Ports of the Americas
Special Report
container terminals. SC Ports said dredging the Cooper River to the federally authorized depth for the harbor will allow the port“ to handle the biggest ships at any tide, further enhancing port competitiveness.” The North Charleston Terminal, the smallest by acreage of the port’ s three terminals, has handled the port’ s short-sea services from South and Central America. But with the planned temporary idling of the Leatherman terminal, North Charleston is now also handling larger post-Panamax ship services from Europe, the Mediterranean and the Indian subcontinent. SC Ports made the request to study dredging back in 2024, but the $ 500,000 federal portion of the funding only became available in the budget for the fiscal
Brownie Harris / Getty Images
2026 Water Resources Development Act. Ports typically fund the other half of dredging studies. Along with the dredging, SC Ports would also need to raise the height of the Don Holt Bridge, which spans the Cooper River, to accommodate the largest vessels calling Charleston. SC Ports said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce it is in talks with the South Carolina Department of Transportation“ to replace and raise the bridge as part of the modernization effort at [ North Charleston Terminal ].” SC Ports has deferred plans for future container capacity at NCT, which can currently handle 500,000 TEUs, as it reviews capital spending plans. The port has instead opted to use a proposed expansion area near NCT for handling roll-on / roll-off vessels. halbergman / Getty Images
Port LA-LB’ s new clean air plan includes EV infrastructure funds
By Bill Mongelluzzo
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will contribute a combined $ 40 million in new funding to build out a region-wide zeroemissions truck charging network as part of an expanded clean air initiative in concert with the local emissions regulatory agency. The new measures approved in early August by both ports and the South Coast Air Quality Management District( AQMD) also include enhancements to existing green ship incentive programs and a new program to encourage the deployment of zero-emission trucks. The latest initiatives are being called an“ addendum” to an emissions reduction plan the Southern California ports and AQMD agreed to late last year.“ These measures are an evolution of the collaborative framework established last year and enable us to make progress toward zero emissions through concrete, measurable and transparent actions,” Steven Neal, president of the Long Beach Harbor Commission, said in a statement. The first phase of the zero-emissions infrastructure plan is expected to be released next spring, the Port of Long Beach said. The goal is to expand truck EV charging stations throughout the vast Southern California region that has more than 2 billion square feet of warehouse and distribution space. The new agreement also includes enhancements to existing green ship incentive programs at the ports that encourage ocean carriers to deploy their newest, lowemission ships in services to Southern California. A third element of the agreement will further incentivize
deployment of zero-emission trucks at the 12 container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach. Drayage operators receive financial rewards for investing in EV trucks that work the harbor. The Southern California ports each year publish their inventories for emissions reductions from all sources generated under their joint Clean Air Action Plan( CAAP) that was adopted in 2006. Under the CAAP, diesel particulate matter has been reduced by 90 %, nitrogen oxides by 68 %, and sulfur oxides by 98 % from the 2005 base year, Long Beach said in the statement.
New Orleans mega terminal receives federal approval
By Michael Angell
halbergman / Getty Images
The Port of New Orleans( Port NOLA) has received federal approval to build the first new container terminal along the Gulf Coast in nearly two decades, setting the stage for Mediterranean Shipping Co. to eventually bring in ultra-large vessels that currently don’ t call Gulf Coast ports. The port said Aug. 17 that the US Army Corps of Engineers had approved the construction permit for the Louisiana International Terminal( LIT), almost five years after the application was submitted. Less than a month later, a state court overruled a motion filed by the port’ s Board of Commissioners that would have ended a lawsuit filed by the St. Bernard Parish government in August 2023 seeking to block the project. Port NOLA
44 Journal of Commerce | October 5, 2026 www. joc. com