In
The Maritime Executive
06/30-2020 07:18:40
The South Carolina Port Authority has adopted its budget for fiscal year 2021, including significant investments to continue port growth. Among the projects is the inauguration of the first new container terminal in the United States in 11 years.
The South Carolina plan projects that ports will move more than 1.24 million containers on the pier from July 1 to June 30, 2021. The board expects $ 264.2 million in operating revenues, estimated at $ 81 , 4 million in operating cash flow.
“We are in the final year of a six-year capital improvement plan,” said SC Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome. “We are preparing for our main infrastructure projects to start operating in 2021, while continuing to ensure that our port works incredibly well. We have the best team to execute our goals. “
The board unanimously approved a $ 319 million capital spending plan for fiscal year 2021. Most of these funds will be used to complete the construction of the first phase of the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal. The Leatherman Terminal, scheduled to open in March, will be the first new container terminal in the United States since 2009.
When completed, the first phase of the new terminal will have a 1,400-foot dock, five ship-to-shore cranes with 169 feet of elevation height, 25 hybrid gantry cranes with rubber layers and the capacity to handle 19,000 TEU vessels. Combined with updates to the current terminal, SC Ports will be able to handle four 14,000 TEU vessels simultaneously. As part of the capital projects, the port is also deepening the port of Charleston to reach a depth of 52 feet in 2021, allowing mega container carriers to access port terminals.
“The opening of the Leatherman Terminal will mark an extension of the concept of successful container operations at the Wando Terminal with the transfer of four large ship services to that location at its inauguration, taking advantage of SCPA’s existing workforce,” he said. Newsome.
Keep the load moving
South Carolina ports also reported that volumes remained stable in the first 11 months of fiscal 2020 compared to the previous year. May volumes, however, fell year after year due to COVID-19 disrupting global supply chains and temporarily disrupting the operations of many companies and manufacturers.
The Port of Charleston reported that it handled 169,705 TEUs in May, bringing its total to almost 2.2 million TEUs from July 2019 to May 30. In May, SC Ports handled 97,966 containers on the quay, which measures the total number of boxes handled. This brings the total number of pier containers in the fiscal year to date to 1.23 million.
“We were on track for another record-breaking fiscal year until the pandemic hit,” said Newsome. “However, ports are a long-term business that requires long-term planning. We have great fundamentals as a growing port in the Southeast. We will continue to prosper. Our future is very bright. “