Wharf Improvements for New Panamax Size Vessels

Recently completed improvements to South Carolina Ports Authority’s (SCPA) Wando Welch Terminal’s (WWT) 3,800-foot (1,158 m) wharf repaired and upgraded waterfront infrastructure to accommodate larger container vessels. As a result, the Wando Welch Terminal went from accommodating 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) container vessels to 14,000 TEU vessels. Improvements included the following items: replacing crane rail beams, crane rails, bollards, fender systems, pin sockets, and crane tie-downs for ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, adding new concrete foundation piles, and existing pile repairs. Construction phasing was incorporated to maintain vessel operations and accommodate the arrival of STS cranes during construction. The work was performed over 33 months and showed that with proper planning, the improvements could be made while maintaining berth operations and accommodating other concurrent capital projects. This paper presents the design and operational considerations, as well as the construction challenges, of improving the WWT wharf infrastructure.