Category: Announcements

Charleston, SC - Today, the final pieces of the old Cooper River bridges over Charleston's main shipping channel were removed, leaving a vertical clearance of 186 feet at mean high water.

This, along with a 45-foot-deep channel, makes Charleston well equipped to handle the larger vessels calling the U.S. East Coast under any tidal condition.

The former bridges, which date from 1929 and 1966, had a vertical clearance of 150 feet at mean high water.

"Charleston's ready today for big ships," said Bernard S. Groseclose Jr., president & CEO of the S.C. State Ports Authority. "The new bridge and Harbor Deepening, coupled with port expansion and new equipment, ensure Charleston's place as a premier port for years to come."

Larger ships being deployed require deeper channels as well as higher vertical clearance. There are approximately 400 vessels in service worldwide of post-Panamax size, ships too large to transit the Panama Canal.

The U.S. East Coast is beginning to see more post-Panamax vessels, especially as ships on the Asia/U.S. West Coast trade rotate out to make way for newer ships. Charleston, in fact, had the first regularly scheduled post-Panamax vessel to call the U.S. East Coast, the MSC ALESSIA, which called January 6.

Charleston's Harbor Deepening Project was completed in May 2003, bringing the inner channels to -45 feet at mean low water and the entrance channel to -47 feet. The two bridge towers are spaced 1,500 feet apart, providing future channel widening from 600 to 1,000 feet and allowing multiple ships to pass under the bridge at the same time.

The new Ravenel Bridge is the largest cable-stayed bridge in North America. Construction began in the summer of 2001. Total cost of construction totaled $644 million and the Ports Authority is paying $45 million toward the project. The bridge opened to vehicular traffic July 16, 2005.

Demolition crews removed much of the old bridges with a series of explosive charges. Crews cut and hydraulically lowered onto barges the two spans over the main shipping channel.

Charleston, SC - For the third consecutive year, the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SPA) has set a new volume record.

In 2005, the SPA's facilities in the Port of Charleston handled 1.98 million TEUs (20-ft equivalent units), up 6% from 2004. The SPA's breakbulk and bulk cargo through Charleston, Georgetown and Port Royal totaled 1.9 million tons, up 2% from 2004.

"Even with rising volume, Charleston's productivity remains world-class," said Bernard S. Groseclose Jr., the SPA's president and chief executive officer. Port-wide crane productivity is running at 38 moves per hour and the median truck turn time was 23 minutes in December.

"We've made some major investments to expand capacity," said Groseclose. "Looking ahead this year, we'll see the benefits of new equipment and the new bridge, along with real progress on port expansion."

To meet and stay ahead of increasing customer demands, in September the SPA placed orders for $64 million in new cranes, stacking equipment and improvements. The first new units begin arriving in June.

North America's largest cable-stayed bridge was completed in Charleston last year, and by mid-March contractors will remove the old bridges, making way for the world's next generation of ships.

To handle long-term growth needs, the SPA is eyeing two major expansion projects. Permits are expected this August for a new 280-acre container terminal on the former Charleston Naval Complex. The SPA is currently evaluating three proposals from companies interested in participating in the project.

In addition, the SPA board announced early last year that it would pursue development of a new container terminal on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River in Jasper County.

The state's General Assembly also approved a new international trade incentive program last year, and a number of manufacturers and DCs announced new facilities in South Carolina, including DaimlerChrysler, Union Underwear, Global Building Solutions, Interwrap, FoodHandler and QVC.

Charleston, SC - The board of the South Carolina State Ports Authority today elected Bill H. Stern of Columbia to the office of chairman.

Stern was appointed to the Board in March 2002 and previously served as vice chairman. He is the owner and president of Stern & Stern and Associates, a commercial real estate development company doing work throughout the southeast.

Other board members elected to two-year offices were Whitemarsh S. Smith III of Charleston, vice chairman; Harry J. Butler Jr. of Georgetown, treasurer; and David J. Posek of Greenville, secretary.

