South Carolina Ports Reopens New Leatherman Terminal with Weekly Asia Service

South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) celebrated a milestone today with the reopening of new Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in Charleston. The facility is set to resume operations on Thursday, supporting a major weekly Asia service and bolstering the port’s global connectivity.

The terminal’s reopening comes after a prolonged legal dispute between SC Ports and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) over the employment model, which had impacted the terminal’s operations since its initial opening in 2021. The resolution of this dispute in June paved the way for the terminal’s revival.

SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin hailed the reopening as “a monumental day” for the state’s world-class port system.

“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,” she said.

The Leatherman Terminal became the first new container terminal to open in the United States since 2009 when it first opened in 2021.

The operation terminal will bring substantial capacity to Charleston Harbor. 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 timing of the reopening, however, is overshadowed by the looming threat of a coastwide strike. As negotiations between the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) over a new Master Contract remain unresolved, a potential strike starting October 1 could affect 45,000 dockworkers across Atlantic and Gulf Coast container ports.

Despite this uncertainty, SC Ports remains optimistic about the future. The imminent arrival of the 15,000-TEU, LNG-powered ZIM Mount Blanc on October 6 will mark the beginning of a new era for the terminal. The ZIM ZPC service, which MSC and Maersk also operate on, offers direct Charleston calls with Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Kingston, Charleston, Savannah, Norfolk, Kingston, Busan and Qingdao.

“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.”

SC Ports Board Chairman Bill Stern said the reopening of Leatherman Terminal makes South Carolina’s port system more competitive in the Southeast port market. “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,” he said.