SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Gas prices have gone up dramatically over the past month and it’s affecting one Savannah tourist destination.
The Georgia Queen Riverboat in Savannah needs 4,500 gallons of diesel gas every 10 days just to stay afloat.
The boat can hold up to 10,000 gallons in total.
With today’s diesel fuel prices, their bill totals $40,000 each fill-up.
“We’ve seen about a two-dollar increase on fuel pricing this summer since about March,” said Johnathan Claughton, the president and CEO of the Reiver Street Riverboat Company. “We’re burning close to 10, 12 thousand gallons of fuel per month. So you can definitely see the impact that it has on the bottom line.”
Claughton said the amount they spend on gas has doubled since March.
Michael Fronmueller, the dean of the College of Business Administration at Savannah State University, explained why we may be seeing these higher gas prices.
“The Straight of Hormuz, which constricts a large supply of the basic crude petroleum, and that supply is missing,” he said.
Fronmueller said since the supply of fuel has gone down, demand for it has gone up, causing the price spike.
Claughton said they haven’t been completely affected by this steep hike in prices yet.
“We’re absorbing the cost. We have not raised any of our rates this summer. We don’t plan to. So, you know, it’s squeezing the margins pretty good,” he said.
Even with the absorption of these costs, Claughton worries gas prices will affect summer travel.
“Fuel relates to all the products we buy and transportation and so forth,” he said. “It’s not just the fuel price. It also affects many of the products, groceries, transportation and getting supplies.”
Even though it isn’t directly impacting his business, Claughton hopes gas prices will go down soon.
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