CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston handles more cargo in a week than the state's steamship terminal at Port Royal does in a year.

So Gov. Mark Sanford suggested Thursday the State Ports Authority shutter the tiny Beaufort County operation which attracts only about 20 ships a year.

"I would ask that, given where it is, we look at how quickly we can close it," Sanford said during a budget hearing. "Essentially we're losing money on it. Essentially its a noncore business. Rather than going through studies the next year and a half, let's look at it on an expedited basis."

Later Sanford urged the authority to work with local lawmakers to ease congestion caused by tractor-trailer trucks moving to Charleston-area terminals. He also asked officials to see if there are places they can trim the agency's operating budget.

"The big thing to keep in mind in all of this is the big picture - the big picture is maintaining strategic advantage and competitiveness," the governor said.

The State Ports Authority has received no state money since the 1970s when the Wando Terminal was being built, said Byron Miller, an authority spokesman. The state does help pay for harbor dredging.

Port Royal entered the discussion when Sanford asked Bernard Groseclose, the authority's president and chief executive officer, if there are missions the agency does not need to perform.

Groseclose said the Beaufort County terminal, on 11 acres of valuable waterfront property, handles mainly fertilizer and cement. It lost $58,000 last year, he said.

Closing it would require lawmaker approval. The General Assembly years ago required the authority to operate terminals in Georgetown, Charleston and Port Royal, Groseclose said.

"If you have a multimillion dollar asset that is sitting there idling, then it's probably not a great use of taxpayer assets," Sanford said.

Building a new terminal at the old Charleston Naval Base also was discussed at the meeting. John Hassell of the authority board told Sanford paying for construction will need help from private enterprise.

"A new terminal is $400 to $500 million. We're not going to be able to fund that with revenue bonds," he said.

The authority will build there after efforts to build on nearby Daniel Island were scuttled by local opposition.

State Sen. John Kuhn, R-Charleston, said he was concerned the new terminal could be blocked from future expansion by several federal agencies at the old base, including a U.S. Border Patrol School.

But state Sen. Arthur Ravenel, R-Mount Pleasant, said land for any expansion won't be needed for years and by then the federal agencies will be gone.

"If they are not gone, the congressional delegation will move them," promised Ravenel, who like Sanford, once represented the coastal 1st Congressional District.

As far as traffic goes, Sanford said there will always be trucks where there are ports but said extending terminal hours might help ease congestion.

"There are some operational things that can be done to shift that truck traffic to the nighttime hours so consequently a mom with two kids going to soccer practice won't have to contend with that truck," he said.

Two years ago, terminal gate hours were extended and are now open from 7 a.m. through 6 p.m., Miller said. But, he said, many containers are still shipped during the day because the inland businesses where they are delivered are not open at night.