Every member of Congress from Georgia signed a letter calling for a study to determine whether the busy shipping channel to the Port of Savannah needs to be deepened again after a $937 million harbor expansion that was just completed in 2022.
The offices of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Rep. Buddy Carter on Tuesday released a copy of the letter sent to top-ranking members of the House and Senate committees that would handle legislation to authorize a study.
The Georgia Ports Authority is pushing for Congress to consider another round of deepening Savannah’s shipping channel. The agency’s leaders say ever-growing classes of cargo ships need deeper water to reach the port with full loads at lower tides — even though less than two years have passed since the Army Corps of Engineers finished the last project, which added 5 feet of depth to the waterway.
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Savannah has the fourth-busiest U.S. seaport for cargo shipped in containers — giant metal boxes used to transport goods ranging from consumer electronics to frozen chickens. Savannah handled 4.9 million container units of imports and exports in the 2023 calendar year.
The letter signed by Georgia’s two Democratic senators and each of its House members — nine Republicans and five Democrats — argues that “we cannot sit back” as increasing percentages of ships arriving at Savannah have to wait for higher tides to reach the port.
“Such restrictions prevent the Port of Savannah from operating efficiently and at full capacity, significantly and unnecessarily limiting the nation’s waterborne commerce,” the lawmakers’ letter states.
Dated Jan. 26, the letter was sent to the chairs and ranking minority party members of the Senate Environment and Public Works and the House Transportation and Infrastructure committees.
Before another round of dredging could begin, Congress would have to authorize a feasibility study as part of a…
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