The Port of Charleston is a seaport located in South Carolina in the Southeastern United States. The port's facilities span three municipalities â€" Charleston, North Charleston, and Mount Pleasant â€" with five public terminals owned and operated by the South Carolina Ports Authority (SPCA). These facilities handle containers; motor vehicles; and other rolling stock, non-containerized goods and project cargo, as well as Charleston's cruise ship operation. Additional facilities in the port are privately owned and operated, handling bulk commodities like petroleum, coal and steel.
Early history
South Carolina Ports Authority Harbor Deepening - Recently, the South Carolina Ports Authority exported its two millionth BMW which was manufactured at the plant in Greer. Plans are underway to deepen the Port, which will expand the Ports...
Charleston's earliest history is tied to its prominence as a center of trade. After establishing Charles Towne along the banks of the Ashley River in 1670, the original settlers moved to the Charleston peninsula, favoring that location's natural harbor. By 1682 Charles Towne was declared the port of entry for the colony. From the founding of the colony until the start of the American Civil War, the colony's principal exports were lumber and naval stores, furs and animal skins, rice, indigo, cotton, and tobacco; and imports of primarily human traffic up until late 1700's. As a result of this trade, the colony flourished.
The Port of Charleston later suffered in the wake of the Civil War. The harbor itself was in shambles and filled with mines and the wrecks of sunken Confederate and Union ships. The Southern economy had little to export and Charleston's network of private wharves were neglected and left to ruin. The establishment of several major federal military bases during the early 20th century benefited Charleston Harbor tremendously. Because of this federal presence, the harbor itself was well-maintained and greatly improved over the years. Mayor John P. Grace brought renewed interest in reviving the Port of Charleston's shipping presence by establishing the Port Utilities Commission in the early 1920s. In 1922 the city purchased the Charleston Terminal Company, which owned the majority of the peninsula's commercial waterfront assets, for $1.5 million. In 1942, the South Carolina Legislature established the South Carolina Ports Authority with the responsibility to foster waterborne commerce for the benefit of the State of South Carolina.
Ranking, Volume and Investments
In 2015, the Port of Charleston ranked as the 6th port in the United States by cargo value, with $75 billion in imports and exports traded across the docks. In 2008, readers of Cargo Business News named the Port of Charleston the most productive port in their supply chain. The Port of Charleston hosts shipping services by more than 13 of the world's top container carriers.
The South Carolina Ports Authority plans to invest $1.3 billion in new and existing facilities over a 10-year period. This plan includes a new container terminal in North Charleston on the former Navy Base, as well as major improvements to existing facilities, technology upgrades, and two inland ports. Today the Port of Charleston boasts the deepest water in the southeast region and regularly handles post-Panamax vessels passing through the newly expanded Panama Canal. A next-generation harbor deepening project is currently underway to take the Port of Charleston's entrance channel to 54 feet and harbor channel to 52 feet at mean low tide. With an average high tide of 6 feet, the depth clearances will become 60 feet and 58 feet respectively.
In response to the growth in traffic at both Charleston and the Port of Savannah, the Jasper Ocean Terminal, to be the largest port in the country when it is completed, is planned to be built on the Savannah River by the mid 2020s.
Terminals in the Port of Charleston
- Wando Welch Terminal â€" used for container cargo, located in the town of Mount Pleasant.
- Columbus Street Terminal â€" used for project cargo, breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off cargo. Located in the city of Charleston.
- Union Pier Terminal â€" used for cruise ship operations, located in the city of Charleston.
- North Charleston Terminal â€" used for container cargo, located in the city of North Charleston.
- Veterans Terminal â€" used for project cargo, break-bulk and roll-on/roll-off cargo. Located in the City of North Charleston.
- Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal- 280 acre facility opening in 2020, to be used for container cargo. The facility, located in North Charleston, will increase port capacity by 50%.
The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the Port of Charleston and constructing a new port terminal. U.S. Ports have made plans to expand following the $5.4 billion Panama Canal shipping lane that opened in 2016. The (SCPA) plans to expand Charleston's harbor to be 52 feet deep within the decade.
Big Ship Ready
In the beginning of September 2017 the largest cargo ship, named after President Theodore Roosevelt, traversed the canal for the first time. The ship, of record-breaking size, arrived at the Port of Charleston on September 2. The Roosevelt ship is 1,202 feet long, can haul as many as 14,855 containers and is part of the Ocean's Alliance South Atlantic Express service. The Roosevelt shipped out of Shanghai, China, made stops in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, New York, and New Jersey before returning to Asia. [8,9]
On March 2, construction officially began to deepen Charleston's harbor from 45 to 52 feet deep.
Cruise Terminal and Union Pier Redevelopment
Cruise operations in the Port of Charleston are part of the South Carolina Ports Authority’s legislated mandate to increase maritime commerce. A study commissioned by the South Carolina Ports Authority projected that cruise operations could support 407 jobs and $37 million in economic benefits in 2010 in the Tri-County. In May 2010, the Carnival Fantasy began home-porting the Carnival Fantasy in the Port of Charleston, until February 2016, when the Carnival Fantasy was replaced by the Carnival Ecstasy.
To better handle ships, passengers, traffic and security requirements, the Ports Authority identified a need to improve and enhance the cruise terminal, which opened in 1973. Cruise ships have called Union Pier since 1913. The Ports Authority began hosting meetings, telling the community on how the agency envisioned to best develop an improved cruise facility. Through an extensive public process, including more than 100 meetings with neighbors and other stakeholder groups, the resulting Union Pier Concept Plan, which calls for the refurbishment of an existing warehouse on the North end of Union Pier, was endorsed unanimously by City Council in September 2010 and approved by the City of Charleston Board of Architectural Review.
See also
- United States container ports
References
External links
- Official website
