Gov. Brian Kemp asking Georgia lawmakers to back another Savannah Harbor deepening

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp urged members of Georgia’s congressional delegation Monday to support a request by the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) for a study of the economic and environmental impacts of another deepening of Savannah Harbor.

The $1 billion Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) completed in March of last year was designed to accommodate containerized-cargo ships with capacities of up to 8,200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). However, vessels with capacities of more than 16,000 TEUs are now calling at the Port of Savannah.