A REFUSAL by a International Longshoremen's Association local to allow non-union workers to service Maersk ships has prompted the Danish shipping giant to quit the Port of Charleston, South Carolina.
Maersk's South Atlantic Express, representing 25 per cent of Charleston's cargo volume, will go to other nearby ports in the New Year.
Since the downturn, Maersk has been paying shortfall fees for failing to meet contract commitments with the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA).
Maersk supported an SCSPA proposal to transfer the carrier's operations from an ILA-manned section to a common-use area manned by non-union workers of the port authority, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.
In the announcement, Maersk said it had told the port authority that it would leave Charleston and return its dedicated terminal to the authority before 2011, when its contract expires.
"The South Carolina State Ports Authority offered us a workable solution that involved a move into the common yard, but we needed the consent of local ILA to accomplish the move," said Maersk spokesman Dana Magliola.
"The local ILA refused consent, so we are forced to move. By moving to other regional ports, we will once again be able to compete on a level playing field with other carriers," he said.
Maersk's South Atlantic Express, representing 25 per cent of Charleston's cargo volume, will go to other nearby ports in the New Year.
Since the downturn, Maersk has been paying shortfall fees for failing to meet contract commitments with the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA).
Maersk supported an SCSPA proposal to transfer the carrier's operations from an ILA-manned section to a common-use area manned by non-union workers of the port authority, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.
In the announcement, Maersk said it had told the port authority that it would leave Charleston and return its dedicated terminal to the authority before 2011, when its contract expires.
"The South Carolina State Ports Authority offered us a workable solution that involved a move into the common yard, but we needed the consent of local ILA to accomplish the move," said Maersk spokesman Dana Magliola.
"The local ILA refused consent, so we are forced to move. By moving to other regional ports, we will once again be able to compete on a level playing field with other carriers," he said.