Numbers up for US ports in Panama Canal expansion
Monday, September 24, 2012

In the competitive shipping industry, there is a lot of talk about numbers. But there is only one metric that matters to ports east of the Mississippi: 50.
“Fifty is the magic number,” a Coast Guard official said. That is the depth in feet needed for a port to be able to successfully receive the post-Panamax ships that will, within 20 years, carry the vast majority of global commerce.
Many ports that now rest at 43 to 45 feet are digging and dredging to get there; Norfolk, Va., is ready, as is Baltimore. New York and New Jersey are hoping, but they have to elevate the Bayonne Bridge near Staten Island to make it happen. Boston would have a long way to dig.
Source: Boston Globe