Stacking up:
Terminal upgraded to handle bigger ships
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
With all the controversy surrounding the proposed cargo container terminal at the former Charleston Naval Base, it may be easy to forget that the S.C. State Ports Authority already operates a terminal on the Cooper River.
But as the terminals the SPA operates closer to the open ocean become more constrained by increased cargo volumes and an inability to expand, the North Charleston terminal has been getting an upgrade to enhance its ability to handle increasingly larger ships.
“The North Charleston terminal is 15 miles up the river, but it’s still closer to the open ocean than many of our competitors’ ports, being only two hours from the open sea,” said SPA spokesman Byron Miller.
“As a result, several of our biggest customers, including Evergreen American Corp., Mediterranean Shipping Co. and two of the companies engaged in our service from the Indian subcontinent, utilize it,” Miller said.
In the fourth quarter of 2006, the North Charleston terminal handled 96 ships and 109,000 TEUs of cargo.
But like the SPA’s three other terminals on Charleston harbor, the North Charleston terminal, a former military facility, is hemmed in by development. On one side, its neighbor is MeadWestvaco; on two others it’s the Naval Weapons Station.
So almost in spite of the activity at the North Charleston terminal, the SPA has steadily been undergoing an upgrade that will transform it into a terminal capable of handling the biggest container ships that currently call on Charleston.
“Unable to expand, we’ve essentially refurbished the entire terminal,” Miller said.
Last year, the SPA refurbished all of the 2,500-foot face of the terminal’s three container berths, putting in supports and re-enforcement in anticipation of a dredging project that will deepen the channel adjacent to the berths to 45 feet, equal to the navigation channel through the harbor.
The contract for that dredging project was awarded last month. The berth deepening, coupled with the arrival of electric cranes now en route from China, will allow the terminal to service 6,000+ TEU ships such as the MSC Marina, which currently calls only on the Columbus Street terminal.
The North Charleston terminal will also be the indirect beneficiary of an order for 16 rubber tire gantry cranes that the SPA placed in September 2005. As a result of the order, the authority is moving five of the RTGs it’s replacing at the Wando Welch terminal to 10 acres at the North Charleston terminal.
A $3 million contract for their relocation and installation at the terminal is expected to be awarded next month.
To help cargo move more smoothly, the SPA also has rerouted empty containers through the terminal and away from active commerce using space that was once occupied by a grain elevator on the site.
Like its activities at other terminals, the SPA’s effort and the multimillion dollar investment is geared toward making the most of its land at a time when the shipping industry continues to build ever-larger ships.
As if to underscore the need, Miller pointed to the latest industry shipbuilding report, a document the SPA reviews on a monthly basis.
As of early February, the world’s shipping lines were building an additional 171 ships, ranging in capacity from 6,000 to 14,000 TEUs.
“That’s the challenge right there,” Miller said. “We have to enhance our efficiency in order to retain a competitive edge in a highly competitive industry. Not only will this project enhance our ability to handle the bigger ships, it will open up the possibility of our getting more of the trade that’s coming through the Suez Canal.”
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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