PHOTO ESSAY: Views from the water

A ship is rounding Drum Island Reach.  Photo taken by Crayton Walters, 2006.

Our friends at the Charleston Branch Pilots Association have a perspective on Charleston that’s different from most folks’.  They see the Holy City from the water as much as they do from the land.   Here are some photos taken through the years that highlight the area’s continuing and important connection to the maritime economy.  Enjoy.

The Cosco ship Development as seen from a pilot boat, the Fort Ripley. Photo by Elizabeth Hills, 2017.

Apprentice Pilot Brian Cisco boards while pilot Capt. George Gammon looks on.  Photo by Rob Weil, 2015.

Cosco Development clears the Ravenel bridge on the way to Wando Welch Terminal. At the time in May of this year, the Development was the largest ship to call on the east coast with 3,092 TEUs (20-foot equivalent containers).  Photo by Elizabeth Hills.

CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt clears the Ravenel bridge with the assistance of Moran tugs on Sept. 14, 2017.  In August, the Roosevelt set a record for the largest ship to cross the Panama Canal, and it is the largest ship to call on the Port of Charleston at 14,414 TEUs.  Photo by Elizabeth Hills.

Working the ship MOL Bravo at Wando Welch terminal. Photo by Elizabeth Hills.

OOCL France as it leaves a berth at Wando Welch Terminal.  Photo by Capt. Whit Smith, 2017.

A view from the bridge of a ship as it moves to meet another ship’s position on a PPU, or personal pilot unit.  Photo by Rob Weil, 2015.