SC Ports and ILA reopen Leatherman Terminal in partnership with employers and maritime community.
South Carolina Ports celebrated the reopening of Leatherman Terminal, working a vessel with our ILA partners and the support of the maritime community.
SC Ports will resume Leatherman Terminal gates for receiving containers on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 8 a.m. in support of a major weekly Asia service, set to begin early next month.
ZIM will bring its impressive ZCP service to Leatherman Terminal. The first-in-Asia call provides shippers with a critical weekly connection between Asia and the U.S. Southeast consumer market.
“The reopening of Leatherman Terminal is a monumental day for our world-class port system,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said. “In partnership with the ILA, employers and greater maritime community, we are thrilled to once again provide excellent port service at Leatherman Terminal for the benefit of our ocean carrier and cargo owner customers.”
The 15,000-TEU, LNG-powered ZIM Mount Blanc is scheduled to call Leatherman Terminal on Oct. 6.
“This weekly service is the first of many to come as we resume operations at Leatherman Terminal, providing more capacity and fluidity for the U.S. East Coast port market,” Melvin said. “This first-in-call from Asia is a significant competitive advantage for shippers moving goods through the Port of Charleston.”
Leatherman Terminal is the newest ocean terminal to open in the United States in more than a decade. The opening unlocks an additional 700,000 TEUs in Charleston Harbor, with a planned capacity for 2.4 million TEUs at full build out.
“The reopening of Leatherman Terminal makes our entire port system more competitive in the Southeast port market,” SC Ports Board Chairman Bill Stern said. “The Southeast is booming, South Carolina is growing, and SC Ports is well-positioned to support this growth by efficiently moving cargo for port-dependent businesses.”
“We have the best port team and maritime community in the country, and I am immensely proud of the work we do together on the waterfront,” Melvin said. “The workforce behind Leatherman Terminal and throughout the Port of Charleston remain focused on delivering highly productive, reliable operations and world-class service to our customers.”
The ZIM ZPC service, which MSC and Maersk also ride on, offers direct Charleston calls with Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Kingston, Charleston, Savannah, Norfolk, Kingston, Busan and Qingdao.
About South Carolina Ports
South Carolina Ports owns and operates marine terminals at the Port of Charleston and two rail-served inland ports in Greer and Dillon. As the 8th largest U.S. container port, SC Ports connects port-dependent businesses throughout the Southeast and beyond to global markets. SC Ports proactively invests in infrastructure ahead of demand to provide reliable service, efficient operations, cargo capacity, an expansive rail network and the deepest harbor on the East Coast at 52 feet. SC Ports is a vital economic engine for South Carolina, with port operations supporting 1 in 9 jobs statewide. Learn more: scspa.com.
SC Ports Media Contacts:
Liz Crumley
Director, Corporate Communications
SC Ports Authority
314-494-9106
lcrumley@scspa.com
Laura Clifton
Manager, Public Relations
SC Ports Authority
843-577-8676
lclifton@scspa.com
