Port of Wilmington, N.C.’s turning basin project reaches completion

The expanded turning basin project, which allows the port to handle post-Panamax vessels with a length of 1,150 feet and a breadth of 158 feet, involved the removal of an existing bulk pier and dredging along the port’s side of the Cape Fear River.    The Port of Wilmington, N.C.’s turning basin expansion project has reached completion, allowing the port to accommodate post-Panamax vessels with a length of 1,150 feet and a breadth of 158 feet, according to the North Carolina State Ports Authority.
   The project included the removal of an existing bulk pier and dredging along the port’s side of the Cape Fear River to expand the turning basin from 1,200 feet to 1,400 feet.
   The expansion will typically accommodate vessels ranging from 8,000-10,000 TEUs. On Sunday, the 8,208-TEU Yang Ming Unity became the largest vessel to utilize the expanded turning basin and call the Port of Wilmington, following its transit through the new locks on the recently expanded Panama Canal.
   “We are making the necessary investments, we are big-ship ready and we will continue to handle these larger vessels deployed to the U.S. Southeast,” North Carolina State Ports Authority Chief Commercial Officer Greg Fennell said.
   “With 45 crane moves per hour in each of its post-Panamax cranes, coupled with average truck turn times of 18 minutes for a single move and 30 minutes for a dual move, the Port of Wilmington’s high vessel and terminal productivity keeps vessels on schedule and reduces inventory and logistics costs,” the port authority said.
   In addition, the port authority said fiscal year 2016, which concluded at the end of June 2016, was its best financial year ever, while fiscal year 2017 has been off to a great start with the completion of the turning basin project, along with CSX launching a new intermodal rail service between the port and Charlotte, N.C.