Tag: Charleston

There’s no question that the Charleston region’s longstanding relationship with the cruise ship industry is evolving in significant ways, as the State Ports Authority marks the end of its 14-year lease with Carnival at the end of this year and as redevelopment looms for Union Pier, home to the authority’s passenger terminal.

While the Ports Authority has said it plans to continue hosting visiting cruise ships for brief stays at that terminal, which it is expected to keep, change there seems likely in the years to come. After all, Charleston businessman Ben Navarro, who has a contract to buy Union Pier from the state of South Carolina, has said a basic tenet of his redevelopment plans would be seeking to eliminate cruise ships there.

If cruise ships are moved away from Charleston’s historic peninsula — which many neighborhood and preservation leaders have been pushing to accomplish for more than a decade — where might they go? Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant might seem like a solid option, but town leaders took symbolic action earlier this year to make it very clear they don’t want it. After a commercial boat tour tenant at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum ferried passengers from an anchored cruise ship to the state-owned site, Town Council members noted that state law prohibits Patriots Point from such business. Even if the town wanted this business, it could be a formidable task to dredge this part of the harbor and construct the facilities needed to dock the large ships.

All this leaves an intriguing and promising opportunity for North Charleston. Moving the cruise ship terminal north on the Cooper River would be a welcome change, and we understand some preliminary conversations along that line have begun. A Ports Authority spokeswoman would tell us only “We are always open to business opportunities that make sense for the port and community” and that she had no details to share.

The cruise industry brings important commerce to the region and state, but docking ever-larger ships next to Charleston’s delicate historic district gave us pause. A nonbinding agreement with the city has limited the size of those ships (none that carry more than 3,500 passengers) and capped the number that may call each year to 104, but a protracted legal fight was waging over a new cruise terminal downtown until the Ports Authority agreed to pull the plug.

Moving the ships to the former Navy base in North Charleston would ease those concerns, and the city and state could minimize most complaints with a reasonable plan for the extra car and truck traffic. It also could elevate the city’s profile, particularly since one of its most scenic and historic neighborhoods — the former officers’ quarters — sits just to the north, as does a largely vacant Cooper riverfront site where the city plans a major urban development.

Given the base’s location farther away from the nearest residential neighborhoods, a passenger cruise terminal in North Charleston should create far less friction with its neighbors. In fact, it might cause more consternation in downtown Charleston, seeing as how cruise passengers might board buses for quick visits, but fortunately the city already regulates the streets where such buses are allowed.

North Charleston Mayor Reggie Burgess and City Council members should explore the idea of finding a home for a new waterfront business that could create a win-win for the city and our local maritime community.

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