New Europe service for Charleston translates into business for the port

Charleston, SC – The arrival of the CMA-CGM JEFFERSON in the Port of Charleston today marks the beginning of a new weekly North Europe service and translates into new business for the port.

French carrier CMA-CGM and China Shipping Container Lines launched the new service in mid-March from Le Havre, France.

The new service is estimated to bring 17,000 additional container lifts and 52 ship calls annually to the port. It will call the North Charleston Terminal.

“This is great new business for the Charleston waterfront,” said Bernard S. Groseclose Jr., president and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority. “We certainly look forward to expanding our relationship with CMA-CGM and China Shipping.”

The lines have deployed four vessels of 2,600-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity on a rotation of Le Havre, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Liverpool, New York, Baltimore, Norfolk and Charleston.

The service will also allows connections with other CMA-CGM services throughout the Baltic States, Russia, Poland and Scandinavia.

More than 40 ocean carriers currently operate services between Northern Europe and Charleston, and the market comprises 33% of the port’s total volume. Among all ports from Miami to Virginia, Charleston holds a 47% market share in the trade.

For more information:

Byron D. Miller
Director, Public Relations
South Carolina State Ports Authority
Phone: 843-577-8197
www.scspa.com