USA: Global Container Terminals Unveils Plans for Major Expansion Project

Global Container Terminals Inc., a leading North American marine terminal operator with facilities on both coasts, has unveiled final plans for a multi-million dollar expansion project to develop a 70-acre technologically advanced container terminal on the Bayonne, NJ, waterfront. When complete, Global Terminal at Port Jersey will be the most advanced marine terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The expanded facility, scheduled to open in 2014, will improve the competitiveness of the Port of New York and New Jersey with a world-class terminal designed to handle the largest container vessels at greater throughput density per acre. New container handling technology will achieve higher efficiency while improving safety and security for the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), AFL-CIO workforce.

“The new Global development project, in addition to the many improvements currently underway, clearly demonstrates a long-term commitment from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to protect the port’s preeminent position as a critical U.S. gateway for global commerce,” said James Devine, President and CEO, Global Container Terminals USA.

The Port Authority acquired the land for the project adjoining Global’s existing facility in 2007, ensuring that scarce waterfront property would be used for waterfront business. A new shared gate configuration on the Port Jersey peninsula for both the existing Global facility and the new expansion area will increase trucking efficiency while mitigating potential environmental impact. In addition, Global Terminal will offer seamless intermodal rail connections via the adjacent redeveloped Greenville rail transfer facility.

From the start, the Global project will create significant employment opportunity through both the construction phase and operation of the facility. ILA labor will continue to be used at the existing Global facility as well as the new expansion area. “We anticipate adding more advanced job opportunities as we improve the competitiveness and throughput of the port,” said Mr. Devine. “We will provide the training as well as the job opportunities for ILA workers to transition into the next generation of container handling. At Global and at New York Container Terminal in Staten Island, we want to continue building a vibrant working waterfront in the Port of New York and New Jersey.”

Both the existing Global Terminal and the expansion area are situated on New York Bay, ahead of the entrance to the Kill Van Kull. Ships calling at Global do not transit under the Bayonne Bridge, eliminating air draft limitations. With 50 feet of water depth at its new berths, Global Terminal will be able to handle the largest container vessels in the world. The terminal will have total capacity to move 1.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per year, making it one of the most efficient port terminals in the country based on throughput density per acre.

“Our expanded Global Terminal facility will come on line precisely in time to help meet the demands of larger vessels transiting the Suez Canal and new wider Panama Canal,” said Mr. Devine. “Since the earliest days of this country, the bi-state port has been the engine that drives the region. We plan to be a very important piston in that engine going into the future.”

Global Terminal sits on a small footprint in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty in a region that accounted for significant industrial growth in the 20th century. Mr. Devine said: “We are not the largest international marine terminal in the bi-state port, but our impact will be great as we bring the 21st century technology here. This is American ingenuity at its finest–government and private interests working together to develop an international terminal that will be a safe haven for longshoremen, an employment engine for the region, and a green gateway for cargo moving to and from the United States and the world.”

The terminal development project is expected to create construction-related jobs over the next three years. It will generate new high-technology longshoremen positions and contribute significantly to the more than $6.4 billion in additional personal and business income the port is expected to generate from capital investments through 2017. In 2010, the New York-New Jersey Port Industry supported 170,770 direct jobs, 279,200 total jobs in the New York/New Jersey region, about $11.6 billion in annual personal income and $37.1 billion in annual business income. Port-related construction and investment activity since 2006 has supported 15,800 direct jobs, 27,500 jobs across the region, about $1.3 billion in personal income and more than $2.9 billion in business income.

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Dredging Today Staff, May 10, 2012; Image: globalterminals