21 May 2024 (Lloyd's List) - TERMINAL gates in the US port of Charleston reopened on Tuesday after a software issue on Sunday forced them to shut.

The South Carolina Ports Authority announced at 1430 hrs that gate and yard operations were online, and that both marine terminals and the inland Port Greer were accepting cargo pick-ups and drop offs.

The incident did not appear to cybersecurity-related, but rather the result of a “vendor software issue that impacted a server”, the port authority said.

The port first reported the issue on Sunday night and advised that marine and inland terminals would delay their opening on Monday. But those plans were hamstrung the following day, with the port pushing the reopening timeline several times before conceding it would instead reopen Tuesday morning. It then further pushed back the opening several times on Tuesday.

Charleston is one of the major container gateways on the US east coast, typically handling over 200,000 teu per month.

Eleven containerships were anchored off Charleston as of 1400 on Tuesday, vessel tracking data shows. Six of those ships arrived last week, at least two days prior to the port announcing the issue.

There were two containerships anchored off the port the week prior, but vessels began accumulating as the week continued.

South Carolina Ports Authority has been approached for comment.