Modernization helps improve efficiency at Sunny Point

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — The Sunny Point Ocean Terminal near Southport is a lifeline for our troops overseas. Today the facility celebrated the completion of a modernization project that should help the military even more.

The military wharf at Sunny Point was already helping out our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan by shipping out 90 percent of the ammunition used in combat. The wharf will still supply our troops with ammo, but the new changes will allow the supplies to show up three times faster. The wharf was widened on both sides, giving cranes more room to load and unload.

A ribbon cutting ceremony today marked the completion of the wharf. Military leaders stressed how important the renovations are to their mission overseas.

“Having sufficient ammunition for our war fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be over stated,” Maj. Gen. James L. Hodge. “Without ammunition when they need it in their battlefield they cannot get their job done.”

The wharf is expecting its first vessel next month. With the renovations it will take crews a week to a week and a half to load their cargo. In the past it would take crews three weeks.