Port of Philadelphia Gets Korean Cars
Ship arrives from Korea - first load of 18,000 cars
Port of Philadelphia Gets Korean Cars
Tom Gralish, Inquirer Staff Photographer
A ship loaded with new Hyundai and Kia cars docked at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia Monday evening. They were to be unloaded on Tuesday. This is the first of six ships that have already sailed from Korea with 18,000 cars arriving here in the next month. I made this photo from the NJ side of the river.
As Hyundai has only one manufacturing facility in the country (in Alabama) most of the vehicles sold in the US are imported, so Philadelphia's new auto-finishing facility could see some 100 ships a year filled with cars - and a few hundred new jobs. I'd been sent downstream to Marcus Hook to photograph its arrival on the Delaware River.
I had no idea what a car carrier ship looked like, and had been told it would have the words "Hyundai" on its side (another "sign" photo - see yesterday's post)...
...as a shipped labeled EUKOR passed, I shot a few frames and continued to await the arrival of the Korean ship.
Fortunately I'd been in touch with the river pilot's dispatcher or I'd still be waiting there in Municipal Park right next to the Sunoco Refinery.
After a while I started to wonder whether the EUKOR might have been "my" ship afterall. The dispatcher only knew the name of the ship, not what color it was or what the 30 foot tall letters on the side spelled. However he did know that it had indeed already passed me. So I chased it up I-95.
I missed it at Ft. Mifflin. I couldn't see past the airport, so decided not to risk exiting the freeway.
Crossing on the Girard Point Bridge I spotted it just beyond the Aker Shipyard at the mouth of the Schuylkill River.
I tried to head it off at the Philadelphia Navy Yard but was turned away at the gate. The home of Tastykakes and Urban Outfitters closes to the public at 1800 hours.
With public access even more limited above the port, I headed toward the Walt Whitman Bridge, and made it over to Gloucester City's Proprietor's Park in time to watch the tugs move it into position.
So let me get this right. Our military has 38,000 troops and is in total control of defending S. Korea (at the cost of billions) so they can manufacture and sell us automobiles. Sound economic trade policy? Clever move on who's part.— Tommy33
Still not as bad as oil companies, who operate virtually tax free, leasing "our" federal land for a song, so they can pump "our" oil out of it, refine it, and sell it back to us for massive profit. Still, 100 ships a year, generating hundreds of jobs is a good thing. With a port facility and the railcar facility, Hyundai seems to have taken a shine to South Philadelphia, so maybe when it comes time to expand their US operations they will look to this region as well.— Pelti- Nice hustle on the part of the photographer!— J H
- The U.S. is not in total control of defending S. Korea. The South Korean armed forces are 650,000 active and 3 million reserves. Also the reason for the US entering the conflict was to fight Communism, and the US is technically operating under the auspices of the UN.— Politburo
- Pelti, I hope you're right. Jobs of all kinds are needed, especially of this type.— NickFromGermantown
- Politburo: This is true. The Seoul government was supposed to take over command in 2008. They refused, saying they're not ready until 2015. A mere 75 years after the Korean war. Communism, that died in 1989.— Tommy33
- The channel deepening isn't for autocarriers, it's for oil tankers and container ships. They dredge the channel constantly, keeping it at the current depth, all the opposition is just a front because New Jersey doesn't want to lose tonnage from the north of the state, but shipping companies want to restore Philly as a major port— Pelti
