Charleston Handles Record-Sized Container Ship

The largest container ship to ever call the Port of Charleston, the MSC Bruxelles, docked at the Wando Welch Terminal on Wednesday.

The 109,000-ton ship is more than 1,100 feet long and 150 feet wide. It can carry the equivalent of nearly 9,200 20-foot container units and has a maximum draft of 49 feet.

Jim Newsome, president & CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority, said this latest record-setting vessel demonstrates what is happening in the shipping industry now and into the future.

“Big ships are here today, and more are coming,” said Newsome.

Charleston routinely handles post-Panamax ships that draw up to 48 feet, but only at high tide. The SCSPA has signed a cost-sharing agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the next phase of the project to deepen the Charleston harbor to 50 feet, so it can handle bigger vessels.

This year the port expects more than 200 post-Panamax vessels, or ships too big for the existing Panama Canal. Even more big ships are expected on the U.S. East Coast following completion of the Panama Canal expansion project in 2014.

The Bruxelles is operated by Mediterranean Shipping Co., the world's second-largest container shipping line and a major employer in the Port of Charleston. The ship is deployed on MSC’s Golden Gate Service between the U.S. East Coast and China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The largest container ship to ever call the Port of Charleston, the MSC Bruxelles, docked at the Wando Welch Terminal on Wednesday.

The 109,000-ton ship is more than 1,100 feet long and 150 feet wide. It can carry the equivalent of nearly 9,200 20-foot container units and has a maximum draft of 49 feet.

Jim Newsome, president & CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority, said this latest record-setting vessel demonstrates what is happening in the shipping industry now and into the future.

“Big ships are here today, and more are coming,” said Newsome.

Charleston routinely handles post-Panamax ships that draw up to 48 feet, but only at high tide. The SCSPA has signed a cost-sharing agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the next phase of the project to deepen the Charleston harbor to 50 feet, so it can handle bigger vessels.