Port of Brunswick
Port of Brunswick Profits Should Be Shared by the People
Elaine Brown believes and will work to guarantee that the Port’s present and projected wealth must and can be shared by the City to create more jobs, business opportunities and better housing and lives for the people of Brunswick.
The Port of Brunswick is now considered “the fastest growing port in North America.” In 2004, the ports of Savannah and Brunswick produced combined gross revenues of $35 Billion.
- Dredging of the port of Brunswick is nearly completed. A $19.1 Million federal funding allocation to complete the Harbor Deepening Project is slated for approval in 2005. This will take the harbor depth to 36 feet, sufficient to allow 80% of the ships at sea to dock there, and open the door to full-containerization of the port.
In May 2005, a new, Norwegian/Swedish-owned ship, capable of transporting 6,500 automobiles at once, more than any ship now sailing the seas, sailed from Nagasaki, Japan, on a maiden voyage to Brunswick and was able to dock at high tide because of its improved, compact structure.—This design change and the completion of dredging forecast the dominance of the Port of Brunswick in the business of global trade.
With the port’s growth and expansion, the tourism industry in Brunswick and environs will inevitably explode.
According to a 2002 study, recently reconsidered, the port of Brunswick’s best trading partner is the Caribbean. However, Brunswick’s geographic positioning, its portside rail lines and direct connection and links to interstate routes establish its desirability for shipping from and to all parts of the world. In addition, the Port of Brunswick is geographically located at the apex of the Bight of Georgia, which makes it even more attractive to shippers.
The Port of Brunswick has become one of the most productive ports on the East Coast for handling automobiles, heavy equipment and machinery, wood pulp, liner board, paper products, wheat, corn, soybeans, animal feed, gypsum, limestone, and perlite.— Notably, it is the primary port of import into the U.S. for Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo, Porsche, Jaquar/Landrover; and, for export, Ford, GM, Mercedes.
As Georgia House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R.-St. Simons) recently said, “The port of Brunswick is the economic engine of Coastal Georgia…Aside from tourism, it’s the key to the regional economy…driving the rest of the economy.”
Finally, it is historically noteworthy, given the predominance of blacks in Brunswick, that the Port of Brunswick was the last port where African captive slaves were imported into the U.S.—after the slave trade had been abolished.