Two cranes delivered for Charleston’s Columbus terminal
Two large quay container cranes, each costing $6 million, have been delivered to the port of Charleston. The cranes are destined for the Columbus Street terminal, a facility with unobstructed navigational access and 45-foot (13.7-meter) channels.
The new cranes are designed to lift containers to and from ships that are too wide to transit the Panama Canal. They have an outreach of 22 containers across the deck of ships. Currently, the largest ships in the world have 17 containers abreast.
The port of Charleston said that its Columbus Street facility, the port’s smallest container terminal, now has a 1,000-foot (300-meter) berth. The facility was created by demolishing an old warehouse and improving the wharf area. Shipping lines that call at the Columbus Street terminal include COSCO Container Lines, “K” Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin Shipping and Atlanticargo.
Over the coming few months, the container cranes will be tested and placed into service, the port said. The new cranes will run on electric power, as opposed to older diesel-electric cranes that generate additional air pollution. These container cranes are also the port's largest and fastest to date, according to the South Carolina State Ports Authority.