Berth Rehabilitation - Diamond State Port Corporation

diamond-state-port-corporation-inspection

Expanding Capabilities

As the busiest terminal on the Delaware River, the Port of Wilmington must be equipped to handle the volume. To keep up with the influx of cargo ships, the Diamond State Port Corporation enlisted S. T. Hudson to work on the rehabilitation of Berths 5 and 6. The project includes an assessment with an underwater inspection, design plans, and construction management, all of which would help move ships in and out of the port quickly and efficiently.

Project Goals

For the Port of Wilmington, speed means increased profits, so moving ships quickly in and out of the port is essential. The goals for upgrading Berths 5 and 6 were to:

Improve Efficiency & Speed

Extending the rail cranes and expanding capacity for neo-Panamax cranes would increase efficiency in loading and unloading ships, allowing them to get in and out of the port faster.

Increase Versatility

Having fully-equipped berths that can handle loading and unloading any vessel — including 14,000 TEU vessels, the largest ships currently calling at East Coast ports — leads to more versatile and profitable operations.

Key Data Points

Million Tons

Annual Import/Export Cargo

400

Vessels Annually

U.S. Importer

Of Bananas & Fresh Fruit

Million Dollars

Total Project Value

Project Details

Using their expertise in underwater inspections, marine engineering and design, and construction management, S. T. Hudson completed a comprehensive rehabilitation of Berths 5 and 6 in the Port of Wilmington, which included extending the crane rail and more.

The Port of Wilmington began operations in 1923 as the first major port on the Delaware River. Today, it is the busiest terminal on the river and the top importer of fresh fruits and fruit juice concentrate in the U.S. It also has the largest U.S. dockside cold storage facility. The full-service deep water port and marine terminals handles about 400 vessels a year, amounting to an annual import/export cargo amount of over 6 million tons. The original construction dates back to the roots of our country in the 17th century. The current facilities were built at the turn of the century and have been maintained with rehabilitations along the way. Originally operated by the Diamond State Port Corporation, it is now run by Gulftainer, a large, independently-owned global port operator.

S.T. Hudson won the contract for Berths 5 and 6 due to their impeccable reputation in the maritime community. In addition, because of S. T. Hudson’s construction history, they had intimate knowledge of the area as well as resources such as old drawings. One of the biggest portions of the project involved extending the crane rails so ships would have an easier and more efficient means of loading and unloading. Previously, the port had to resort to vessel or mobile cranes, which hindered the speed of operations. The new project necessitated upgrading piling and fendering systems for the ships and providing support and infrastructure to hold giant shipping cranes that offload the ships. The results were better than expected: in 2018, there was 38 percent year-over-year growth in the number of containers that moved through the Port of Wilmington, and year-over-year cargo grew by 18 percent. Pleased with the work, Gulftainer is now in talks with S. T. Hudson for future projects, including extending the design of the crane rail for Berth 7.