South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) has indicated the Charleston’s Leatherman Terminal is set to spur new volume and be a key player in recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic slowed imports from Asia and Europe. The terminal received two ship-to-shore cranes last week and is on track to open next March. The Leatherman terminal will be the first new US container terminal to open since 2009. Once open, it will have five ship-to-shore cranes of 169 feet of lift height, 25 hybrid rubber-tire gantry cranes, and one berth capable of handling a 19,000 TEU vessel. The SCPA is also investing in making the Wando Welch terminal big-ship ready. By the end of 2021, there will be 15 ship-to-shore cranes with 155 feet of lift height, capable of handling three 14,000 TEU vessels simultaneously. In late 2021 or early 2022, the entire Charleston Harbor will be dredged to 52 feet, the deepest on the East Coast.
