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| Subject: | CHARLESTON SC DAILY PORT UPDATE | | Date: | Monday, May 11, 2009 | | Priority: | Normal | | Notice: |
URGENT INFORMATION - NONE
PORT LIMITS/INFORMATION
------------------------
Maximum Depths - (Fresh)
Harbor Entrance - 47.0 ft
Main Channel - 45.0 ft
BERTH LIMITS/INFORMATION:
-------------------------
Current maximum drafts allowed at berths:
Amerada Hess - Max draft - 40'00
Delfin - Max Draft - 42'00
Chem Marine - Max Draft - 38'00 MLW
Kinder Morgan - berth 1 - 40'00
Kinder Morgan - berth 2 - 40'00
Kinder Morgan - berth 3 - TBA
Kinder Morgan - berth 4 - Max draft 39'00, tide needed for anything
deeper than 36'00
BP - Max draft 32'6" Low water / Salt
Wando Terminal - Max draft 45'00 MLW - Max BM No restriction
North Charleston Terminal - Max draft 45'00 MLW - Max BM No restriction
CST - Max draft 45'00 MLW - Max BM No restrictions
Nucor - Max draft 25'00 (movements daylight & tidal restricted), Max LOA
450', Max Beam 52'
Per pilots - restrictions for Tanker movements:
Drafts of 36'00 or less may transit at anytime Drafts of 36'01 to 40'00 -
window: Start in 1 Hour before low water until 2 hours before high water
Drafts of 40'01 to 41'00 - window: start in 2 hours after low water until
2 hours before high water
Drafts of 41'01 to 42'00 - window: start in 3 hours after low water until
3 hours before high water
VESSEL TRAFFIC:
---------------------------------------------
KMI #4 - JILL JACOB - ETA 1330/11TH
BP - TUG INTERGRITY & 650-4 - ETA 1600/11TH
=============================================
FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL FILING REQUIREMENTS:
---------------------------------------------
96 Hours - advance notice of arrival required by USCG
48 Hours - advance receipt of crew list by Immigration for any vessel
arriving from a foreign port, or arriving coast wise with detained crew.
24 Hours (minimum) - Foreign cargo must have manifest submitted to
Customs & Border Patrol AMS. Bond must be filed for Foreign flag vessels
or U.S.
flag arriving with foreign cargo aboard.
24 Hours - advance notice to Pilots
24 Hours - advance fax of crew list and approved visitors required by
Terminal.
PRIOR TO ARRIVAL - as of 11/15 - Mandatory Right Whale reporting by all
vessels - for information - www.nmfs.noaa/pr/shipstrike.com
72 Hours - post port call, the Port Authority requires bill of lading
figures for all bulk cargo.
Port Security - All persons doing business within Port Authority property
must have security pass from SCPA. All persons wanting unescorted access
to any vessel must have a valid TWIC.
=========================================
CURRENT ARTICLES:
Rail or no rail? That is the question
Agency hard-pressed to please all parties with new terminal plan
By Allyson Bird (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, May 10, 2009
One reason why the State Ports Authority ditched plans to build its massive
Global Gateway container terminal on Daniel Island still haunts the agency:
Residents rallied against the idea of a new rail line that would serve it.
From there, the SPA turned its sights on the former Charleston Naval Base
in North Charleston, and they didn't include rail in that plan.
That was nearly seven years ago and, according to port officials, none of
the maritime agency's customers seemed to mind at the time. Surveys deemed
train service unnecessary.
SPA interim chief executive officer John Hassell, who was a board member
then, said that only made the Navy base more attractive. After all, trucks
were expected to haul any rail-bound cargo — as much as 25 percent of the
total — from the new port to existing CSX and Norfolk Southern yards in
North Charleston.
But in recent months, the game changed. Calls intensified for moving
containers by train, and proponents identified several potential new sites
for more port-driven rail yards. Others argued why there should be none.
The rail issue, however it plays out, could have far-reaching effects for
Charleston-area residents and the economy. Environmental and neighborhood
groups said that putting more port cargo on trains would cut the number of
trucks on local roads and reduce pollution. Others worry about further
delaying the expansion of the Port of Charleston, an economic powerhouse
that said it needs more dock space to attract new business and stay
competitive with other ports. And the city of North Charleston wants to
protect its ongoing revitalization efforts.
If new rail enters the equation now, the SPA could face more studies and
permitting delays. The agency plans to open its new terminal in 2014, with
the heavy lifting beginning now.
"We are interested in what's good for South Carolina," Hassell said. "We
can't be a part of what we're doing beyond the plan we've approved. We
don't want to risk any delays in the Navy base terminal."
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said the rail route for two of the
sites violate an agreement between the SPA and his city that prohibits
trains from going through the northern end of the old base.
While lawmakers in Columbia introduced legislation that essentially would
override that agreement, Summey said he will sue to stall the entire
project in response.
That puts the SPA in a strange position.
