Savannah deepening to get 2nd look

More than a decade ago, Georgia officials developed a plan for deepening the Savannah shipping channel and, for all these years, prepared for growth according to it.

Only in recent weeks did Charleston's former Coast Guard captain of the port come forward with a fresh assessment showing how those old studies underestimated the amount of work required.

After publicly denouncing John Cameron's findings, officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah took a look at them recently and decided he may have a point.

Cameron, who retired in 2007 as the Coast Guard's Charleston sector commander, studied the waterway on behalf of the local harbor pilots group as the plans advance for a joint South Carolina-Georgia port terminal in Jasper County. He contends that a safer extension for navigation purposes would reach 13 to 20 miles into the sea, not the four to five miles as Georgia officials once thought.

"On all three dimensions -- length, width and depth -- it's insufficient," Cameron said.

After viewing Cameron's presentation, Savannah-based Army Corps project manager Alan Garrett said he and colleagues plan to run a new series of detailed surveys.

"It probably would've been caught in successive reviews," Garrett said. "The fact that he caught that now helps us, and we're taking advantage of that."

The original studies relied on a state-of-the-art harbor simulator, according to Army Corps officials. Project manager Jason O'Kane said the survey showed the depth in a small area and did not take into account a nearby shallow spot.

The Corps of Engineers expects to have new studies ready within about a week.

The channel now reaches 42 feet to 44 feet in depth, but an expansion of the Panama Canal anticipates larger ships that require about 50 feet of depth starting in about five years. The International Maritime Organization recommends 120 percent of the target ship draft, which would bring the total to 60 feet.

The most attractive ports for those larger container carriers will provide more space for safe passage. But gaining even a few feet proves enormously expensive because it requires moving a considerable amount of material.

Extending the channel in the Savannah River would mean South Carolina and Georgia would share the cost of a much more extensive dredging project, though dollar amounts are not yet available.

The Army Corps' analysis does not take into account the proposed Jasper terminal, only the build-out at existing Georgia port facilities.

But as Cameron pointed out, "They might not be able to get their deepening unless they get the benefit from the South Carolina side, too."

Cameron first made his presentation in early October before South Carolina lawmakers. Since then, he has taken it to Lowcountry environmental and maritime groups.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.