SC Ports Board Approves $69.5 Million Crane Purchase
Oct 31, 2017 12:54PM ● By Emily Stevenson
The South
Carolina Ports Authority Board of Directors approved a $69.5 million
contract for the purchase of six new ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to serve
growing container volumes and big ships calling the Port of Charleston.
"As the largest crane purchase in our history, the contract
approved today is an important part of our overall investment in
infrastructure and capacity to ensure the Port is well-positioned for
the future," said Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO. "When the cranes
arrive in late 2019, deepening of the Charleston Harbor to 52 feet will
be nearly two-thirds complete and construction of our new container
terminal will also be nearly finished."
The cranes will be manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy
Industries, LTD (ZPMC). Five cranes offering 169 feet of lift height
will be delivered to the Hugh K. Leatherman, Sr. Terminal, the only
permitted container terminal under construction on the U.S. East or Gulf
coasts. Phase One of the terminal is scheduled to open in mid-2020 with
an annual capacity of 628,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units
(TEU).
In addition, one 155-foot crane will be delivered to the
Wando Welch Terminal, SCPA's busiest container terminal. The Wando
Terminal received its first two cranes of this size in August 2016, and
ZPMC is currently manufacturing two additional cranes for delivery in
February 2018. By 2020, 9 of the 13 STS cranes at the Wando Terminal
will offer 155 feet of lift height to support SCPA's efficient handling
of two 14,000 TEU vessels simultaneously.
"ZPMC is honored to supply this project for South Carolina
Ports Authority," said ZPMC President Huang Qing-feng. "The six STS
cranes are the single largest order from SCPA, and we are as excited as
we are proud. This is a continued, long-term journey with great
cooperation between SCPA and ZPMC, and we are committed to achieving a
successful project. We appreciate the relationship we've built with SCPA
and congratulate them on the Port's growth and continued prosperity."
Cargo Volumes
As previously announced, SCPA achieved 10 percent container growth in what was a record September, handling 179,856 TEUs during the month. From July through September, the first quarter of the SCPA's 2018 fiscal year, the Port handled 539,995 TEUs, a nearly 4 percent year-over-year increase.
SCPA handled 65,269 tons of breakbulk cargo across its docks in Charleston in September and 153,304 tons fiscal year to date.
Inland Port Greer handled 10,648 rail moves in last month for
a fiscal year-to-date total of 30,401 moves, a 16 percent increase over
the same period last year.