Runaway container ship cleared to leave Charleston as lawsuit, investigation proceed (2024)

The runaway container ship that caused at least $500,000 in damage and briefly shut down traffic on the Ravenel Bridge this month is now free to leave the Port of Charleston.

The judge who signed an order June 10 temporarily forbidding the MSC Michigan VII from departing the Holy City said in a new court filing this week that the vessel has been released from that restriction.

U.S. District Court Judge David Norton essentially "arrested" the ship after Carver Maritime filed a lawsuit alleging the Michigan VII damaged its berth along the Cooper River in North Charleston.

The company, which handles bulk cargo at the terminal, was worried the container ship would sail from Charleston, making it difficult to serve legal papers seeking unspecified damages.

The Michigan VII is operated by Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Co., also known as MSC, but is owned by a company in Cyprus.

Carver, in its request to keep the ship in Charleston, said "it is unknown if the vessel will return to this district during the course of this litigation."

Those concerns appear to have diminished, with Norton stating in his order this week releasing the ship that "counsel for all concerned parties have consented to security in the form of a letter of undertaking."

The document guarantees payment of a civil penalty regardless of where a vessel or its owner may be located when the penalty is assessed.

A lawyer for Carver Maritime could not immediately be reached for comment.

Norton's order also released James D. Lucas Jr. Co. LLC of Charleston from its duties as Michigan VII’s custodian while legal proceedings are pending. The company was appointed to the role to ensure the vessel didn't leave South Carolina waters.

While the Michigan VII is free to go, it was still moored at the port's Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston as of Friday afternoon, according to Vesseltracker.com. The ship was moved upriver from the peninsula on June 14.

The Coast Guard has said it is conducting a marine casualty probe into how the throttle got stuck on full speed ahead and caused the Michgan VII to accelerate to 14 knots — twice the normal speed — as it sailed from the port’s North Charleston Terminal shortly before noon on June 5.

Police cleared the Ravenel as the 1,000-foot-long cargo vessel, still speeding uncontrollably, approached the span, but the ship guided by a local harbor pilot was ultimately brought under control.

The Coast Guard has pegged the damages from the incident at more than $500,000.Its database does not have any information about the investigation, which includes the National Transportation Safety Board.

Carver Maritime said in its lawsuit that the high-speed wake the Michigan VII created in the river damaged its pier and a commercial vessel that was moored nearby.