Archives: News Entries

Charleston, SC - Robert (Bob) Greulich has joined the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) as its Hong Kong-based sales representative. A more than 40-year veteran of the maritime industry, Greulich is responsible for marketing the Port of Charleston’s public marine terminals to both shippers and ocean carriers throughout Hong Kong and Singapore.

A native of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, Greulich spent the majority of his career at K-Line, a top 20 global carrier based in Japan. At K-Line, Greulich lived in both Japan and Hong Kong, working in various roles in sales and marketing and retiring after 27 years as director of K-Line Hong Kong. Most recently, he served as vice president of international sales for Wan Hai Lines, a Taiwan-based container shipping company.

“I can’t think of a better sales professional to represent us in Hong Kong,” said John Wheeler, vice president of carrier sales for the SCPA. “Singapore and Hong Kong represent a critically important region for the Port of Charleston’s long-range strategic growth, and Bob’s expertise and contacts throughout the region will be a tremendous asset.”

The SCPA has been actively growing its presence in the Asia trade lane. Last year, the Port of Charleston added two weekly container services in the trade, bringing its total to eight weekly services connecting South Carolina to ports across Asia.

Greulich earned a bachelor’s degree in business logistics from Penn State University in 1967. He joins the SCPA’s existing team of foreign sales representatives based in Shanghai, China; Seoul, South Korea; and Mumbai, India.

Charleston, SC - Newer, cleaner engines and cleaner fuels have helped reduce total pollutants from port equipment and trucks, according to an air emissions inventory commissioned by the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA). The inventory, which measured all port-related emissions in the tri-county region during the year 2011, is a follow-up to the port’s first-in-the-region baseline study that quantified 2005 levels.

“Our voluntary air quality commitments include tracking and sharing progress over time,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA. “More recent efforts, including new international fuel standards as well as efforts by the maritime community mean that our air quality continues to show improvement.”

The inventory included analysis of emissions of six criteria pollutants from trucks, trains, cargo-handling equipment, ships and tugs and spanned an approximately 2,500-square-mile area.

Key findings of the report included:

The release of the air report comes on the heels of the renewal of the SCPA’s long-term and voluntary agreement with the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to reduce the port’s impact to the area’s air quality. The agreement, announced last week, extends the two agencies’ partnership to 2018, more than a decade after first partnering in 2007.

“The Ports Authority, through its voluntary emissions-reduction efforts and its partnership with our agency, has committed to going above and beyond what is required,” said Myra Reece, chief of DHEC’s Bureau of Air Quality. “These efforts are significantly contributing to the region's air quality improvements.”

The region’s air meets or exceeds all state and federal air quality standards, and port-related emissions today are already lower than the report’s findings.

The Port of Charleston’s truck replacement program, which launched in late 2011, has replaced more than 60 of the port’s frequently calling, pre-1994 drayage trucks with 2004 or newer models.

Additionally, the U.S. joined other nations in adopting new fuel standards for ocean-going vessels. The North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), a boundary extending 200 miles off the coast of North America, requires the use of low-sulfur content fuel and is providing further reductions to ship emissions than what was measured for 2011 operations.

While total vessel counts were down in 2011 versus 2005, the report indicates that the average engine size of ships calling Charleston has increased more than 45 percent since 2005, reflecting the trend toward larger vessels in global trade.

Using EPA emissions factors for these larger vessels, the air emissions report concludes that 2013 will see approximately 60 percent less PM and SO2 emissions from ships than occurred in 2011. By 2015 and the full implementation of ECA, PM and SO2 from all ships will be reduced by more than 80 percent compared to 2011. Beginning in 2016, all new ships additionally must meet stringent Nox emissions requirements.

The inventory projects similar improvement in total port-related air quality in the coming years. While the number varies by sector and by pollutant, the 2011 inventory calculates that by 2015 there will have been between an 80 to 90 percent reduction in the amount of criteria pollutants of most concern to public health and sensitive populations (PM and SO2).

