The arrival of the South Carolina Port Authority’s 15 rubber gantry hybrid cranes served as a great sign that the first phase of the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal is almost complete.
RTG cranes arrived in North Charleston on December 11 in a record shipment to Shanghai-based manufacturer ZPMC. It was the largest number of RTG cranes ever loaded by ZPMC on a ship bound for the United States.
The 15 cranes join four that arrived last month. Six more are expected to arrive in early 2021, bringing the total number of hybrid RTG cranes to 25 to serve the Leatherman Terminal container yard when it opens in March.
Five ship-shore cranes are 169 feet high above the pier deck and have a range of 228 feet, allowing them to work the largest container ships that call the East Coast.
“The 1,400-foot pier at the Leatherman Terminal, five ship-to-shore cranes and 25 hybrid gantry cranes with rubber tires will provide an efficient and reliable service to our customers,” said South Carolina Ports CEO Jim Newsome. “The Leatherman Terminal will have ample capacity and capacity to handle a 19,000 TEU vessel, allowing more cargo to flow in and out of the Southeast.”
The new RTGs work 100% on an electric battery, which means that diesel only works when the batteries need to be recharged, which effectively reduces downtime. The batteries, supplied by Corvus Energy, are expected to reduce fuel consumption by about 70% when compared to conventional diesel port cranes.
This month, South Carolina ports will also receive eight empty container handlers produced by Kalmar, from Finland, for use in the container yard at the Leatherman Terminal.
The completion of the first phase of the construction of the Leatherman Terminal will add 700,000 units equivalent to twenty feet (TEUs) of annual processing capacity at the Port of Charleston. In full construction, the three berth terminal will double the current handling capacity of the South Carolina Ports, adding 2.4 million TEUs of processing capacity.
Port Everglades
The US Coast Guard cutter’s crew James unloaded more than 23,000 pounds of cocaine and nearly 8,800 pounds of marijuana worth more than $ 411.3 million on December 16 in Port Everglades, Florida.
The Coast Guard said the drugs were banned in international waters off the coast of Mexico and in Central and South America.
“The Coast Guard’s strong international relations with key partners such as the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, together with our specialized capabilities and unparalleled authorities, allow for a unified effort to dismantle transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States and our partner nations” . the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, together with allied agencies and international partners, played a role in the operations.
The 418-foot James cutter is ported at home in Charleston.
Long Beach Harbor
The port of Long Beach, Calif., Said the lighting on the new cable-stayed bridge provides “a visual reminder of the importance of this vital transport link for international and regional trade”.
Just over two months after the bridge was opened to traffic, the energy-saving LED lights were switched on December 14 to illuminate the two 515-foot, 80-cable towers holding the part of the bridge’s main span of nearly 2 miles of lenght. The lights will be pre-programmed to mark holidays such as Independence Day and Christmas and special occasions like the Olympics and Pride Month.
Due to the request for a home stay in California due to the increase in COVID-19 boxes, the bridge lights were turned on automatically without a personal ceremony. A video of the lighting of the virtual bridge can be seen here.
Corpus Christi Port
The port of Corpus Christi, Texas, has become the fourth in North America to join the SEA-LNG coalition, but it is the first port located in the strategic energy-rich Gulf of Mexico.
SEA-LNG is a non-profit organization registered in the United Kingdom and committed to promoting the use of liquefied natural gas as an environmentally superior marine fuel.
SEA-LNG President Peter Keller said that the Port of Corpus Christi “was quick to recognize the importance of LNG in its bunker offering. We are delighted to welcome this innovative and forward-thinking port to our members at a time when the maritime sector continues to work aggressively to decarbonize its operations, as well as to reduce local emissions harmful to human health. “
The Port of Corpus Christi joined SEA-LNG as part of its commitment to environmental management. The port acquires 100% of its energy from renewable sources, is upgrading its vehicle fleet to electric and hybrid technology and is creating a technological advancement program to promote innovative solutions for the control of emissions and decarbonization.
Other North American members are the ports of Long Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia and Virginia.
Also this month, the Corpus Christi Port Authority approved a related pipeline lease and easement contract for the Bluewater Texas Terminals LLC (BWTX) deepwater offshore port project – a 50/50 joint venture between Phillips 66 of Texas and Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd.
The agreement facilitates BWTX’s plans to provide “safe and environmentally friendly infrastructure for the export of responsibly produced U.S. crude oil”, according to the port’s announcement, which said the proposed project provides for up to two single-point buoys located about 21 nautical miles from the entrance to the Corpus Christi ship channel. BWTX will also lease 12 acres off the waterfront for an operations facility on Harbor Island, the port said.
The proposed deepwater offshore port operated by the proposed BWTX will be able to fully load large crude oil carriers (VLCCs) and other crude oil vessels with production rates of up to 80,000 barrels per hour and processing capacities of approximately 16 VLCCs per month .
Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System
The Great Lakes-St. The Lawrence Seaway System reported that “in the midst of a challenging shipping season”, overall tonnage from 2020 through November 30 fell 6.6% from the same period last year. However, the system managed to reduce the deficit year-on-year by 10.2% in May.
From the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway on April 1 to November 30, American and Canadian ports handled a total of 32.3 million metric tons, down from 34.5 million metric tons last year.
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System is a maritime highway that stretches 2,300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
“As the maritime shipping season of 2020 reaches the last few weeks, we are excited about the amount of activities in our ports. Although the total tonnage is still not at last year’s levels for this time of year, the number of vessels transiting the Great Lakes Seaway System is significant, ”said Craig H. Middlebrook, assistant administrator at US St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
American ports in the Great Lakes-St. The Lawrence Seaway System was busy in November, negotiating with around 40 countries worldwide, according to a press release, which said that ports like Cleveland, Detroit and Illinois International Port District “benefited from the intense international traffic it delivered critical loads for the world industries, such as steel plates, steel coils, wood and machinery. “
JAXPORT
International Longshoremen’s Association 1408 recently awarded nearly $ 30,000 in scholarships to 18 seniors and college students in the Jacksonville, Florida area. ILA 1408 is a union that represents many dockers and dockers who move cargo at JAXPORT terminals.
President Charles Spencer created the fund in 1995 to help other parents after their own difficulties paying for their children’s education. To date, the fund has awarded more than $ 750,000 in scholarships to more than 1,000 high school and university students.
“Many of our recipients are the first in their families to attend college, and it is an honor to be part of their journey,” said Spencer. “Supporting the educational goals of our young people is even more important now under the current economic circumstances. We are grateful to all of our sponsors for their support as we work together to help these deserving young people succeed in college. “
Scholarship sponsors include JAXPORT, Container Maintenance Corp., SSA Cooper, AFL / CIO International Longshoremen’s Association, Jax Maritime Association and Clerks and Checkers Local 1593.
Long Beach port delivering cargo information in waves
Anchored container ships decrease the volume of the Port of Los Angeles
1A Auto driving for faster deliveries with the Jacksonville warehouse
Click for more American Shipper / FreightWaves stories by senior editor Kim Link-Wills.