4 June 2024 (Lloyd's List) - A QUEUE has formed off the US port of Charleston as delayed boxships await a berth at the major east coast gateway.
The backlog began building up in the middle of last month, vessel tracking data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows. On Monday, the data showed a dozen containerships anchored off Charleston as of 1645 local time.
The port blamed the queue on ongoing infrastructure work combined with a server issue that forced terminal gates to shut for several days last month.
“The backlog we’re experiencing is in part from our temporary operational impacts from last week, but also due to ongoing work with the toe wall project at Wando Welch Terminal — a critical infrastructure project for our operations,” a spokesperson for the South Carolina Ports Authority told Lloyd’s List.
“The toe wall structure maintains a stable slope beneath the wharf and provides an edge for berth deepening. These necessary improvements will allow the berths to maintain a depth of 54 feet so ocean carriers can continue to reliability utilise the deepest port on the US east coast.”
The vessel backlog comes amid worsening congestion and delays in Asia, as Red Sea disruptions continue to throw carriers’ schedules out of sync, and shippers’ fears lead them to move cargo forward, further exacerbating equipment shortages and congestion.
In the US, the backlog appears to be limited to Charleston, at least so far.
Less than 100 miles south of Charleston, the port of Savannah, which is the second largest port on the US east coast, had three vessels anchored at the same time on Monday. Lloyd’s List understand they are expected to be worked on Tuesday.
Similarly small vessel queues were observed along other major east coast ports, suggesting the backlogs were not spreading beyond Charleston.
“We are entirely focused on helping our customers and working directly with ocean carriers to minimise impacts as we work on this critical infrastructure project”, the South Carolina Port Authority spokesperson said.
“Our berthing team, operations team and ocean carrier partners are working together on schedules and solutions to get ships in and out as quickly as possible. A lot of creativity and flexibility goes into that process to maintain fluidity for our customers. We are continuing to work ships at a very good rate.”
