By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOT The economic recession may have created a slow down in business activity across the country, but nothing is at a stand still at the Port of Charleston. Creating much buzz is the port’s $3oo million Harbor Deepening project. “This project has gained so much attention in just a short amount of time,” comments Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA).
Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA)
The Port of Charleston is one of two ports SCPA operates. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its reconnaissance study for the post-45-foot deepening project just two years ago, SCPA was looking for $150,000 in federal dollars to get the next phase started. “Fast-forward two years and we’re in the President’s Budget for the first time and part of the Administration’s `We Can’t Wait’ initiative,” says Newsome. “This shows that the highest levels of our leadership recognize this project as essential to our nation’s economy and vital to meeting the goal of doubling exports.” The new streamlining measures from the headquarters-level of the Corps, coupled with the commitments by President Obama to expedite the project, has essentially shaved five years off its overall project timeline. “This means the project could be completed by 2019,” Newsome explains. Charleston’s Harbor Deepening Project received yet another major boost when the South Carolina General Assembly moved to fully fund the project’s construction phase by setting aside the full $300 million to cover the entire estimated cost of the deepening construction. “I believe South Carolina is now the only state that has set aside the entire cost of their port’s deepening project,” Newsome exclaimed. “This removes any question or potential delay to completing the deepening due to funding constraints.” At 45 feet at low tide and 50-51 feet at high tide, Charleston Harbor is the deepest harbor on the Southeast coast. Nevertheless, it needs to be deepened to 50 feet to be able to handle at any time of the day the super ships already on the seas and which will be commonplace when the Panama Canal’s $5-billion expansion is complete in 2014. “The Corps has stated that a 50-foot project in Charleston is likely the cheapest to attain in the region,” Newsome says. What’s more, the Port of Charleston can already handle – and does handle – post-Panamax ships drawing up to 48 feet on the tides.” Over 200 post-Panamax ships already call on the Port annually. The harbor deepening effort will allow these ships to call on SCPA ports 24 hours a day, seven days a week rather than on the tides. The Ports of Baltimore and Norfolk are the only East Coast ports that have the deep water already that can accommodate the large post-Panamax vessels any time of the day. Steamship Line Growth Business has been brisk at the Port of Charleston. For the first six months of 2012, the Port was designated the fastest-growing top 10 U.S. container port. Charleston container volume grew 7.4 percent from January to June this calendar year, edging out other top 10 ports on both the U.S. East and West coasts.
MSC Charleston
Container volume in FY 2012 (July 2011-June 2012) was up 3.5 percent to 1,432,304 TEUs. For FY 2011, that figure was 1,383,533 TEUs; FY 2010, 1,277,760 TEUs; FY 2009, 1,367,977 TEUs. According to Newsome, several factors are driving this growth: the addition of new services in the port; new infrastructure for transloading of export products, such as bulk agricultural products; and the fact that SCPA is growing its cargo base by being more competitive. In FY 2012, four new shipping services with five weekly calls were added to the Port of Charleston. Its first direct call to Vietnam was added