Charleston, SC - The South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's second-largest container carrier, have signed a new agreement for business in the Port of Charleston through 2017.
The extended agreement solidifies MSC's place as one of the port's largest customers and supports hundreds of high-paying jobs across the Charleston maritime community.
"The South Carolina State Ports Authority is focused on bringing new business and jobs to the state," said David Posek, chairman of the SCSPA. "This agreement does both."
Late last week, MSC and the SCSPA signed a new five-year extension to the carrier's contract, lengthening its commitment in Charleston to 2017.
"This signals MSC's confidence in Charleston's ability to handle their needs now and well into the future," said Fred Stribling, the SCSPA's vice president of marketing and sales. "We enjoy a strong, productive relationship with MSC, and we anticipate a growing MSC presence in the Port of Charleston."
Charleston, with the deepest water on the South Atlantic coast, routinely handles MSC vessels with design drafts of up to 47 feet and capacity for 6,700 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The first phase of a new, 280-acre container terminal is slated to open in 2014.
Stribling highlighted the port's navigational and operational advantages in light of the extended agreement and expansion of the Panama Canal that is underway. "The Port of Charleston offers a world-class maritime community, deep water, unrivaled productivity and excellent inland access to a growing cargo base. That translates to cost-effective, high-value service for Charleston's customers."
Over the past decade, MSC has exploded onto the Charleston shipping scene. The company's existing presence in the port includes services to the west Mediterranean, South America, Caribbean, Africa and Europe. MSC's Charleston business totals well over 200 vessel calls annually, which support hundreds of local jobs for those working on the waterfront, including truckers, brokers, longshoremen and others.
In March, MSC dedicated its new, 45,000-square-foot South Atlantic headquarters in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The company directly employs about 225 professionals in Charleston, with the potential to grow that figure in the future.