"We're concerned that you can't lump all parties together under the heading
of 'the state,' " Hassell said, adding that the SPA plans to proceed with
its terminal as originally intended, despite third-party interests. "I'm
very hopeful it will not impede our progress or endanger our permit."
Whose property?
When a state Commerce Department-sponsored rail plan named possible
locations for "intermodal" facilities to link trucks to trains, it came as
a surprise to some of the property owners. One site belongs to the Noisette
Co., another to Shipyard Creek Associates and a third is designated for
Clemson University.
Noisette estimates $300 million in demolition costs, plus some 80 canceled
leases, if trains are allowed to run through its property at the north end.
That translates into a direct hit to North Charleston's tax base and a
primary reason for Summey's ire.
The mayor has pointed out that if rail comes through the Noisette tract or
the Clemson site that it would violate the SPA agreement. He called that
"putting the burden of the entire state of South Carolina on the back of
one city" and said such a maneuver will undo the redevelopment progress
made in that part of the city.
The tract that received the highest recommendation in the study for a train
facility, though, belongs to Shipyard Creek Associates, a group that has
elevated the discussion about trains and the port over the past few months.
Local developer Robert L. Clement III, one of Shipyard's partners, said he
didn't anticipate the findings of the state rail report. But that doesn't
mean he won't use them to promote his plan.
Back in the fall, his group unveiled a proposal to turn the 135-acre
Macalloy site in the Neck Area into a terminal for lifting and transferring
shipping containers from trucks onto trains, sometimes stacking them two
high on rail cars. The facility, as the group envisions it, would include a
network of distribution centers and warehouses.
The pluses include fewer trucks on the road and efficient cargo movement as
volume grows. The obstacles include a yet-to-be-built port access road
that, as planned, would run through Macalloy and interfere with the
container-lifting cranes he wants to put on the property.
Another negative is that the facility would not offer port users a choice.
CSX would serve the yard to the exclusion of competitor Norfolk Southern.
To the first quandary, Clement said the access road project would require
only minor repositioning. The changes would not require a new environmental
impact study — an expensive and time-consuming process — but merely a
partial study, he said.
As to the question of dual access, Clement provides a more complex answer.
Just a pipe dream?
Last week, he revealed to The Post and Courier an ambitious plan that would
turn a former landfill off Morrison Drive in Charleston into a second
intermodal facility — this one dedicated to Norfolk Southern.
Originally planned as a mixed-use development with hotels and condominiums,
the tract known as Promenade instead could redefine the port system,
according to Shipyard Creek.
One side of the 200-acre plot would house the train facility, providing
enough container space to double the SPA's Columbus Street Terminal
operations, according to Clement. The other side would create a new
location for the port's roll-on/roll-off cargo operations, now based at
Union Pier near Charleston's historic district.
The advantages, as Shipyard Creek sees it, include providing service to the
second major rail carrier without violating the SPA-North Charleston
agreement and potentially easing traffic on the lower peninsula by moving
the Union Pier operations and their accompanying rail needs north.
The Promenade plan hinges on Norfolk Southern's willingness to partner. The
railroad operator originally balked at the plan but, after a meeting
Thursday with Shipyard Creek and lawmakers, the company "came away with a
commitment to take another look at it." Norfolk Southern Public Relations
Manager Robin Chapman said.
But even if Norfolk Southern welcomes the partnership, competing carrier
CSX owns the track that runs alongside the Promenade property. And CSX
would have to agree to concede the facility to its top competitor in the area.
Shipyard Creek consultant John Vickerman suggested that CSX wants the
Macalloy facility and might, in exchange, grant Norfolk Southern exclusive
access.
Though the mayors of North Charleston and Charleston support the Promenade
plan, S.C. Public Railways President Jeff McWhorter calls it a near
impossibility. Even if CSX agrees to back off, intermodal trains that
stretch 8,000 feet would create a traffic nightmare in the area, he said.
And the project would require constructing new tracks across marshland to
reach the Promenade site.
"You're talking about building a bridge," McWhorter said. "With the current
state of our economy and our budget, I just don't see it happening."
McWhorter's agency falls under the Commerce Department, whose rail study
supports bringing CSX and Norfolk Southern through the northern end of the
base.
"There is no viable alternative from the south," McWhorter said. "We've
studied it. It's just not there."
But lawmakers and rail players will spend the next few weeks giving rail
one more look — putting aside all studies, potential lawsuits and years of
port planning.
=============================================
CURRENT ISSUES:
05/12/09 - 1145-0130 CWIT Luncheon
05/13/09 - VA Prop Spring Cruise
FUTURE/ONGOING ISSUES:
05/14/09 - VA Trade Symposium
05/19/09 - 1800 - CWIT - Guest speakers
05/22/09 - National Maritime Day
05/26/09 - 1100 - VPA Board Meeting
06/09/09 - NC Port Advisory Quarterly meeting
06/11/09 - VA Prop Golf outing
2014 - ETA FOR NEW CHARLESTON PORT TERMINAL TO BE COMPLETED
-----------------------------------------------
HURRICANE ALERT - 5 - OUT OF SEASON
SEAPORT SECURITY ALERT CURRENTLY AT YELLOW/ELEVEATED - MARSEC 1
============================================
Tides for Charleston (Customhouse Wharf) starting with May 6, 2009.
