SC Ports’ Leatherman Terminal reopening with major weekly Asia service

South Carolina Ports celebrated today the reopening of Leatherman Terminal, working a vessel with its 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.