GOOD NEWS:  Two new ship-to-shore cranes arrive in Mount Pleasant

Image provided.

Staff reports  |  The Port of Charleston on March 1 welcomed two new ship-to-shore cranes at the Wando Welch Terminal to further enhance the handling of neo-Panamax vessels.  The next day, the S.C. Ports Authority (SCPA) celebrated the beginning of Charleston Harbor Deepening Project construction.

“It is fitting to welcome the arrival of two new cranes as we begin construction on the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project,” said Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO. “The cranes are an integral part of the Port’s plans to modernize existing terminals in order to more efficiently handle big ships. Along with the Wando Terminal wharf strengthening project, bigger cranes enable the Port to continue to meet the needs of our customers and deliver the operational reliability and productivity we are known for in the U.S. port industry.”

The new cranes can lift containers 155 feet above the dock. The Wando Welch Terminal received its first two neo-Panamax cranes in August 2016, and an additional crane is on order for delivery in August 2019.  Arrival of the cranes marks the final stage of a $48.4 million project to strengthen and upgrade the Wando Terminal wharf and infrastructure required for handling larger vessels. Upon commissioning of the new cranes in June, the Wando will return to a three-berth facility.

SCPA currently handles 20 of 27 weekly calls of vessels too large to transit the Panama Canal prior to its expansion. Beginning in April, two weekly services will consist of vessels 13,000 TEU or more. Upon completion of harbor deepening project in 2020, Charleston will offer wide channels with depth of 52 feet in the Inner Harbor and 54 feet in the Entrance Channel.

Also in Good News:

1,000+ take part in  Quest competition.  More than 1,000 students from 41 public schools in the tri-county area participated over the weekend in the 32^nd annual Quest Academic Competition at Trident Technical College. The competition was developed by TTC to promote academic excellence, provide an academic challenge to students, and recognize top students, teachers and schools.

Students participated in four levels of competition: Level I-grade 6, Level II-grades 7-8, Level III-grades 9-10 and Level IV-grades 11-12. Students competed and earned points in team competitions in math, science and social studies, and in individual competitions including composition, public speaking and visual arts. Overall awards were given to 12 schools:

• At Level I (grade 6) Camp Road Middle School won first place, Moultrie Middle School placed second and Buist Academy for Advanced Studies finished in third place.
• At Level II (grades 7-8) Rollings Middle School of the Arts took top honors, while Thomas C. Cario Middle School and Westview Middle School tied for second place.
• At Level III (grades 9-10) Ashley Ridge High School won first place, Academic Magnet High School placed second and Hanahan High School placed third.
• At Level IV (grades 11-12) Ashley Ridge High School and Academic Magnet High School repeated with first and second place, respectively, while Wando High School finished third.

Library annual report.  If you want to learn all of the great stuff offered by the Charleston County Public Library, check out its new 2017 annual report here.  You’ll learn how the library presents almost 3,000 programs annually attended by more than 112,000 people, h ow 15,500 people signed up last year for library cards; and how patrons used more than 1.3 million items, including downloads.

Rice recognized.  Hats off to local attorney Joe Rice of Motley Rice who recently received the Founder’s Award, the highest honor of the S.C. Association for Justice.  “Joe is a legendary champion for justice and his career has been an inspiration to the entire legal community. He has been at the center of the most significant and important legal cases of the past three decades,” said SCAJ President Hugh McAngus Jr.

Greenies get more hope.  A new Winthrop Poll may give state conservationists some hope that the tide (ahem) is turning in their direction on two big issues: opposition to drilling for oil or gas off the South Carolina coast and the increasing need to deal with climate change.

In 2015, a Harris Poll found 68 percent of South Carolinians supported offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. But in the months since, environmentalists and local governments along the coast have mounted a vocal public effort denouncing exploration for oil and gas as dangerous, particularly to tourism and coastal health.  The February Winthrop Poll showed 51 percent of South Carolinians – 71 percent of Democrats and 30 percent of Republicans – opposed offshore drilling. In coastal counties, the opposition was slightly larger at 54 percent. In support of drilling were 24 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Republicans of the 976 state residents 18 and older who were surveyed.  More:  See our sister publication, Statehouse Report.

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