- Wando Welch Terminal Now Handles Three Mega Ships at Any Tide.
- SC Ports Completes $23M Project to Boost Ship Traffic and Efficiency.
- Charleston Harbour Deepening and Terminal Upgrade Enhance Port Access.
Larger cargo vessels may be arriving at the Port of Charleston after installing a multimillion-dollar infrastructure improvement to increase capacity and efficiency, reports Charleston Business.
Wando Welch Terminal Improved to Accommodate Three Mega Ships
With a major infrastructure improvement now finished, South Carolina Ports’ busiest container terminal, Wando Welch Terminal, is again able to serve three mega container vessels at the same time at any tide. This provides better logistics and keeps ocean carriers with consistent fluidity, based on an SC Ports news release. At the heart of the upgrade is a new steel toe wall along the wharf of the terminal that strengthens the wharf to accommodate bigger ships and endure deeper water depths. The dredging in front of the terminal complements Charleston Harbour’s 52-foot depth.
“With the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast and strategic port investments at our terminals, SC Ports can efficiently handle the biggest ships at any tide,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said in the release. “These investments save our customers time and money. Ocean carriers can access our terminals without waiting, and we provide highly productive port service to quickly work ships and speed goods to market.”
Keeping Operations Moving During Construction
Throughout the 14-month building process, during which time the terminal was restricted to two berths, SC Ports’ operation and berthing staff collaborated closely with maritime partners to preserve service levels and create innovative solutions for customers.
“We are grateful to our customers for their incredible support as we navigated this critical infrastructure project, which will pay dividends to companies’ supply chains,” Melvin said. “Wando Welch Terminal is a powerhouse terminal, and with three berths fully open again, we are providing berth fluidity and reliable port service for our customers.”
Engineering and Construction Information
SC Ports’ engineering team managed the toe wall project, with WSP USA in charge of design and Mead & Hunt responsible for construction. Steel sheet piles were installed underwater by Russell Marine LLC and anchored into the bottom of the channel to stabilise the foundation of the wharf. Marinex Construction Inc. carried out the berth deepening.
The cost of the toe wall and dredging project was about $23 million. $11.2 million of that came from a 2019 USDOT Maritime Administration Port Infrastructure Development Program grant.
Strong Cargo Volumes in March
SC Ports had a strong March with 240,857 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and 131,513 pier containers handled, an 11% rise from March 2024. This is the second straight month of increasing container volumes.
Inland Ports at Greer and Dillon also reported significant expansion. Inland Port Greer facilitated a record high 19,291 rail moves, a year-over-year jump of 20%, after adding on a recent expansion. Inland Port Dillon experienced 3,287 rail moves, 14% above March last year.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free Click here to Subscribe!
Source: Charleston Business
