This Northwest Seaport Alliance graphic shows water depths necessary to accommodate different sized ships. The 20,000 TEU capacity ships are driving the latest round of upgrades.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [has agreed] to share the $3 million cost of studying navigation changes to boost the business potential for Blair and Sitcum waterways at the Port of Tacoma.
The industry’s move to megaships started to gain momentum a few years ago. The ships have a cargo capacity of 20,000-plus TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit; one TEU equals a 20-foot shipping container), allowing reduced staffing per container and fewer ports of call.
One reason for combining the market potential of the Tacoma and Seattle ports through the alliance was to acknowledge the industry change and attract these types of ships.
A similar study for the alliance’s North Harbor in Seattle recommended deepening to 57 feet, “paving the way to make it the deepest port in the nation,” according to the release.
Tacoma is now at about 51 feet.