Jul.20--THE Port of Charleston secured its fourth new container service this year when Hamburg Sud announced it will switch calls to Charleston from Savannah in mid-September using its service that calls at ports in Australia, New Zealand and on the US east coast.

The move by the German line follows the announcement by the US Army Corps of Engineers that it can complete its feasibility study on the deepening Charleston's harbour to 50 feet from the current 45 feet sooner than expected and at less cost.

The first ship on the Hamburg Sud service calling in Charleston will be the Bahia Grande, which will arrive at the Wando Welch Container Terminal on September 21, and the last ship handled in Savannah will be the Maersk Bratan on September 14, according to media reports.

"We are pleased to add a new, weekly Australia service in the Port of Charleston, which effectively fills a gap in our service offerings," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority.

"With this transfer we now have four weekly liner services in the port and have consolidated our network in the Southeast in Charleston," said Mayra ortiz at Hamburg Sud North America. "In total Hamburg Sud will now have 208 annual ship calls in Charleston with owned ships or through arrangements with our partner lines."

Hamburg Sud deploys 10 vessels with capacities ranging from 2,800 to 3,500 TEU and 500 to 700 reefer plugs on the 70-day roundtrip voyage.

With the completion of the change of calls to Charleston in September, the port rotation of the Hamburg Sud service will be as follows: Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Timanu, Port Chalmers, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland, Colon, Cartagena, Philadelphia, Charleston, Cartagena, Balboa and back to Auckland.

(Source:shippingazette)