In September 2008, the SCPA completed a first-in-the-Southeast air emissions inventory, measuring port-related air emissions across the Tri-County region in 2005. The emissions inventory provided a baseline of emissions sources and provides information for the evaluation of other possible reduction strategies.

Moffatt & Nichol of Long Beach, Calif. Assembled the inventory, which covers emissions related to ships, trucks, trains, harbor craft and cargo handling equipment all the way from the sea buoy outside Charleston Harbor throughout the tri-county region.

A subsequent inventory to measure 2017 port-related air emissions will track the effect of the SCPA’s truck replacement program that began in late 2011, additional repower projects for cargo-handling equipment and full implementation of new federal fuel standards for ocean-going vessels calling North American ports.

For the 2011 Port of Charleston Air Emissions Inventory, click here.

Charleston, SC - The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) have extended their air quality partnership through 2018, more than a decade after first formalizing their cooperation to reduce port-related emissions.

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the two agencies was the first of its kind in South Carolina and is the state’s longest-running collaboration on air quality within the public sector.

The new agreement continues work begun in 2007 to improve air quality in the area and expands the SCPA’s commitments to evaluate and implement ways to minimize emissions at the port and across the tri-county region. The MOA took effect on March 31 and runs through the fall of 2018, with the opportunity to renew.

“This is a great example of interagency cooperation at the state level to support job creation and improve quality of life for our citizens,” said Gov. Nikki Haley. “As we continue to streamline processes to help businesses grow in our state, this voluntary collaboration helps the environment without adding red tape.”

“Our partnership with DHEC is an integral part of our overall environmental efforts, recognizing that a healthy, working port and a cleaner environment can be mutually compatible goals,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA. “The Port of Charleston today is known as a leader among ports in this region for environmental stewardship. We will continue to make environmental gains through efforts aligned with the competitiveness of our industry.”

As part of the agreement, DHEC will provide technical assistance and expertise in support of the SCPA’s operational improvements and environmental efforts.

"This agreement is above and beyond what the law requires,” said DHEC Director Catherine Templeton. “This collaboration is a practical example of pursuing economic development while taking voluntary measures to reduce impacts and responsibly protect the environment."

The SCPA has committed in the MOA to a number of specific air quality measures, which include:

The Port of Charleston was the first port in the region to commission a comprehensive air emissions inventory. The baseline inventory measured 2005 port-related air quality from the sea buoy to the county lines of Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties - an area of roughly 2,500 square miles - and indicated that port-related emissions accounted for five percent or less of total pollutants in the area.

Subsequent inventories to measure 2011 and 2017 port-related air emissions will track the effect of the SCPA’s truck replacement program and repower projects for cargo-handling equipment as well as new federal fuel standards for ocean-going vessels calling North American ports. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the Emissions Control Area (ECA) regulation will reduce ship-related air pollution by up to 85 percent.

Since 2007, the local maritime community has successfully received Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to help implement more than $5.5 million in various retrofits, upgrades and engine replacements to container-handling equipment, trucks, tugs and other marine equipment.

In addition, the MOA recognizes operational productivity, such as low turn times for trucks, high crane production and the SCPA’s rail drayage program, as key to air emissions reduction. These efforts mean ships spend less time at the SCPA’s docks and trucks are processed in and out of the terminals more rapidly and log fewer empty miles on local roadways.

Charleston, SC - In the twelfth straight month of year-over-year growth, container volume in the Port of Charleston rose nearly 11 percent in February compared to the same month last year, with 131,634 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled last month.

February container volume in TEUs was nearly 21 percent higher than the same month two years ago, and loaded container volume saw the strongest month since October 2008.

South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) President and CEO Jim Newsome noted during the Board meeting that this reflects a “trend in the right direction” and that the next few months are traditionally the busiest part of the year for the port’s container business.

“We are going into the strong part of our year,” Newsome said during the meeting. “All of the lines are making their service deployment decisions that come into effect in May, and we expect to see additional big ships in our harbor from more carriers.”

Container volume for the first eight months of the fiscal year are up more than 11 percent to 1,024,121 TEUs handled from July to February, up from 920,547 TEUs during the same period last year.

