Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) have signed a new deal to keep the Geneva-based box ship operator in the Port of Charleston through 2017.By George Lauriat, AJOTMediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) have signed a new deal to keep the Geneva-based box ship operator in the Port of Charleston through 2017. The deal is significant for both parties. MSC, which is the largest owner of containerships (second largest operator), is an important client for the Port of Charleston. David Posek, chairman of the SCSPA, said of the signing, “The South Carolina State Ports Authority is focused on bringing new business and jobs to the state.” Adding, “This agreement does both.” In March, MSC dedicated its new purpose built, 45,000-square-foot South Atlantic headquarters in nearby Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Currently the steamship line directly employs over 220 people to service port operations. The growth of the MSC service in the Port of Charleston has been extraordinary. Since 1993, MSC’s calls at the Port of Charleston have grown from one service using 1,000-teu ships, to five weekly calls, amounting to over 200 ships and approximately 100,000 containers annually. The Port of Charleston has excellent ocean access and deep channels, enabling the port to regularly handle MSC vessels with drafts up to 47 feet and capacity for 6,700 teus. Despite the obvious MSC commitment with the new headquarters, the extension was never a rubber stamp affair as containership operators worldwide have been forced to alter schedules to adjust to the global economic downturn. As a result, ports worldwide have had to become more competitive in retaining and adding liner services. Indicative of the new conditions, the SCSPA in December issued a 5% rollback on port fees. This could reduce costs for ship calls as in the case of an operator like MSC by $10,000 per call. The MSC extension will cover two important dates in the Port of Charleston’s future: the completion of the expansion of the Panama Canal, and the completion of Phase 1 of the new box terminal on the site of the former Naval Base in North Charleston, expected to be operational by 2014. On one hand, the expansion of the Panama Canal could redefine liner shipping between the Far East and the US East Coast, giving rise to the opportunity for more transits of larger container ships. Size is an issue on many routes. For example, the MSC Daniela class (launched in 2008) has a length over 1100 feet, width of nearly 150 feet, a draft of over 47 feet and is 167,551 dwt. The new class carries 14,000 teus compared to 6,700 teus class currently deployed. Fred Stribling, the SCSPA’s vice president of marketing and sales, noted Charleston’s navigational and operational advantages with the extended MSC agreement and expansion of the Panama Canal, “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.” The MSC contract extension also is helpful to SCSPA in attracting other carriers. There is an economic advantage in both labor costs and infrastructure costs, directly and indirectly that comes from volume. Inking major clients like MSC is key to creating the opportunity to achieve the economic advantage derived by box volumes.