Doug J. Marchand, Executive Director of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), announced two new all-water services to the Port of Savannah, one via the Suez Canal and one via the Panama Canal. These new services further cement the Port of Savannah as the South Atlantic port of choice for ocean commerce.

'I would like to thank our ocean carrier and cargo partners for their confidence that the GPA can grow their business at Savannah's rapidly expanding facilities,' said Marchand. 'These new services are a direct result of GPA's successful efforts to stay ahead of the growth curve and invest in terminal improvements and expansion.'

The new Suez NWA service, the weekly Suez Express (SZX), will provide increased capacity via Savannah to and from India and Southeast Asia, deploying eight vessels. APL will provide five ships, and Hyundai Merchant Marine and Mitsui OSK Lines will provide the other three vessels.

The SZX, which will originate in Singapore, calls on Colombo before Savannah then returns via Jebel Ali, Port Kelang and then Singapore. It will take just 25 days for the SZX service to transit from Singapore to Savannah.

The new Panama Canal NWA service, the weekly East Coast Savannah Express (ESX), will provide increased capacity between South and Central China and Savannah. The ESX will deploy eight vessels: one from APL, two from non-NWA partner line CMA CGM, three operated by HMM and two operated by MOL.

The ESX, named the SAX by CMA CGM, will offer a transit time of just 22 days from Hong Kong to Savannah making this service the fastest available to the US East Coast. The ESX will originate in Ningbo then call on Shanghai, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Panama and then Savannah, New York, Norfolk, Panama and back to Ningbo.

Both services will make inaugural calls on Savannah this summer.

'The ability of South Atlantic ports to accommodate future growth both in terminal capacity and with nearby acreage for distribution centers is a very real issue for our customers,' said Marchand. 'Savannah continues to be the nation's fastest growing container port. We provide solutions that allow our customers to grow their business on and off the terminal for years to come. Additionally, our single-terminal design incorporates on-terminal rail service by two class 1 rail carriers, Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation, which is unequaled by any other South Atlantic container port.'