Fifteen hybrid RTG cranes sailed in Charleston, bound for the Leatherman Terminal. In the distance, ship-shore cranes operate ships at the Wando Welch Terminal.
The arrival of new cargo handling equipment is significant, as SC Ports is preparing to receive the first cargo ship at the Leatherman Terminal in March.
“It is always an exciting day when new cranes pass through the port of Charleston,” said SC Ports CEO Jim Newsome. “The impressive new equipment at the Leatherman Terminal will provide our customers with reliable services and environmental benefits for the region.”
The 15 gantry cranes with hybrid rubber tires (RTG) arrived in North Charleston at Zhen Hua 15. This is a record shipment to the Shanghai-based manufacturer ZPMC – marks the most loaded rubber tire gantry cranes by ZPMC on a ship bound for the United States.
The 15 cranes will join four RTGs that arrived last month, and another six RTGs will arrive early next year – making a total of 25 hybrid RTGs that will serve the Leatherman Terminal’s container yard.
SC Ports will also receive eight empty container handlers this month; they are produced by Kalmar, based in Finland, for use in the container yard at the Leatherman Terminal.
“With each arrival of equipment, we take a step closer to achieving the Leatherman Terminal,” said SC Ports COO Barbara Melvin. “Our SC Port Engineering Department and several design partners do an unbelievable amount of work and coordination on the site every day to make our opening in March possible.”
RTG cranes were manufactured by ZPMC and shipped across the Pacific Ocean and through the Panama Canal before making their final leg of the trip to Charleston. As soon as the cranes are unloaded at the Leatherman Terminal, the ZPMC USA team will commission the cranes in the coming months before they are put into service.
Crane operators will operate RTG cranes within the 47-acre container yard, efficiently moving and stacking cargo boxes at the Leatherman Terminal.
Energy efficient RTGs
As part of the construction of the container terminal, SC Ports carried out one of the largest environmental and community mitigation packages in South Carolina. SC Ports recognizes the importance of maintaining and improving air quality in the surrounding communities, as well as minimizing emissions from port operations.
The Leatherman Terminal’s 25 new hybrid RTGs are a big part of SC Ports’ environmental efforts.
RTGs built with ZPMC will use hybrid battery technology; a smaller diesel generator charges the batteries and the cranes run on batteries.
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.
The cranes will use regenerative braking energy, which is captured and stored as electricity when a container is lowered. The recaptured energy reduces the amount of energy required from the generator.
In addition, a smaller generator – which operates fewer hours in total – greatly reduces maintenance costs for hybrid RTGs and significantly reduces fuel and particulate consumption, greenhouse gases and other exhaust emissions.
This significant investment in new equipment demonstrates SC Ports’ commitment to strive to be the greenest port in the Southeast.
More capacity, capabilities
Phase One of the Leatherman Terminal will add 700,000 TEUs of annual processing capacity to the Port of Charleston when it opens in March.
When fully built, the three berth terminal will double the current capacity of SC Ports, adding 2.4 million TEUs of processing capacity.
“The 1,400-foot dock 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 Newsome. “The Leatherman Terminal will have ample capacity and capacity to handle a 19,000 TEU vessel, allowing more cargo to enter and leave the Southeast.”
The $ 1 billion Phase One of the Leatherman Terminal complements efforts to modernize the Wando Welch Terminal and deepen the Port of Charleston to 52 feet. These investments will allow SC Ports to handle four 14,000 TEU vessels simultaneously in 2021.