South Carolina Ports’ Leatherman Terminal was recognized as one of the top eight engineering projects in the country.

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) recognized Leatherman Terminal as a 2023 Grand Award Winner and as a finalist for the 2023 Grand Conceptor Award, which signifies the year’s best overall engineering achievement.

The state-of-the-art Leatherman Terminal opened in April 2021, marking the first new greenfield container terminal to open in the U.S. since 2009.

The SC Ports’ engineering team worked with many contractors, including HDR Inc., Banks Construction Co., Samet Corp., Cape Romain/McLean A Joint Venture and Cape Romain Contractors Inc. The $1 billion project was finished on time and under budget.

Situated along the Cooper River in North Charleston, Leatherman Terminal’s 169-foot-tall ship-to-shore cranes can be seen throughout the Charleston region.

The terminal was designed with sustainability in mind. It boasts five electric ship-to-shore cranes and 25 hybrid rubber-tired gantry cranes to significantly reduce emissions.

Phase One of Leatherman Terminal can handle 700,000 TEUs of cargo and a 20,000-TEU vessel. At full buildout, the terminal will have three berths capable of handling 2.4 million TEUs of cargo.