“South Carolina absolutely gets it in terms of the importance of the Port of Charleston,” Conway said, “and has essentially written a blank check to do what is necessary and jump through whatever hurdles so that it continues to grow, retain and attract companies like Boeing and BMW.”

In 2012, the SC General Assembly set aside USD 300 million in a Harbour Deepening Reserve Fund to cover the entire estimated construction cost of the harbor deepening project in case of any shortfall in federal dollars. The harbor deepening project complements the SCPA’s USD 1.3-billion, 10-year capital plan for infrastructure improvements and new land-side capacity, including the Inland Port.

Conway highlighted the growth of ports in the Southeast, noting the SCPA’s success in balancing Charleston’s historic nature and tourism industry with the need for port growth by shifting expansion efforts to the interior of the state and developing an inland port in Greer.   

“This is having a tremendous, positive impact on the Port of Charleston,” Conway said. “I think these inland ports are going to be a major game changer for who is most successful and who is not so successful in this first post-Panamax decade.”

The 91-acre Inland Port offers overnight rail service to and from the Port of Charleston with initial utilisation of approximately 40,000 container moves annually with the potential to expand to 100,000 moves annually.

“I believe the Inland Port will be a major distribution hub located within 500 miles of 94 million consumers,” said SC Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome. “Reliable, cost-effective movement of freight is critical for serving the Southeast, which is the fastest growing region of the US, and the Inland Port positions us to do that.”

Conway also predicted that the Port of Charleston, in addition to the Port of New York and New Jersey, is the likely destination for post-Panamax ships who may only call on two ports per coast. The Port of Charleston is well-positioned to meet the needs of post-Panamax ships because of its proximity to the ocean, high efficiency and favorable weather.

This “traveling” award is presented to the port that earns the most points in AAPA’s annual communications competition.

Morris said the campaigns produced by the department shared a cohesive message across multiple platforms, such as advertisements, community relations events and collateral materials.

“Our public relations mission is to communicate GPA’s commercial advantages while highlighting our customer service, economic development and sustainable practices,” Morris said. “Key messages showcased our ports’ capacity to move autos and containerized cargo, extensive berth space, and Class I rail connections to the U.S. Southeast.”

The communications effort also shared GPA’s environmentally responsible business practices, such as reducing diesel consumption with electrified ship-to-shore cranes and North America’s first electrified rubber-tired gantry cranes – all while preserving water quality and natural history.

“When port authorities communicate strategically with their many audiences, including their communities, business leaders and policymakers, they’re better able to show their tremendous value as economic development and jobs drivers,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO. “This competition helps our member ports by rewarding effective communications and highlighting best practices and lessons learned.”

GPA executive director Curtis Foltz said membership in the AAPA provides valuable feedback that helps to hone port operations, including communication outreach.

“This marks the first time the GPA has brought home the overall excellence award,” Foltz said. “It is welcome recognition of the work our Corporate Communications office has done to share our message with the public and policy makers, as well as current and potential customers.”

The Port Authority wants to make Rotterdam the most sustainable port of its kind and sees LNG as a way of substantially reducing emissions from shipping. The subsidy is in line with the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s endeavour to fully develop the market for LNG as a fuel and to open an LNG hub in Rotterdam before the end of 2015. In order to achieve this the Port Authority is investing in infrastructure (incl. a break-bulk terminal), it is closely involved in putting the necessary (inter)national policy and regulations in place and is investing in cooperation with relevant partners. The two subsidies were also the result of close cooperation with other (inter)national parties.

European chain
The subsidy represents a considerable boost for the Rotterdam LNG hub, but by no means all the cash will benefit the port of Rotterdam specifically. The whole European LNG logistics chain will profit. For instance, 33 partners are involved in the LNG Masterplan for the Rhine-Main-Danube corridor. The project is coordinated by ‘ProDanube’. The Port Authority is coordinator for the Rhine corridor. The ports of Antwerp, Strasbourg, Mannheim and Basel and a few private parties are also involved. The subsidy for the break-bulk terminals relates to a joint venture between the ports of Gothenburg and Rotterdam. Via the break-bulk terminal, it will shortly be possible to supply LNG to the bunker market in (north) west Europe as well.

LNG in Rotterdam
Since 2011 the port of Rotterdam has had a special terminal for storing and handling liquefied natural gas; the Gate terminal. The first inland vessels to sail on LNG are the Argonon and the Greenstream recently launched, which Shell now charters. This year, the municipality of Rotterdam amended the regulations, so that inland shipping can now bunker. Supported by this subsidy, the port authorities of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Gothenburg and Antwerp, among others, are now preparing further joint international regulations.

LNG
LNG stands for liquefied natural gas. Natural gas (methane) turns into liquid at -162 degrees Celsius. Ships which sail on LNG are less noisy and emit hardly any sulphur and nitrogen oxides. Furthermore, carbon emissions can be reduced by 15%. The national LNG Platform also champions the use of LNG by trucks, inland and marine shipping.

The five new Kalmar machines will add to the port’s current fleet of 27 straddle carriers, all of which are Kalmar Classic models, the world’s most popular straddle carrier. Providing additional capacity at this rapidly expanding terminal, the port’s chosen model of the Classic is capable of lifting single containers and stacking one-over-two with loads of up to 40 tonnes.

The powerful workhorse has the Kalmar Smoothlift(TM) hoist system which combines powerful performance with unrivalled reliability. The Kalmar Classic straddle carrier also features Kalmar’s proven 7th generation technology, consisting of an enhanced CAN-bus PLC diagnostics system, fly-by-wire controls and directly PLC controlled engines, plus a hydrodynamic drive system.

Kalmar has been supplying straddle carriers to the Port of Tacoma since 1986 and has built a very close working relationship with the port. This relationship has led to Kalmar and the port developing the world’s first on-dock rail operation using only straddle carriers.