SAVANNAH — The Port of Savannah is America’s third-busiest shipping facility because of efficiency.

Cargo moves from ship to shore to truck or train to regional distribution center within 24 hours. On Thursday, the Georgia Ports Authority received four pieces of equipment vital to speeding containers through Savannah.

A heavy lift cargo ship delivered four Super Post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes to the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal. The BigLift Barentsz, which measures 519 feet, carried the cranes up the Savannah River on Thursday afternoon. The unusual looking vessel passed River Street and under the Talmadge Bridge around 5:45 p.m.

The Port of Savannah took delivery of four new ship-to-shore cranes Thursday. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

icon to expand image

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

The cranes are the “workhorses of container port operations,” according to a GPA official. The four delivered Thursday will replace older equipment in Savannah’s 34-crane fleet, which allows dockworkers at the Garden City and Ocean terminals to service up to 10 ships at a time.

GPA purchased the cranes in January 2021 from Konecranes, a Finnish company with manufacturing facilities in China. The crane upgrades are part of a $1.9 billion infrastructure improvement plan.

“No other terminal in the nation can bring more cranes to bear, or match the efficiency, productivity and global connectivity of the Port of Savannah,” said Griff Lynch, Georgia Ports Authority president and CEO.

The Port of Savannah handles 11.2% of all container traffic in the U.S. Only the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York/New Jersey move more cargo.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Aerial photo shows demonstrators holding signs to oppose Trump’s immigration policies during “No Cake for False Kings” protest on the 17th Street NW Bridge, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Featured

Toi Cliatt, Trina Martin and her son, Gabe Watson, say they were traumatized when an FBI SWAT team raided their Atlanta home by mistake in 2017. (Courtesy of Institute for Justice)

Credit: Courtesy Institute for Justice