The Georgia Ports Authority has started a new harbor modification study process that could eventually lead to another round of navigation improvements in Savannah Harbor, including a deeper channel and passing lanes for two-way ship traffic.
GPA said it issued a letter of intent to the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works and will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a Savannah Harbor modification study under Section 203 of the Water Resources Development Act. The study was authorized under the 2024 water resources law and received $500,000 in initial federal funding for fiscal 2026.
The study will examine whether the shipping channel should be deepened and whether selected portions should be widened to create passing lanes. Those lanes could allow arriving and departing large vessels to transit simultaneously, reducing some of the scheduling constraints associated with one-way movements and tidal windows.
The Corps will provide technical assistance and retain final review and approval authority over the study, including environmental and economic analysis. The study itself does not authorize construction. If the Corps ultimately recommends additional harbor modifications, Congress would still have to authorize a project and federal and nonfederal funding would have to be secured.
Savannah Harbor was last deepened in 2022, when the federal navigation channel reached 47 feet below mean lower low water. Georgia Ports says Savannah now serves ships capable of carrying more than 16,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units, substantially larger than the vessel class contemplated when the previous expansion was originally designed.
For Savannah’s maritime community, any future channel changes could affect vessel drafts, transit windows, pilotage, tug operations, berth scheduling and maintenance dredging. The study will also examine potential effects on the Savannah River estuary before any construction recommendation is made.