Correction: This version of the story clarifies the fact that the Port of Wilmington can currently accomodate a 7,500 TEU vessel, but enhancements underway will allow the port to handle two larger ones simultaneously.

With the completion of Panama Canal expansion just weeks away, a PNC economist is talking about just what kind of economic impact the larger canal will likely have on the Port of Wilmington and its neighboring East Coast ports.

In a report released Monday by PNC Financial, company economist Mekael Teshome said that while the rising tide of ship traffic will lift all ports equipped to handle the huge ships that now can navigate the wider canal, Miami could benefit most because of its international import/export business.

That doesn’t mean, however, there is not a major role for the Port of Wilmington, he said in an interview Monday afternoon.

“Wilmington’s strategy shouldn’t be quite the same as Miami’s,” he said, explaining that the Port of Wilmington’s geographic limitations will keep it from accommodating the biggest of the new ships.

“There are two things to keep in mind: to maintain the business [the Port of Wilmington] has and to stay relevant with the trends of bigger ships coming,” he said. “North Carolina is a growing state economically and Wilmington’s strategy should focus more on North Carolina’s development - the port playing more of a role in the state rather than competing with, say, Savannah. As the state’s population grows, there will be more demand for imports and exports throughout the state. The port needs to accommodate the demand.”

The creation of a new, larger lane in the 48-mile Panama Canal has been nine years in the making and has cost $7 billion, according to the PNC report. Work began in September 2007; the widened canal is expected to open June 27.

The N.C. State Ports Authority is spending about $100 million on enhancements at the Port of Wilmington to accommodate the larger ships, said ports authority spokesman Cliff Pyron. The new ships can measure up to 1,400 in length, 180 feet in width and 60 feet in depth, although Wilmington won't be seeing ships that large.

Enhancement projects include expansion of the ship turning basin, replacement of one berth and improvement of another and installation of new post-Panamax container cranes, Pyron has stated previously.

Currently, the Port of Wilmington can handle one 7,500 TEU-size vessel, but the improvements will allow it to accommodate two vessels of up to 10,000 TEUs at the same time, Pyron said Monday. He added that the largest ships currently using the Port of Wilmington are about 4,500 TEUs, but this will change after the canal expansion.

Part of the improvement funds come from a total of $70 million included for the North Carolina ports in the current biennial state budget.

The Panama Canal expansion is the largest project at the canal since it opened in August 1914, according to the canal’s website, which added that the project has created a new lane of traffic along the canal through the construction of a new set of locks, doubling the waterway’s capacity. Currently, the canal can accommodate only smaller vessels – those with a capacity of up to 5,000 TEUs [20-foot equivalent units – the size of a standard cargo container]. After the expansion the much larger Post-Panamax vessels, carrying up to 14,000 TEUs, will be able to navigate the waterway, the website stated.

“Every port is trying to get a slice of the pie,” Teshome said in the report.“Ten percent of traffic that currently goes through the West Coast will be diverted to the East Coast ports. This should translate into millions of dollars for the shipping industry.”

Asked if ports in North Carolina and other right-to-work states could woo even more cargo from competitors on the West Coast especially, Teshome said Monday that it would be hard to predict that, since there are so many factors that influence shipping destination decisions.