Georgia Ports Authority Welcomes 8,500-TEU Vessel

CMA CGM Figaro marks the largest container vessel to call on Port of Savannah

On Firday, August 27, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) welcomed the largest vessel ever to call on the Port of Savannah today when the 8,500-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) M/V CMA CGM Figaro docked at Garden City Terminal.

"The future of shipping is here today,” said GPA’s Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz. “The arrival of the Figaro is a view into the future of shipping between Asia and the U.S. East Coast once the new locks on the Canal become operational in 2014/2015.”

The Figaro, at nearly 1,100 feet long with a 140-foot beam, was the largest CMA CGM container ship ever to call on the United States, when it visited the U.S. West Coast in June 2010. It is one of the most technologically advanced, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vessels in the market today and was built by Samsung Heavy Industry in South Korea.

“CMA CGM is honored to participate with the GPA in the official welcoming ceremony marking the arrival of the 8,500-TEU CMA CGM Figaro,” said Frank J. Baragona, President, CMA CGM (America) LLC. “The CMA CGM Figaro marks a new era in global container shipping capacity serving Savannah and the South Atlantic Regional markets and represents our commitment to expansion and growth in the U.S. trades.”

The Figaro is part of the Columbus Loop service, which has been calling on Savannah since June 2009. Its rotation includes Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, New York, N.Y., Norfolk, Va., Savannah, Ga., Seattle, Wash., Vancouver, Canada and Yokohama.

“The Figaro comes to us through the Suez Canal, but will be restricted in its loading capacity in Savannah from its designed draft of 49.5 feet,” said Foltz. “The Figaro is a current reminder of why the deepening of our waterways is so critical to economic and job growth for our region."

In order to more efficiently handle vessels like the Figaro, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) will deepen the river from its current 42 foot depth to as much as 48 feet. This project – one of the most important and productive civil works projects in the country – will maintain and create jobs and commerce throughout the region.

Almost $40 million has been spent on environmental and other work associated with the SHEP. The results of these studies will help to ensure that all of the impacts associated with the project will be avoided, reduced or mitigated. The SHEP is widely supported by Georgia's state leadership, which has appropriated $105 million of construction funds to date.

“The visit by CMA CGM Figaro signifies the importance of the deepening project for Georgia, the Southeast and the entire nation,” said GPA’s Chairman of the Board Alec L. Poitevint. “With 70 percent of the US population served by the East Coast ports, it is critical that our infrastructure is ready for these vessels to efficiently deliver commerce to the majority of the American population. This port has the facility and the equipment to handle the largest vessels calling on the U.S. East Coast.”

CMA CGM, based in Marseille, France, is the world’s third largest container shipping company. It operates 352 vessels on 170 shipping routes linking 150 countries.

Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 295,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $15.5 billion in income, $61.7 billion in revenue and $2.6 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy.

www.gaports.com

FACT SHEET

CMA CGM Figaro

8,500-TEU capacity; 1095 feet long and 139 feet wide; 700 refrigerated cargo electrical plugs
It was delivered in June 2010 and is one of the most technologically advanced, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vessels in the market today.

Columbus Loop Service

CMA CGM is continuing to phase in 8,500-TEU vessels on the Columbus service jointly operated with Maersk (TP3) and covering the USWC/Far East/USEC trade via the Suez.
he service has operated with 15 vessels of around 6,500-TEU capacity, but is expected to gradually increase capacity deployment through 8,000+ TEU vessels
Columbus Loop service rotation: Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, New York, N.Y., Norfolk, Va., Savannah, Ga., Tanjung Pelepas, Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai, Seattle, Wash., Vancouver, Canada, Yokohama and Shanghai.

CMA CGM and the Georgia Ports Authority

The GPA has nine CMA CGM services. The following trades reached by these services have the number of services calling on them listed in parenthesis: North Europe (4), the Mediterranean (3), Northeast Asia (2), Southeast Asia (2), Latin America/Caribbean (2), the Middle East (2), South Asia (1) and Oceania (1).
From FY2005 through FY2010, CMA CGM trade (in TEUs) with GPA grew 352 percent and in the last FY2010 alone, that trade grew 16 percent.

Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal

Within the 1,200-acre terminal is a container-handling facility featuring nine contiguous berths totaling 9,693 linear feet, 23 container cranes; 12 of which are super post-Panamax capacity and 11 are post-Panamax capacity.
Previously the largest vessel to call on the Port of Savannah was the MSC Alessia (6,732-TEUs) which first called on Garden City Terminal in January 2006.

Savannah Harbor Expansion Project

In order to more efficiently handle vessels like the Figaro, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) will deepen the river from its current 42 foot depth to as much as 48 feet.
This project – one of the most important and productive civil works projects in the country – will maintain and create jobs and commerce throughout the region.
Almost $40 million has been spent on environmental and other work associated with the SHEP. The results of these studies will help to ensure that all of the impacts associated with the project will be avoided, reduced or mitigated.
The SHEP is widely supported by Georgia's state leadership, which has appropriated $105 million of construction funds to date.