A group of ocean carriers has picked the Port of Charleston for two stops a week on a new trans-Atlantic container service.
The New World Alliance announced the Americas Europe Express on Thursday, with twice-weekly calls at the port’s Wando Welch Terminal, according to the South Carolina State Ports Authority.
The service will connect Charleston directly with Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Felixstowe in Northern Europe. It will also reach Latin America through the transshipment hub of Manzanillo, Panama, the authority said.
APL will operate three ships on the route, and Hyundai Merchant Marine and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines will operate one apiece.
Charleston is one of only two U.S. ports selected for the service, and the only port in the region, according to the authority. The double call adds 104 vessel calls a year for the local maritime community, the authority said.
“Double calls in Charleston will enable the New World Alliance’s network of customers ample coverage across the U.S. Southeast and beyond,” said Paul McClintock, the authority’s senior vice president and chief commercial officer. “This also provides the region’s exporters additional reach to markets in Latin America and Europe where there is demand.”
The first ships on the service are due in Charleston in early March. The APL Shanghai sails westbound from Rotterdam on Feb. 29, and the APL Indonesia sails eastbound from Manzanillo on March 5, the authority said.
The Ports Authority, created by the General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown. It says it handles international commerce valued at more than $50 billion a year and that port operations facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina.
