Charleston Reporter

South Carolina Ports recently brought in two new ship-to-shore cranes in hopes of swiftly and smoothly loading and unloading of containers at the busy Wando Welch Terminal, while more importantly helping to break supply chain gridlock and manage the boom of international ships entering the Port of Charleston.

"Our new fleet of 15 impressive ship-to-shore cranes enables SC Ports to handle three 14,000-TEU container ships at one time at Wando Welch Terminal," SC Ports CEO Jim Newsome said in a SC Ports press release. "Combined with the additional berth at the new Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, SC Ports can now seamlessly handle four 14,000-TEU container ships simultaneously."

The cranes complete SC Ports' fleet of 15 new ship-to-shore cranes with 155 feet of lift height, the release said. 

SC Ports has invested more than $2 billion in port infrastructure in recent years, including around $500 million to modernize Wando Welch Terminal. These investments have proved crucial as the Port of Charleston continues to efficiently handle record-breaking vessels and cargo volumes.

"We embarked on an ambitious program in 2015 to modernize Wando Welch Terminal to handle neo-Panamax container ships. Our new ship-to-shore cranes are a crucial part of that effort," Newsome said. "Our investments add 700,000 TEUs of capacity to Wando Welch Terminal — a great benefit to our customers who need capacity and fluidity in the supply chain now more than ever."