The new super post-Panamax cranes towering over the Wando Welch Terminal‘s waterfront are among the most visually striking symbols of the State Ports Authority‘s readiness for oversized container ships visiting here via an expanded Panama Canal.
On Wednesday, the ship-to-shore behemoths will be the focus of a celebration complete with fireworks and a special light show as they are commissioned to begin work at the Mount Pleasant terminal.
Jim Newsome, the SPA’s president and CEO, called the two cranes “a milestone for our port” when they were delivered in August. Built by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries of China, the $27 million cranes are 155 feet tall with an outreach of about 200 linear feet. They are capable of handing a fully loaded ship carrying 14,000 cargo boxes – the largest vessels able to fit through the canal.
Wednesday’s event will be held on the dock between the new cranes, which will be illuminated with special lighting while Newsome speaks to a crowd of dignitaries including the SPA’s board of directors, past directors, elected officials, port customers, maritime companies and the cranes’ makers. A brief light show will follow, with a fireworks display afterward.
The SPA also sponsored will announce the winning names from its “name the crane” contest that was held for local third-grade to fifth-grade students. The winning monikers will be painted on the cranes.
The event runs 6 to 8 p.m.
The cranes are part of a $2 billion capital-improvement plan designed to accommodate large container ships that are replacing smaller, older vessels carrying cargo to and from the Port of Charleston.
Among the planned improvements are a new container terminal under construction at the former Navy Basein North Charleston and a project that will dredge Charleston Harbor to 52 feet, making it the deepest shipping channel on the East Coast. Both projects are scheduled for completion by the end of the decade.
Late last month, the port shipped off the last two containers cranes at its Columbus Street Terminal, which now handles automobiles and other types of heavy, loose cargo. A Dubai company bought them as a set for $3.9 million to use in Canada.
