The final phase of a five-year project to modernize the Port of Mobile has begun. When it’s complete in early 2025, the state port will be the deepest on the Gulf of Mexico with a three-mile passing lane for massive cargo ships.
APM Terminals, which operates containerized shipping at the port, has added two new ship-to-shore cranes, a $40 million investment.
“Once complete, this project will provide a major advantage to shippers, creating even more opportunity for economic development, not just in Mobile but across our state and region,” said Director & CEO John Driscoll.
“Vessel operators seek economies of scale through deploying larger ships and prioritize calling ports with the capability of handling these larger ships. After vessels transit the Panama Canal, we expect Mobile to be the first port of call in the Gulf because of our 50-foot depth. This means more cargo will be offloaded in Alabama, and then the vessels will go on to more shallow Gulf ports,” said the port’s Chief Commercial Officer Beth Branch. “Beyond the increased depth, cargo owners know that when their container lands in Mobile, it will be moving through one of the most efficient container terminals in the U.S., which has the capacity and fluidity to get cargo to its destination quickly.”
Moreover, dredge material from the massive project has been dedicated to three projects, all identified as beneficial in an assessment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the start of the modernization.
Dredge material has been designated for the Dauphin Island Causeway, Deer River and Relic Shell.
“Dauphin Island benefits not only from the Port’s economic impact but also from the environmentally beneficial use of material from projects like the deepening and widening,” said Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier. “With the breakwaters complete and thanks to a partnership between Mobile County, the Port, and the Corps, the shoreline restoration of our causeway — which is the only way on or off Dauphin Island by road — is now ready to take material from phase six of the harbor project. Separately, we plan to continue working with the Corps on beach replenishment efforts using material dredged from regular ship channel maintenance.”
“The Alabama Port Authority serves all 67 counties in the state of Alabama and oversees the deep-water public port facilities at the Port of Mobile,” the port said in announcing the next steps of the project. “In addition to interstate, air, and rail, the Port Authority’s container, general cargo, and bulk facilities have immediate access to nearly 15,000 miles of inland waterways.”
