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February 4, 1999 9:06 AM, EST

Representatives from four ports have urged Congress to allot funds to help deepen and modify their facilities.

Calling for enactment of the Water Resources Development Act were spokesmen for the ports of Baltimore; Oakland, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; as well as Savannah and Brunswick, Ga., at a news conference recently in Washington, D.C.

Port officials cited as a major problem the need for deeper ports able to accommodate newer ships, especially the larger container vessels.

Rick Ferrin, speaking for the Port of Jacksonville, calculated the value of dredging, saying "every added foot of depth means 300 containers on a ship."

Kurt Nagle, president of the American Association of Port Authorities, said Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, plans to introduce a measure identical to one that passed the Senate last year.

That bill was defeated in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.