Leatherman terminal reopens

News 26 Sep 2024 by WCN Editorial

South Carolina Ports announces the reopening of Leatherman terminal.

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The Hugh K. Leatherman Marine Terminal in South Carolina has reopened, having welcomed its first vessel yesterday, 25 September. South Carolina Ports announced that the Leatherman Terminal gates will resume receiving containers on Thursday, 26 September, at 8 a.m. in support of a major weekly Asia service set to begin early next month.

Specifically, Israeli container shipping company ZIM is scheduled to bring its ZPC service to Leatherman Terminal, providing shippers with a weekly connection between Asia and the US Southeast. 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.

“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.”

“This weekly service is the first of many to come as we resume operations at Leatherman Terminal, providing more capacity and fluidity for the US 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.”

The 15,000-TEU, LNG-powered ZIM Mount Blanc is scheduled to call Leatherman Terminal on 6 October 2024. That being said, ports on the US East Coast are bracing for a potential strike on October 1, if the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) fail to reach a deal on a new labour contract which expires on 30 September. The talks have hit a stalemate, and several US ports have issued contingency plans calling for shippers to pick up their cargo before the work stoppage. The strike is expected to shut down five of the 10 busiest ports in the US, and a total of 36 ports along the East and Gulf Coasts.

Deal with ILA

SC Ports opened the Leatherman Terminal in May 2021. However, the terminal has been largely idle due to a prolonged dispute with the ILA over the employment model for crane drivers and longshore labour.

The reopening of the terminal comes after SC Ports and the ILA reached an agreement in June that establishes a shared workforce, ending the separation of staff assignments under the previous hybrid model. Talks to resolve the dispute and allow the Leatherman Terminal to reach full capacity took place quietly over most of 2024. SC Ports confirmed to WorldCargo News that crane and equipment operators are now free to join the union or remain part of the SC Ports workforce, with both groups staffing equipment operations.

The opening unlocks an additional 700,000 TEU of Capacity in Charleston Harbor, with a planned capacity for 2.4m TEU at full build out.