Ribbon Cutting Marks Mobile Harbor Deepening
The Alabama Port Authority marked a milestone October 13 as the Mobile Harbor reached its authorized 50-foot depth—an upgrade leaders said will shape Alabama’s economy for decades. At the center of the celebration was former Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who has long been credited as the project’s unwavering champion.
Alabama Port Authority Board Chair Zeke Smith opened the program by welcoming federal, state and local officials and thanking partners across the maritime supply chain. He underscored what many other would throughout the event: “We truly would not be here today if it weren’t for Sen. Richard Shelby and Gov. Kay Ivey.”
The state-federal partnership, anchored by congressional authorizations and appropriations on one side and the Rebuild Alabama Act on the other, “brought this transformative project to completion,” Smith said.
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who once served as Shelby’s chief of staff, put a fine point on his role. When asked about Shelby’s priorities, she recalled answering, “the port, the port and the port.”
From authorizing Mobile to 50 feet in 2018 to securing energy and water appropriations to fund the dig, Shelby insisted Alabama compete at world scale, Britt said.
“His advocacy has been transformative for this port,” she said, adding that deepening Mobile Harbor “positions Alabama and America for greater economic opportunity” by moving Alabama-made goods across the globe.
Shelby, greeted with sustained applause, traced the idea back two decades to a visit in Singapore where he watched crews take a harbor deeper to handle the world’s biggest ships. Returning home after that visit, he pressed the case: “We need to dig the port deeper to 50 feet.”
It would take time, money and help, he acknowledged, but the payoff was clear—bigger vessels, faster transits from the Panama Canal and a uniquely intermodal hub where deepwater, five railroads and two interstates converge.
“Mobile is unique,” Shelby said. “You’ve got a jewel here. You’ve got to keep building on it.”
Ivey, in a recorded message delivered by Chief of Staff Liz Fillmore, called Mobile “the port of Alabama” and praised legislators who supported the gas-tax measure that secured the state’s 25 percent share through the Rebuild Alabama Act. The payoff, she said, is lower shipping costs, more efficient trade and stronger competitiveness, which benefits industries from defense firms in Huntsville, Ala., to coal mines in the middle of the state and manufacturers on the coast.
Leaders from APM Terminals Mobile noted more than $350 million invested in cranes and yard infrastructure alongside public funds, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—represented by Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Adam Tuttle and Mobile District Commander Col. Kelsey Shaw—was recognized for delivering a deeper, safer, more efficient channel.
As the program closed, Interim Port Director & CEO Doug Otto invited guests to the east side of the dock for a fitting finale: an on-water ribbon cutting aboard the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey vessel Dam Row, officially marking Mobile Harbor’s deepening and opening a new chapter for Alabama’s gateway to the world.
Featured image caption: Confetti falls on federal, state and local leaders at the Port of Mobile, Ala., October 13 in celebration of the deepening of the Mobile Harbor to 50 feet. (Photo courtesy of the Alabama Port Authority)
