Category: Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal

Charleston, SC - Progress on the Port of Charleston's Navy Base Terminal has reached another milestone with today's approval of the next major construction project.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) Board today approved the $42.7-million contract, which includes the placement of fill material on portions of the landside of the terminal and along the already completed 5,000-foot-long containment wall structure, which was constructed toward the shipping channel. The facility represents the only permitted new container terminal currently under construction on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts.

"The completion of the Navy Base Terminal, along with the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project, demonstrates that South Carolina understands what the industry's future demands are, and we will be ready to meet them," said Bill Stern, chairman of the SCPA Board. "The new terminal and a deepened harbor are both essential to fulfill our mission of economic development and serve our customers' needs for the foreseeable future."

The Board selected for the project Massachusetts-based Jay Cashman, which was the lead contractor on the demolition of the former Cooper River bridges, as well as one of the partners on the $44-million containment wall project for the Navy Base Terminal.

Starting next month, crews will relocate approximately 1.75 million cubic yards of dredged material from Daniel Island to the terminal site by water, placing the fill behind the containment structure and on portions of the upland area. The crews also will consolidate the upland area of the site by installing approximately 5.7 million linear feet of vertical wick drains and surcharging the area to stabilize the site and prepare it for construction.

The project is expected to run through January 2014, overlapping with the next major fill contract, which is slated to begin late next year. At build out, the new, 280-acre container terminal will increase the Port of Charleston's container capacity by 50 percent.

About the South Carolina Ports Authority:
The South Carolina 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 - As announced earlier this month, the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) has received three proposals for development of a new three-berth, 280-acre container terminal in Charleston on the former Naval Complex.

In the formal RFP, the SCSPA recognized the competitive nature of the business proposals and the pending contract negotiations, offering confidentiality to those who submitted proposals.

The SCSPA polled the companies about publicly disclosing their proposed involvement in the project. Two respondents, Hanjin Shipping Co. and OOCL (USA), Inc., authorized the SCSPA to release their names as the lead companies in their proposals.

Hanjin is a Korean-based company and part of the CKYH Alliance with COSCO, K-Line and Yang Ming. They are currently in a licensed operation at Columbus Street Terminal.

OOCL, a Hong Kong-based company, is currently a member of the Grand Alliance, which operates in the common user area at the Wando Welch Terminal.

Both the CKYH Alliance and the Grand Alliance are among the Port of Charleston's five largest customers. In terms of volume, the June 27 issue of The Journal of Commerce individually ranked Hanjin and OOCL fourth and sixth, respectively, among the top 50 container carriers serving the United States.

The third lead respondent asked that its name not be released at this point in the process.

The SCSPA is currently evaluating the three proposals and will eventually enter into further discussions to negotiate a contract with the company or companies offering the best proposal.

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) annually at build-out.