Careful growth pledged for new Charleston cruise terminal

By Anne Kalosh
April 22, 2011

The South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) Board voted to move forward with plans for a new Charleston cruise terminal while also pledging to carefully manage growth.

Despite objections from some residents worried about traffic and congestion, the board on Thursday gave its blessing to develop the terminal within an existing warehouse at the northern end of Union Pier. The project was hammered out with extensive public input and endorsed last year by the Charleston City Council.

Work is to begin this year, with completion in late 2012. The ports authority has already ordered a $2.5 million hydraulic gangway and selected a team of designers.

Because some residents fear runaway cruise growth, SCSPA leaders sent a letter to Mayor Joe Riley filled with assurances the port authority will proceed cautiously.

Thursday's letter underscored SCSPA's voluntary cap of 104 cruise calls a year at a single-berth facility capable of handling vessels carrying up to 3,500 passengers.

"We will consult with the city and various constituents well in advance of increasing the number of ships," wrote SCSPA Chairman Bill Stern and President and CEO Jim Newsome.

They dismissed concerns Charleston would be "overrun with cruise ships without appropriate regulation" as "sensationalism … not borne out by any reasonable and factual assessment of the size of the Charleston cruise market." The city sources most of its passengers from a four- or five-state area who drive to join their ship.

The letter also rejected the "unseemly argument" that cruisers are not of the standard desirable for Charleston. "This viewpoint is unworthy of our city," Stern and Newsome said. "The cruise passengers that choose to be tourists are representative of the general tourist population in Charleston," they said.

The city currently hosts one year-round home ported ship, Carnival Fantasy.

Have you taken a cruise from the new Charleston cruise terminal? Tell us what you think at my Charleston cruise terminal review. We’ll publish your comments on gls55 holdings blog.

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Careful growth pledged for new Charleston cruise terminal

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