"Our public seaports are vital to the state's economic health," Stern said. "We'll continue to expand capacity through strategic investments and by building new facilities. We have more than $60 million in new equipment on order and should break ground on a new terminal at the former Charleston Naval Complex this year," Stern said.

Stern said the Ports Authority has a number of challenges. "We have our share of issues, such as the sale and redevelopment of excess property, but we'll get the job done. It's important that we focus on our customers and our core mission of fostering economic development. Our port system is far too important for distractions to take us off course."

Stern previously served on the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and the Bank of America Advisory Board. He is a board member and past chairman of the South Carolina Council of the Holocaust and has served as a board member of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, the United Jewish Welfare Federation and Beth Shalom Synagogue. He was also an organizing board member of the Carolina National Bank & Trust Company and currently serves as a director.

In other action, the Board approved three contracts covering work at the Wando Welch Terminal - $282,645 for additional natural buffering, $297,500 for maintenance dredging and $498,000 for a new wash rack facility. The Board also approved a resolution to add seven new sites and more than 1,200 acres to Foreign-Trade Zone #21.

Charleston, SC - Seventy-four local families in need got a helping hand this holiday season from the S.C. State Ports Authority Port Police's annual Caring and Sharing aid drive.

Now in the project's fifth year, Port Police raised $8,700 in donations and distributed more than 550 bags of groceries, household goods and gifts to struggling families in the community over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Each year around the holidays, the Port Police's Good Cheer Committee contacts area school guidance counselors and asks them to nominate families that would benefit most from the project. Fourteen downtown and North Charleston schools nominated families this year.

Money and non-perishable food items are donated by port employees, customers, tenants and transportation providers. The aid received this year was so overwhelming that Port Police decided to provide additional assistance to five families for Christmas.

Florence, SC - Citing infrastructure and proximity to the Port of Charleston, television shopping network QVC has announced it is building a one million-square-foot distribution center on 265 acres near Interstate 95 in South Carolina.

QVC said it picked Florence, South Carolina because of its proximity to cross-country Interstates 95 and 20 as well as rail lines and Charleston's port.

Construction of the $75 million center is expected to begin next month. The warehouse is expected to open in mid-2007 with 400 employees.

A complicated blend of economic incentives was used to lure QVC to Florence over several other areas.

A large labor pool will also benefit the company. Florence is located in the Pee Dee region, which has unemployment around 10%.

The region's elected and economic development officials hailed the announcement. They hope QVC helps to bring in a string of other distribution centers and other transportation and logistics companies.

Charleston, SC - Nine private shipping companies and terminal operators are part of three proposals submitted to the South Carolina State Ports Authority asking to participate in the development of a new three-berth, 280-acre container terminal in Charleston on the former Naval Complex.

The proposals will be evaluated based on how they serve the Ports Authority's mission and South Carolina's interests. In the course of the evaluation, major considerations will be the commitment to South Carolina, the length of the offer, the cargo volume projection and the financial terms. Any necessary follow-up discussions with the firms will be initiated within the next two months.

After evaluating and clarifying the proposals, the Ports Authority will enter into further discussions to negotiate a contract with the firm or firms offering the most favorable proposals. Due to the competitive nature of the business proposals and the pending contract negotiations, the names of the firms and their offerings will not be disclosed.

The Corps of Engineers expects a decision on permits for the Charleston expansion project by August 2006. Construction of the first phase should be completed by the end of 2011. The terminal is projected to handle 1.38 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units).

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Mauldin, SC - A new, 75-acre trade park unveiled today in South Carolina's Upstate marks a new partnership between U.S. and Chinese business investment and further expansion of the state's foreign-trade zones.

The Global Trade Center includes a 200,000-square-foot building and exhibition hall in Mauldin, SC, about 200 miles from the Port of Charleston.

More than 140 Chinese companies will display their products to U.S. purchasers in the initial year of operation. Several U.S. companies are currently working with the center to do business with China. Pacific Gateway is in talks with officials in Brazil and Ukraine to offer similar trade services in the future.

The Global Trade Center will serve as a market-entry incubator to assist both foreign companies entering the U.S. market and U.S. companies entering international markets.