Before convening the meeting, the SCPA Board was joined by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and LTC Ed Chamberlayne of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District to discuss progress on Charleston’s post-45 harbor deepening project. The project’s feasibility study is now at the midway mark.

Chamberlayne told the Board that there is a lot of active work ongoing in the harbor today as part of the study’s information gathering. In two years “we’ve come a very long way,” he said. Chamberlayne explained that many parts of the project are ahead of schedule and the project is presently fully funded and on an aggressive timetable.

Sen. Graham congratulated LTC Chamberlayne on the progress made and thanked him for his leadership.

Graham also noted that new legislation that will be introduced in Congress would establish a more merit-based approach to harbor improvement projects by fully utilizing the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. He predicted that Charleston’s project would compete well for federal funding, which would cover 40 percent of the project’s construction cost.

“For us to grow our economy, we’ve got to do the big deal,” Sen. Graham said. “The economic engine of South Carolina is the Port of Charleston. I am confident that the Port of Charleston will fare very well in that merit-based system.”

Charleston, SC - In results released today, container volume in the Port of Charleston rose 7.7 percent in January compared to the same month last year, with 121,286 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled last month.

Container volume for the first seven months of the fiscal year rose more than 11 percent to 892,487 TEUs handled from July to January, up from 801,495 TEUs last year.

South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) President and CEO Jim Newsome noted during the regular Board meeting that the container business has been growing well above the market in recent months.

“In 2012, North American container port volumes were up two percent overall, while Charleston grew 10 percent,” Newsome shared. “We will continue to focus hard on growing our cargo base. This includes discretionary cargo, such as agricultural products that can be transloaded to containers at or near the port.”

Newsome also noted that several ocean carriers are planning service changes that will benefit Charleston by adding a call or by deploying larger ships.

“This is the time of year when carriers look at realigning services or upsizing their vessels on existing services. Any line that has big ships will deploy them anywhere they can,” Newsome said. “We should begin to see some impact from new or upsized services later this spring.”

The SCPA’s non-containerized business showed similar strength last month. Breakbulk pier tonnage spiked 93 percent in January, with 173,306 tons of freight handled in the ports of Charleston and Georgetown. In the fiscal year to date, non-containerized cargo is tracking 30 percent ahead of the same period last year. The two ports combined have handled more than 1 million tons of breakbulk in the first seven months of the fiscal year.

“The non-containerized cargo segment is a growth market for us,” he said. “It is essential for a port to diversify its business, and breakbulk is a big part of that.”

Charleston, SC - The first-in-the-Southeast port truck replacement program, run by the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), has received $145,000 in additional federal grant funding to help continue reducing related air emissions across the Charleston area.

Launched in the fall of 2011, the SCPA’s truck program provides truck owners who are frequent users of the Port of Charleston’s facilities a financial incentive to replace pre-1994 model trucks with 2004 or newer models. Eligible truck owners can get a $10,000 incentive, plus the scrap value of their pre-1994 truck, to use toward the purchase of a newer, cleaner truck.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has awarded the SCPA $145,000 from an EPA diesel-emissions reduction grant to continue the program. The grant funds cover half of the incentive for the program, with the SCPA funding the remaining $5,000 per truck.  

Importantly, the program helps make upgraded equipment attainable and financially viable for all truck owners, both companies and independent owner-operators. To date, 57 local truckers have taken advantage of the program to upgrade to newer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient rigs.

“It is important that we have both a vibrant port contributing jobs and economic opportunity as well as a healthy environment. For this reason, we partnered with DHEC six years ago to reduce air emissions by trucks and equipment here at our facilities, while we also supported international efforts toward cleaner fuel for ships that call our port,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA. “We are very proud to be considered a leader in the port industry in the Southeast for environmental efforts.”

"Half of all air emissions come from mobile sources. We are fortunate to be able to use this money to support a program that has a direct and immediate effect on the air quality in Charleston. Every little bit helps," said DHEC Director Catherine Templeton. "This continued partnership is an excellent example of collaboration to improve both the economy and environment."

