Late last week, the massive CMA CGM MARCO POLO sailed into Charleston, setting the record as the largest ship to ever call the U.S. East Coast and the Port of Charleston.
South Carolina Ports had a record April for cargo handled at the Port of Charleston, following an all-time cargo record achieved in March. SC Ports reported its strongest April ever for containers, moving 225,137 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) across Wando Welch Terminal, North Charleston Terminal and Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal. This is a 27.8% increase .
ILA lawsuit throttles South Carolina container terminal traffic
It is unclear whether ocean carriers will avoid a newly opened container terminal in South Carolina until a labor dispute is cleared up. But at least for now, it appears most shipping lines are steering clear of the Port of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal to avoid being caught up in a lawsuit filed by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA).
Over the next 15 days, only two container ships are slated to be handled at the Leatherman Terminal. Forty vessels are scheduled to berth at the Port of Charleston’s neighboring Wando Welch Terminal in the same time period.