Mr. Zhijiang Feng, deputy director of The Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Government in Tianjin, China will assist Greenville investment firm Pacific Gateway Capital Group in today's opening.

"This trade park is an economic development tool to assist U.S. companies to export to China and is a platform to bring foreign companies here to invest," said Peter Kwan, president of Pacific Gateway Capital Group. "The center will help both overcome the initial stage of entering a new market."

The center is a general purpose Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ). South Carolina's FTZ program began major expansions last year, bringing more than 280 acres into the Upstate's FTZ #38.

Other recent additions to FTZ #38 include:

While South Carolina is 40 th in the nation in physical size, it ranks second - behind only Texas - in dollar value of goods exported from Foreign Trade Zones, which totaled $1.4 billion in federal fiscal year 2004.*

Merchandise received in FTZ #38 totaled $8 billion in FY04, a 35% increase from the $5.2 billion reported the previous year. Corporations residing in FTZ #38 represent $4 billion in capital investment.

FTZs are a U.S. Department of Commerce trade program established in 1934 to create and maintain investment and jobs in the United States. FTZs are secure areas located in or near U.S. Customs' ports of entry, but are legally considered to be outside Customs territory in regards to tariff laws. Generally, payment of duties and excise taxes on foreign merchandise admitted to a Zone will be deferred until the goods are transferred to Customs territory for U.S. consumption. Merchandise stored, manufactured, processed or displayed in a Zone and then exported is not dutiable. Other benefits are duty reduction for manufacturers, direct delivery for 'just in time' (JIT) manufacturers, reductions in Customs merchandise processing fees, increased security and lower insurance costs.

The South Carolina State Ports Authority is the grantee for FTZ #38 and the Coastal FTZ #21. In this role, the Authority works with prospective companies, acts as the initial liaison to Customs and Border Protection, submits the FTZ application on the company's behalf and markets existing sites.

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Contacts:
Byron D. Miller
Director, Public Relations
S.C. State Ports Authority
(843) 577-8197

Peter Kwan
President
Pacific Gateway Capital Group
(864) 242-2288

Charleston - Moody's Investors Service has affirmed an A1 rating for the South Carolina State Ports Authority's outstanding debt and provided a stable outlook, citing low debt levels, favorable financial performance and distinct competitive advantages.

The ratings update said the Port of Charleston's operating style and "unusually high productivity" have enabled the port "to achieve favorable financial performance and maintain market share within the highly competitive port industry."

The SCSPA is an operating port, running its own facilities. According to Moody's, this allows the port to maximize "both the use of its facilities and operating revenue." Since 2000, the Ports Authority's operating revenues have grown 7.2% on average each year.

The Port of Charleston, the report states, ranks closely with the most efficient ports in Asia, averaging 40 container moves per hour while a satisfactory U.S. average is 30 moves an hour. Container volume through Charleston increased to 1.97 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) in FY05, up 14% from the previous year.

The A1 rating on $139.6 million in outstanding port revenue bonds takes into consideration the port's future growth and need to fund wharf and equipment improvements and expand its terminals. The SCSPA expects to spend $222 million on capital projects over the next three years.

Revenue bonds issued by the SCSPA have provided the funds for completion of the Wando Welch Terminal and other major projects. These bonds and the interest payable on them are an obligation of the Ports Authority - not the state of South Carolina or taxpayers.

The complete report is available online at www.moodys.com.

Contacts:

Byron D. Miller
Director, Public Relations
S.C. State Ports Authority
(843) 577-8197

Moody's Investors Services
(212) 553-0376

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North Charleston, SC - DaimlerChrysler, the world's largest commercial vehicle producer, has selected North Charleston as the site for its new Dodge Sprinter van assembly plant.

DaimlerChrysler will initially invest $35 million and employ 220 when the plant produces its first van in the final quarter of 2006. This is part one of a three-phase plan by the company that upon culmination could create 1,800 jobs and $435 million in investment.

For the complete press release, please visit:

http://www.crda.org/news_article.shtml?id=522