The SCPA has committed to eliminate 85 percent of the pre-1994 trucks that regularly call the Port of Charleston’s container facilities by the end of 2013. In addition, newer equipment uses less fuel and is less likely to require extensive maintenance work, thereby reducing operating costs to the truck owner.

“At the end of this year when the port eliminates most pre-1994 trucks, it will have reduced diesel particulate pollution by 34 percent from its total cargo truck population in the local area,” said Nancy Vinson, who runs the SCPA’s truck replacement program. “Even as a conservative estimate, that is still a significant amount of emissions reduced, especially since trucks represent one of the two largest sources of port-related emissions.”

The truck replacement program is one part of the SCPA’s award-winning environmental program focused on improving air and water quality, preserving land and enhancing the local community.

Previous grant rounds of Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding have helped implement more than $5.5 million in various retrofits, upgrades and engine replacements to container-handling equipment, trucks, tugs and other marine equipment.

For more information on taking advantage of the program, interested truck owners should visit the truck replacement program office at Columbus Street Terminal or the mobile office at the Wando Welch Terminal each Tuesday.

Charleston, SC - The fastest-growing memory foam company in the nation has chosen the Port of Charleston to handle its East Coast business.

Sinomax USA, headquartered in Houston, Texas, specializes in home-furnishing products using CertiPUR-US certified memory foam bedding. Its products, which include pillows, toppers and mattresses, are sold in many of the nation’s top retail chains and mattress stores.

The company, founded in 2000, began importing containers from China through the Port of Charleston in early January, and it sees its local operation as essential to serve the growing Southeast market.

“The Southeast is the most significant region for our company because of the growth potential,” said Frank Chen, president of Sinomax USA, Inc. “We selected the Port of Charleston because of access to the region, the mix of shipping lines that serve the port and the team in place. These are people we are very comfortable working with.”

“Sinomax was evaluating a number of ports in the South Atlantic, but they chose the Port of Charleston because of the confidence they have in our port’s capabilities and our people,” said Rebecca Yang, manager of trans-Pacific account development for the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), which owns and operates the Port of Charleston. “We welcome this new business and look forward to a long and successful partnership with Sinomax.”

Sinomax USA selected third-party logistics provider Premier Logistics Solutions to handle the company’s warehouse and transloading operations. Premier operates a 210,000-square-foot warehouse in North Charleston off of North Rhett Avenue, located proximate to the SCPA’s North Charleston Terminal.

Premier provides a one-stop solution for Sinomax USA. Premier picks up the cargo at the port, delivers the container to the warehouse, unloads the product from the shipping container for storage, segregates the products by retail distribution center and loads the product into the appropriate trucks.

“Premier Logistics Solutions is very excited to be working with the Sinomax team,” said Hal Burton, president and CEO of Premier Logistics Solutions. “They have a great product and we look forward to helping them grow and prosper. Our professional logistics team will focus our efforts on their success.”

Sinomax is bullish on the home furnishing sector’s continued strength nationwide and particularly in the Southeast, where the retailers the company supplies have the most stores.

“Home textile is a big market today with good prospects,” said Chen. “This is a very healthy market with healthy growth.”

Charleston, SC - The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) grew volume across business segments in calendar year 2012, closing a year marked by new carrier services, progress on the inland port in Greer and major advancements on Charleston's harbor deepening project.

In results announced today at the SCPA's regular meeting, container volume in Charleston was up 9.6 percent in calendar year 2012, with 1.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled at the port's two container terminals. Volume was up 13 percent in December compared to the same month last year, with 124,120 TEUs traded across the docks. Charleston also was the fastest-growing East Coast container port January through November, the latest month of volume data available from competing ports.

"These results are encouraging and a testament to the professionalism of our staff and the entire maritime community," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA. "However, we have very ambitious goals and a $1.3-billion capital plan to implement in this decade, so we must continue to grow above the market."

Midway through the fiscal year that began July 1, container traffic has grown nearly 12 percent on the strength of loaded exports and the performance of new carrier services that have expanded Charleston's reach to foreign markets, such as Vietnam and Australia.

