Port of Charleston Capacity Set to Expand
Written by Nick Blenkey, Senior Editorial Consultant and Web Editor, Marine Log
SC Ports plans to purchase the former WestRock paper mill site adjacent to its North Charleston terminal. ] [Photo/SC Ports/Matthew Peacock.
South Carolina Ports plans to purchase the former WestRock paper mill site in North Charleston, S.C., to expand port capacity at the Port of Charleston. The roughly 280-acre industrial waterfront property sits adjacent to the port’s North Charleston Terminal, offering a natural extension of the container terminal that will enable SC Ports to handle more cargo for port-dependent businesses.
The additional land will expand the terminal’s capacity to handle 5 million containers in the future, and create 5,000 feet of linear berth space for container ships and around 400 acres of terminal space for cargo.
SC Ports plans to modernize the existing North Charleston Terminal with an optimized layout, upgraded cargo handling equipment and significant new container capacity. Customers will also benefit from the on-terminal rail service offered by Palmetto Railways with dual connectivity to CSX and Norfolk Southern, and proximity to Interstate 526.
An enterprise agency of the state of South Carolina and a division of the SCDOT, Palmetto Railways is the terminal switching provider for all of SC Ports rail-served marine terminals at the Port of Charleston.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is playing a major role in the project. As part of its expansion of Interstate 526, SCDOT plans to replace the Don Holt Bridge, which will remove height constraints for larger vessels.
Plans are also under way to achieve a 52-foot depth up to North Charleston Terminal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, is undertaking a feasibility study as a first step toward deepening this stretch of the Cooper River an additional five feet.
This deepening effort, combined with the new bridge height, will allow the biggest containerships calling the Port of Charleston to seamlessly access the North Charleston Terminal.
“Modernizing the terminal, raising the Don Holt Bridge, deepening the Cooper River and purchasing the former WestRock property are all critical components that will yield a state-of-the-art North Charleston Terminal,” said SC Ports president and CEO Barbara Melvin.
The site also provides support functions for Ingevity Corporation’s North Charleston manufacturing facility. SC Ports has been working closely with Ingevity to align their future needs during the transition.
SC Ports will work with SCDOT, Palmetto Railways, Ingevity and the City of North Charleston to master plan the infrastructure to best support the region’s economy and residents.
“This land purchase represents a tremendous opportunity to position our port system and our state competitively for decades to come,” said SC Ports board chairman Bill Stern. “Our port infrastructure investments directly support thousands of South Carolina companies that depend on SC Ports to do business, and we are expanding to ensure we have the capacity to handle the growth in the Southeast.”
