THE CKYH Alliance, made up of Cosco, "K" Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin, has picked the Port of Charleston for a new, weekly container service with coverage across northeast Asia via the Panama Canal.

The AWE-6 is a new service offering for the carrier group. With Charleston being the last US port call, the AWE-6 provides South Carolina exporters additional options to reach markets in Asia, which have demonstrated increasing demand for products from the US southeast, according to the South Carolina Ports Authority.

"Exporters from this area are finding additional trade opportunities in Asia, and we have been heavily marketing the Port of Charleston for more shipping services in that trade lane," said port authority CEO Jim Newsome.

"Our state not only has goods that are attractive to overseas markets, but we are also ideally positioned to serve a broad import base across several states in the region," he said.

Shippers will be able to take advantage of direct trade routes to Shenzhen-Yantian, Ningbo and Shanghai in China as well as Busan via the Panama Canal.

Nine ships will be deployed on the service, which will add 52 ship calls a year at the North Charleston Terminal. The first Charleston call is expected around June 19, the authority said.