Ro / Ro Shipping : The Year Ahead

Special Report

Port of Brunswick ( pictured ) handled 86,577 units of ro / ro cargo in May , up 26 % from 2023 . GPA

Brunswick sees ro / ro surge at amid investment , Baltimore diversions

By Keith Wallis

Approximately half of the May increase in machinery volumes and about 15 % of the May growth in autos was due to shipments diverted from Baltimore , GPA said .

“ Brunswick saw a larger impact on machinery because most units were exports that had to be sent to GPA well before Baltimore ’ s ro / ro channel reopened in mid-May ,” the port authority said in a statement June 25 .

The increase at Brunswick was also partly due to the shift of ro / ro cargo previously handled at GPA ’ s Ocean Terminal in Savannah . Vessel movements at the Colonel ’ s Island Terminal climbed 27 % to 57 ships in May , against 45 in May 2023 .

High and heavy equipment diversions from the Port of Baltimore helped Georgia ’ s Brunswick port post record volumes of roll-on / roll-off ( ro / ro ) cargo in May , according to the Georgia Ports Authority ( GPA ).

Brunswick could overtake Baltimore as the busiest ro / ro gateway in the US , at least in the short term , partly because operations at the Maryland port were severely restricted following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 .

Full access to Baltimore ’ s main ro / ro facility , the Dundalk Marine Terminal , was restored June 10 , according to the US Coast Guard . But beyond diverted ro / ro volumes , Brunswick is increasingly out to challenge Baltimore ’ s dominant position as the top ro / ro and auto port in the US with the development of new facilities and new deals with ro / ro ocean carriers .

Brunswick handled 86,577 units of ro / ro cargo in May , a 26 % year-over-year increase , including nearly 78,000 automobiles and 4,300 units of high and heavy machinery , more than triple GPA ’ s monthly average from July 2023 through April .

From July 2023 through May , total ro / ro volumes rose 20 % year over year to 796,000 units . The port authority expects Brunswick to handle more than 860,000 units of ro / ro cargo at its Colonel ’ s Island Terminal by the end of its fiscal year , which runs through June .

“ Most units were exports that had to be sent to GPA well before Baltimore ’ s ro / ro channel reopened in mid-May .”

GPA recently added 120 acres of vehicle processing space , while “ hundreds ” of acres are available for development , it said . In April , ro / ro ocean carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen ( WW ) agreed to double the size of its Brunswick ro / ro terminal facilities to 155 acres , including the carrier ’ s first dedicated heavy machinery processing center . GPA is planning to build a fourth ro / ro berth at Colonel ’ s Island .

Meanwhile , GPA on June 27 announced that Flavio Batista would become its chief commercial officer , effective July 1 . Batista , who joined GPA as vice president of sales and marketing in January 2023 , came to GPA from WW . At WW , Batista served most recently as senior vice president and head of Americas sales , leading ocean and logistics commercial development and customer relations .

email : keithwallis @ hotmail . com

32 Journal of Commerce | July 29 , 2024 www . joc . com