South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) will start taking delivery of five new ship-to-shore (STS) cranes for the Hugh K. Leatherman terminal on 26 October 2020.
In a statement, SC Ports said the new cranes will be among the tallest on the East Coast. They will have a lift height of 169ft above the wharf deck and an outreach of 228ft, enabling them to handle the biggest container ships calling at the US.
SC Ports eagerly anticipates the arrival of five new ship-to-shore cranes for the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, which is on track to open in March 2021.
The cranes, built by Shanghai-based ZPMC, are heading to SC Ports on two vessels.
The Zhen Hua 36 is carrying the first shipment of two ship-to-shore cranes; it is scheduled to arrive on October 26.
The Zhen Hua 24 is carrying the second shipment of three STS cranes, as well as four hybrid rubber-tired gantry cranes. This shipment is scheduled to arrive on 3 November.
The cranes will first stop at Columbus Street Terminal in downtown Charleston for about two days to be reconfigured to fit under the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. They will then make their way up the Cooper River to the state-of-the-art Leatherman Terminal.
“The Leatherman Terminal is designed to handle 19,000-TEU vessels, giving SC Ports great capacity and big-ship capabilities to serve our customers,” SC Ports CEO Jim Newsome said. “We look forward to welcoming the first ship at the Leatherman Terminal in March.”
Upon arrival, ZPMC USA will complete assembly and commissioning of the five new STS cranes over several months. The cranes will then stand on the new 1,400ft wharf, ready to load and unload cargo boxes from container ships when Phase One operations launch in March.
SC Ports COO Barbara Melvin said: “We are thrilled to see the amazing progress happening at the Leatherman Terminal every day.
“The arrival of our new ship-to-shore cranes highlights that our terminal is inching closer to its March opening. Our SC Ports engineering team, our great partnership with ZPMC, and the unmatched collaboration with our project partners have made this possible.”