Newsome described that the SCPA is continuing its aggressive approach to cargo development across segments, including transloading operations of agricultural and forest products, growing refrigerated cargo and imported containers related to e-commerce retailers.

Breakbulk pier tonnage in Charleston and Georgetown made substantial gains in 2012. The Port of Charleston handled more than 1 million tons of non-containerized freight over the past 12 months, a nearly 26 percent increase from the previous year. Drivers of this growth included power-generation equipment and BMW exports at Columbus Street Terminal, as well as additional activity at Union Pier, such as steel billets, and at Veterans Terminal.

In Georgetown, activity for the calendar year was up 17 percent, with 532,472 pier tons handled in 2012. Bulk cement, petroleum coke and steel are top cargoes.

In the fiscal year to date (July through December), total breakbulk at the two ports was up 22 percent.

Newsome highlighted progress on key initiatives, including the South Carolina Inland Port, which has been met with "incredible interest" from both existing and prospective port users, he stated. He also predicted that the SCPA's ocean carrier customers will continue to emphasize big ship deployments in 2013, and that Charleston is at a distinct advantage given the port's deep shipping channels and role in handling heavier shipments from the export-rich Southeast.

"As we continue the momentum on our next harbor deepening project, I expect further growth from our port in exports, especially as we further develop transloading facilities and our state's intermodal rail network," Newsome said.

New expediting measures through the Corps of Engineers as well as inclusion in the Administration's We Can't Wait initiative mean that the deepening of Charleston Harbor to 50 feet is slated for completion by 2019, or five years earlier than initially projected.

About the South Carolina Ports Authority
The South Carolina State Ports Authority, established by the state's General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown, handling international commerce valued at more than $58 billion annually while receiving no direct taxpayer subsidy. An economic development engine for the state, port operations facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina and nearly $45 billion in economic activity each year. For more information, visit www.scspa.com.

Charleston, SC - Container traffic at the Port of Charleston was up nearly 12 percent in November, in results announced at today's regular South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) Board meeting.

Last month, the Port of Charleston handled 125,780 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), an 11.9 percent increase from the same month last year. Gains for containers handled at the SCPA's public port facilities have been strong throughout the year, with an 11.7 percent jump in box volume for the first five months of the fiscal year and a more than nine percent increase during the calendar year to date.

"While we are slightly off of aggressive projections set for the year thus far, Charleston continues to grow at a much faster rate than competing ports," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA. "With global economic uncertainty on the horizon, we will continue to operate in the fiscally conservative way we have, which has kept intact our stable outlook and solid position from the ratings agencies."

This month, Moody's Investors Service affirmed the SCPA's A1 rating on its existing bond debt in light of the organization's strong financial performance history and competitive advantages.

Breakbulk tonnage also showed strong gains for the month, with non-containerized volume increasing nearly 24 percent in November. The SCPA handled a total of 117,118 pier tons at its facilities in Charleston and Georgetown last month. The gains were led by increases in activity at both Veterans Terminal and at Union Pier Terminal, which is being utilized for the handling of breakbulk cargo such as steel billets. The downtown terminal footprint ultimately is planned for redevelopment upon the resolution of the cruise terminal construction approvals and following the relocation of Charleston's cruise operations to Union Pier's north end.

In other action, the Board took another positive step toward realizing the South Carolina Inland Port in Greer, SC. The Board approved a resolution authorizing the SCPA to borrow funds not to exceed $30 million for the development, construction, operation and maintenance of the South Carolina Inland Port, which is in the planning stages. The facility will serve as an inland container yard served by Norfolk Southern and proximate to major port users across the Upstate and portions of neighboring states. The Board previously had approved engineering study work to begin the facility's design and authorized the SCPA's president and CEO to carry out all actions needed to bring the project to fruition. The inland port is expected to be fully operational by the fall of 2013.

Additionally, the Board approved the purchase of two empty container handlers from Gregory Poole for $554,000. The machines are expected to be delivered in April. Also approved were two change orders for existing work related to gate infrastructure and container yard improvements, totaling around $2 million.