US East Coast port sees largest-ever boxship call

The Port of Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday marked the call of the largest boxship in the container gateway’s history.

The OOCL Iris, with capacity of 16,828 twenty-foot equivalent units and more than 1,200 feet in length, berthed at the Wando Welch Terminal, besting the previous mark by CMA CGM’s Marco Polo, when the 16,022-TEU ship called in May 2021.

“SC Ports’ strategic infrastructure investments allow us to continue welcoming the largest ships calling the U.S. East Coast,” SC Ports President and Chief Executive Barbara Melvin said in a release. “The Iris calling on the Port of Charleston is evidence of our commitment to providing highly productive port service to our customers.”

At 52 feet, Charleston has the deepest harbor on the East Coast.

The Port of Norfolk, Virginia, is currently dredging to 54 feet, per congressional orders, to accommodate aircraft carriers at the naval base there.

The arrival of the OOCL Iris comes as SC Ports nears completion of a yearlong project along the terminal’s toe wall, to maintain a 54-foot berth depth.

Christened this past December, the OOCL Iris is the second of 10 new 16,000-plus TEU container ships ordered by Orient Overseas Container Line and the first in the group to be delivered by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd., of China.

The vessel is scheduled to join OOCL’s Trans-Pacific East Coast Express (ECX1) service, which also calls New York and Savannah. 

Asia is SC Ports’ biggest trade lane, accounting for 50% of port volume, with a total of 11 weekly services.

Charleston will be the last U.S. East Coast port in the rotation.

SC Ports said it is investing nearly $3 billion to modernize port infrastructure, expand cargo capacity and build rail infrastructure to speed goods to market.

“Charleston’s harbor depth and widened turning basins, taller ship-to-shore cranes and highly productive terminals and maritime community all work together to provide fluidity to our customers’ supply chains,” Melvin said. “SC Ports offers expedited logistics in the booming Southeast market. This is a significant competitive advantage for the ocean carriers and cargo owners calling on the Charleston port market.”

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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