South Carolina Ports announced that it will soon have near-dock rail and an inner-harbor barge operation to ensure fluidity and capacity for the Southeast supply chain.

SC Ports is developing the rail-served intermodal yard to provide near-dock rail to the Port of Charleston.

"This resolves the last remaining competitive disadvantage we have as a major East Coast container port," said Barbara Melvin, president of SC Ports.

"This critical infrastructure project will greatly enhance SC Ports' capacity, allowing imports and exports to swiftly move between the hinterland and the Port of Charleston."

The Navy Base Intermodal Facility sits about one mile from Leatherman Terminal.

In the announcement, SC Ports noted that containers will be moved to and from the Leatherman Terminal on a dedicated road. Inside the intermodal yard, rail-mounted gantry cranes will lead containers on and off trains.

In partnership with Palmetto Railways, Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern will utilize SC Ports' state-of-the-art rail yard to further enhance rail competitiveness. Nearly 80,000 feet of rail track will create a capacity of 1 million rail lifts in Phase 1.

The Navy Base Intermodal Facility will also further enhance SC Ports' successful, rail-served Inland Ports in Greer and Dillon. 

SC Ports said its inner-harbor barge operation will support the Navy Base Intermodal Facility by moving containers between Wando Welch Terminal and Leatherman Terminal via a designated marine highway which will address trucking capacity as more cargo continues to flow through SC Ports.

"The inner-harbor barge operation and innovative rail yard will add critical capacity to our port market," Melvin said. "These investments will further support our customers' supply chains and attract additional cargo to our port."

The SC Legislature allocated a total of US$550 million to fully fund these projects — US$400 million for the rail yard and US$150 million for the barge operation.

SC Ports noted that  the projects, which are slated to open in July 2025, will complement the more than US$2 billion SC Ports has already invested in its infrastructure and operations to remain competitive as a top 10 U.S. container port.