dock and unload, while focusing operations almost entirely on containerized goods.

The project was given the go-ahead by the Georgia Ports Authority Board of Directors as part of a strategy to increase Savannah's freight container capacity by more than 50% by 2025.

Significant modifications for the 200-acre Ocean Terminal in Savannah, which already handles most of Georgia's general cargo, including lumber, paper and steel. In the coming year, those operations will move to the Port of Brunswick, which is about 70 miles south of Savannah.

Ocean Terminal will be modified to handle containerized cargo. These are large metal boxes used to transport items by ship, train or truck, from consumer electronics to frozen chicken. For an additional cost of $163 million, the terminal's berths will be renovated to accommodate the simultaneous operation of two large vessels by eight new ship-to-shore cranes.

The adjustments come after more than a year of frantic efforts by US seaports, especially Savannah, the US's fourth-largest container port, to keep pace with an increase in imports that left ships piled up offshore waiting to ship. to moor. Shippers had to transfer cargo to Savannah and other ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast due to heavy traffic delays for the West Coast.