Reprinted from The Post &
Courier at Charleston.net
Port second fastest in the world
By: TONY BARTELME Of The Post and Courier Staff
Originally Published on: 3/20/01
Page: A 1
Cranes load at a record pace BRAD NETTLES/STAFF- State
Ports Authority dockworkers use three cranes Monday to load and unload the
container ship Ever Decent at the SPA North Charleston docks. (444056) Staff
High atop the State Ports Authority's container cranes, operators flip joy
sticks back and forth, flinging 50-ton boxes from ships to trucks in a
mesmerizing daylong dance.
The world's largest shipping line, Maersk Sealand, says
Charleston's container crews and longshoremen move these boxes as fast as anyone
in the world, including workers in Hong Kong, the reigning heavyweights. During
a recent five-week period, dockworkers in Charleston moved an average of 41.27
containers per hour on and off ships. That's just shy of Hong Kong's average of
43 containers per hour.
"They're knocking the stitches off the ball right
now," said Nick Taro, vice president of Universal Maritime Service Corp.,
the shipping line's stevedoring subsidiary. "Charleston is neck-and-neck
with Hong Kong, and the rest of the world is nowhere near those two."
Bragging rights are important. The faster dockworkers load and unload a vessel,
the less time a ship needs to be in port, which saves shipping lines money.
Ports often tout their productivity in advertisements to lure ocean carriers and
shippers.
Port leaders also have been stung in recent months over
claims that their terminals aren't efficient. Eddie Buck, SPA chairman, blames
opponents of a proposed shipping terminal on Daniel Island for these statements.
"That's because they don't have any good points to stand on."
Taro said Charleston's performance was particularly
notable considering Hong Kong's record of productivity. "The work mentality
over there (Hong Kong) is incredible, and they've been far ahead of everyone for
years. The fact that a U.S. port has closed this gap is phenomenal." He
said ports in Texas do about 38 to 39 moves per hour. "Everyone else is in
the mid-30s at best."
Charleston's performance also is remarkable in light of
all the turmoil at the port last year. Saying they were overworked and
underpaid, the SPA's crane operators nearly walked off their jobs last summer.
Thumbing their noses at SPA management, they and more than 100 other SPA yard
workers joined the International Longshoremen's Association.
The SPA responded by boosting wages and hiring new
machine operators. At first, productivity dipped as new employees mastered the
cranes and other machinery - it usually takes six months to a year to train a
crane operator - but soon efficiency levels were back up again. "That's a
real credit to their training program," Taro said.
Crane operators and longshoremen work using hand
signals. To outsiders, the communication seems almost telepathic. "You get
to know everyone, and you can almost anticipate someone's moves by his body
language," said Kenneth Riley, president of ILA Local 1422.
Riley said this teamwork was forged over decades.
"It stems from the breakbulk days, when we had one of the fastest
turnaround times," he said. "That culture and speed was passed down,
and now it's like a freeway: If you go 40 mph and everyone else is going 60,
you're going to get run over."
Tony Bartelme covers maritime and other issues. Contact
him at 937-5554 or bartelme@postandcourier.com