Day High Tide Height Sunrise Moon Time % Moon
/Low Time Feet Sunset Visible
M 11 Low 4:16 AM 0.2 6:23 AM Set 7:51 AM 97
11 High 10:01 AM 4.7 8:09 PM Rise 10:52 PM
11 Low 4:03 PM 0.4
11 High 10:32 PM 5.8
Tu 12 Low 4:57 AM 0.4 6:23 AM Set 8:43 AM 93
12 High 10:42 AM 4.6 8:10 PM Rise 11:39 PM
12 Low 4:41 PM 0.6
12 High 11:11 PM 5.5
W 13 Low 5:37 AM 0.6 6:22 AM Set 9:38 AM 87
13 High 11:23 AM 4.5 8:10 PM
13 Low 5:20 PM 0.8
13 High 11:52 PM 5.3
Th 14 Low 6:17 AM 0.8 6:21 AM Rise 12:20 AM 80
14 High 12:07 PM 4.4 8:11 PM Set 10:35 AM
14 Low 6:02 PM 1.0
F 15 High 12:35 AM 5.1 6:20 AM Rise 12:56 AM 72
15 Low 7:00 AM 0.8 8:12 PM Set 11:31 AM
15 High 12:54 PM 4.4
15 Low 6:50 PM 1.1
Sa 16 High 1:22 AM 5.0 6:20 AM Rise 1:28 AM 63
16 Low 7:45 AM 0.8 8:12 PM Set 12:28 PM
16 High 1:46 PM 4.4
16 Low 7:44 PM 1.2
Su 17 High 2:11 AM 4.9 6:19 AM Rise 1:57 AM 54
17 Low 8:33 AM 0.8 8:13 PM Set 1:24 PM
17 High 2:40 PM 4.6
17 Low 8:45 PM 1.2
M 18 High 3:03 AM 4.8 6:19 AM Rise 2:25 AM 44
18 Low 9:22 AM 0.6 8:14 PM Set 2:22 PM
18 High 3:35 PM 4.9
18 Low 9:48 PM 1.1
Tu 19 High 3:56 AM 4.8 6:18 AM Rise 2:52 AM 34
19 Low 10:13 AM 0.4 8:15 PM Set 3:20 PM
19 High 4:29 PM 5.2
19 Low 10:50 PM 0.9
W 20 High 4:50 AM 4.8 6:17 AM Rise 3:21 AM 25
20 Low 11:03 AM 0.2 8:15 PM Set 4:22 PM
20 High 5:21 PM 5.6
20 Low 11:49 PM 0.6
Th 21 High 5:43 AM 4.9 6:17 AM Rise 3:52 AM 16
21 Low 11:53 AM -0.1 8:16 PM Set 5:27 PM
21 High 6:12 PM 6.0
F 22 Low 12:44 AM 0.3 6:16 AM Rise 4:27 AM 9
22 High 6:35 AM 4.9 8:17 PM Set 6:36 PM
22 Low 12:43 PM -0.3
22 High 7:03 PM 6.4
Sa 23 Low 1:37 AM 0.0 6:16 AM Rise 5:09 AM 3
23 High 7:27 AM 5.0 8:17 PM Set 7:47 PM
23 Low 1:33 PM -0.5
23 High 7:54 PM 6.6
Su 24 Low 2:29 AM -0.2 6:15 AM Rise 5:59 AM 0
24 High 8:20 AM 5.1 8:18 PM Set 8:58 PM
24 Low 2:24 PM -0.7
24 High 8:46 PM 6.7
==================================================
OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST
WATERS FROM SOUTH SANTEE RIVER TO EDISTO BEACH SC OUT 20 NM-
334 AM EDT MON MAY 11 2009
TODAY
VARIABLE WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW 10 KT...SHIFTING
N LATE. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS LATE THIS
MORNING AND AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
N WINDS 15 KT...BECOMING NE 15 TO 20 KT AFTER
MIDNIGHT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT...BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. A
CHANCE OF TSTMS IN THE EVENING. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TUE
NE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN THE MORNING.
TUE NIGHT
E WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT.
WED
E WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN THE AFTERNOON.
WED NIGHT
E WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT AFTER
MIDNIGHT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT...SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 5 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
THU
S WINDS 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.
FRI
S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT.
MARINERS ARE REMINDED THAT WINDS AND SEAS CAN BE HIGHER IN AND
NEAR TSTMS.
| | Notice posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 | |
Disclaimer
For quality assurance purposes please note well that while the above information is regularly vetted for accuracy it is not intended to replace the local knowledge or expertise pertaining to port conditions of our marine operations personnel. Port précis should always be verified by contacting the corresponding marine department of a particular location for the most up-to-date information.
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