PhilaPort nears completion of deepening project

PhilaPort, the Port of Philadelphia, is nearing completion of the Delaware River Deepening Project. The project will create a 45-foot shipping channel capable of accommodating vessels as large as 14,500 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Additionally, the Packer Avenue Terminal, a $300 million public-private investment, is ready to accommodate additional capacity.

Increased capacity means improving the time for containers coming in and out of the terminal. The port is a day’s reach of 40 percent of the U.S. population.

“Our terminal is currently under capacity, meaning we could handle rerouted surplus bound for nearby congested terminals immediately without blinking an eye,” said David Whene, president of Greenwich Terminals, operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. “With ship productivity as high as 140 gross moves per hour, turn-times of under 40-minutes, and an abundance of available chassis, Packer Avenue offers carriers unparalleled efficiency in reaching the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.”

The terminal now has six super post-Panamax cranes in operation with a seventh arriving in August.

Increased capacity will lead to terminal-wide modernization improvements such as additional warehouse space, electrification, and lighting.

Over the past decade, the port has had 166 percent container growth. Last year, it handled 600,000 TEUs.

The goal is to reach 1 million TEUs annually.