CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – As truck traffic backs up leading to the Wando Welch Terminal and truck drivers continue to call complaining of delays about getting into the port, more than two dozen large cargo ships still sit in the ocean off the Port of Charleston.
Marine traffic maps show there are at last 30 vessels sitting off the coast, and they’ve been seen on the maps there for weeks.
The vessels anchored there are cargo ships, according to the marine traffic map—each with the capacity to carry hundreds, potentially thousands, of containers.
South Carolina Ports saw a record number of containers handled at the Port of Charleston in January and they continue to see unprecedented volumes now, according to S.C. Ports Authority officials. They have a record number of import containers at the terminals awaiting delivery, which is the main cause of congestion, spokesperson Kelsi Brewer says.
Officials did not say how long it will take these anchored ships to clear the area.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has been in touch with Port leadership in Charleston, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“I know they’re working to keep up with the influx,” he says.
Fixing the backup and addressing the issues requires both short-term and long-term solutions, according to Buttigieg.
“Part of this has to deal with global economic dynamics, but some it can be addressed by more short-term action,” he says. “For example, not so far from South Carolina is Savannah. We were able to partner with the port there and help them create what are called temporary pop-up container yards. Basically, when they ran out of space for containers on the ports, move them inland and sort them out where there’s more available land. It’s creative ideas like that that are going to get us through these short-term crunches, but there’s no substitute for long-term investments.”
The backup of cargo ships in the ocean comes as some businesses along Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant say the traffic caused by truck drivers going into the Wando Terminal is impacting them, their customers and their business overall.
S.C. Ports issued the following statement about the congestion at the Ports:
We continue to see unprecedented volumes at South Carolina Ports. We have a record number of import containers on our terminals awaiting delivery which is the principal cause of the congestion. With containers dwelling longer on our terminals, this impacts berth productivity for vessels as well as the motor carrier’s ability to deliver exports. Identifying export space is the challenge we are experiencing today at our gates. It is not a systems issue. We have invested strategically in port infrastructure, and we are deploying creative solutions to keep freight moving for our customers.
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