Operations begin at South Carolina’s Hugh K. Leatherman Container Terminal

South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) has commenced operations at the recently completed Hugh K. Leatherman Container Terminal along the Cooper River in North Charleston.

Development of the US$2 billion facility spanned a period of over 20 years. Phase one, which was recently completed, adds 420 metres of berth space and 700,000 TEUs of throughput capacity to the adjacent Port of Charleston.

Facilities at the terminal include five electric ship-to-shore cranes, 19-hectare container yard with 25 hybrid rubber-tired gantry cranes, a 2.4-hectare refrigerated cargo area with six-story-tall container racks. The berth can also accommodate 20,000TEU vessels.

SC Ports said this is the first new container terminal to open in the United States since 2009. At full buildout, it will have three berths and a total area of 115 hectares, adding 2.4 million TEUs of annual throughput capacity to the Port of Charleston.