By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

Rumors on the waterfront to the contrary, the Maersk Shipping Line is not about to board up the doors and windows of its operations in Charleston and take its business elsewhere, company representatives have confirmed.

While Andy O’Hearn, a spokesman for Maersk, conceded that cargo container volumes have unquestionably “shifted” in Charleston relative to those of a year or more ago, he emphasized that “this in no way reflects a conscious effort by Maersk Line to drive business to different ports.

“We will continue to maintain an operational presence in Charleston,” O’Hearn said.

The erroneous belief in Maersk’s imminent departure from the Charleston market was no doubt fueled by its creation of a massive, state-of-the art facility in Portsmouth, Va.

At the same time, in an unrelated development, the Virginia Ports Authority is hoping to receive more than $300 million included in the federal Water Resources Development Act currently awaiting action in Congress toward its planned new facility on Craney Island near Norfolk.

The funding is in doubt because President Bush has vowed to veto WRDA unless billions in spending are trimmed from it. If the funding is approved, the 580-acre facility is expected to open in 2017, and to serve as the origination point for the equally massive Heartland Corridor project currently being undertaken by the Norfolk Southern railroad.

That project, which is expected to be completed by late 2009 or early 2010, will significantly reduce rail time for cargo traveling between Virginia’s port facilities and points in the Midwest, including Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago.

“The Heartland Corridor will be a vast improvement over our existing, very good rail connectivity,” said Joe Harris, a spokesman for the VPA. “Right now, we’re offering second-day service to Columbus and third-day service to Chicago.

“What the Heartland Corridor will do once it’s complete is shave 235 miles off the current journey and about a day in travel time. So we’ll be able to offer overnight delivery service to Columbus and two-day service to Chicago.”

The new Maersk facility would theoretically be the second container loading point after Craney Island, Harris said, but again he emphasized that the port and Maersk’s terminal operations are completely separate.

“I can’t speak for Maersk in regard to its plans for its own facility, but no one at the company has in any way suggested that they’ll soon be a bigger presence at our terminals,” he said. “Not even to the extent of saying something like, ‘Hey, be ready, changes are

afoot.’”

As for speculation about Maersk’s activities in Charleston, Savannah or any other port, Harris said none of those comments are making the rounds in Virginia.

“Maersk did shut down its operations in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and I expect those are the operations that will now be located in Portsmouth,” he said.

Given the changes that have occurred at Maersk in recent months, speculation about its activities is probably to be expected, O’Hearn said.

This past June, the shipping line’s parent company, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, announced that it was significantly changing its management structure.

At the same time, as part of a continuing effort to optimize network services in both North and South America, “a number of strings or deployments have been streamlined or integrated into existing strings,” O’Hearn said. 

“These new deployments, made in response to customer demand, allow key port coverage, ensure optimal sailing frequency, and enhance schedule reliability. The realignment increases the density of cargo on the more efficient replacement routes and reduces the complexity of the network and services provided.

In many cases, larger vessels are replacing some of the smaller ships that had been deployed on the routes, he added.

Asked about the long-term prospects for the company’s continued calls in Charleston, O’Hearn said the reallocation and redeployment of shipping services and capacity reflects Maersk’s efforts to provide the most efficient and flexible service it can to its customers.

“Capacity will continue to flow to the ports that make the most business sense for these customers at any given time,” he said.

But even a hint of speculation about Maersk’s future in this market hit a raw nerve in the downtown offices of the S.C. State Ports Authority.

“This is one of those rare instances where I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to comment,” SPA spokesman Byron Miller said. “I’m not going to contribute to or give any credence whatsoever to what is clearly a rumor-based story.”

Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.

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