Jimmy Lyons, director and chief executive officer for the Port Authority, noted the significance of the first Post-Panamax shipment of Brazilian produced product. "Our infrastructure investments at the Port of Mobile to handle larger vessels are beginning to pay off for our shippers" said Lyons. "Several steel and coal customers were able to take advantage of economies of scale and the port's harbor conditions available to this ship call." The Port of Mobile's 45-foot channel and new turning basin, along with the Authority's new terminal infrastructure, Post-Panamax cranes and inland transportation connections, easily handle increased cargo volumes to fill this larger class of ships.
Shippers also took advantage of inland waterway connections available at the port. 100 percent of the steel shipments through Pinto Terminal will reach the end user via the Tombigbee River, while nearly 40 percent of the export coal loaded to the BRITANNIA G traveled along the Warrior Tombigbee Waterway. Inland waterways provide shippers with lower freight rates and more fuel efficiency per freight ton mile than surface transportation modes.
The U-SEABULK operated vessel, M/V BRITANNIA G, discharged the slabs at Pinto Steel Terminal then shifted to McDuffie Coal Terminal to load 110,990 short tons of Alabama produced export coal bound for Spain. The M/V BRITANNIA G is an 114,470 DWT vessel measuring 838 feet in length and 142 feet in width. Page & Jones, LLC served as the vessel's inbound agent and Seacliff Agencies, LLC served as the ship's outbound agent.
The Alabama State Port Authority, which owns and operates both Pinto Steel Terminal and McDuffie Coal Terminal, and its customers have invested over $600 million in general cargo, bulk and containerized freight terminals located on the lower harbor. Both terminals, along with the new container terminal, utilize new Post-Panamax gantry cranes, new optic and computer technology, a new lower harbor turning basin, and a year-round 45-foot draft channel.