News in Photos: The SHEP Kick-Off Event

Recovering the CSS Georgia ironclad scuttled on the Savannah River floor marks the first action undertaken under the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP).

Col. Thomas Tickner, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District commander, yesterday hosted this kick-off event at Old Fort Jackson in Savannah, Georgia, marking the beginning of construction on the SHEP.

The SHEP will deepen the Savannah harbor and the associated shipping channel from an authorized depth of 42 feet to 47 feet. This deepening will allow larger, more efficient container vessels to use the east coast’s second busiest container harbor with fewer weight and tidal restrictions.

“This event marks the first construction work on the Savannah Harbor Expansion project. We are marking today as the first tangible sign of deepening this harbor,” Tickner said.

The Savannah District awarded the initial contract for recovery of the CSS Georgia to Dial Cordy and Associates of Jacksonville, Florida. Panamerican Consultants of Memphis, Tennessee will conduct field work.

Five phases of the recovery project will include an archaeological phase, large artifact and casemate recovery, mechanized recovery, archaeological clearance of the wreck site, and reburial of select artifacts and casemate sections.

Source: USACE