Charleston, SC - With the possibility of Maersk pulling out of the port, a new wave of changes could follow. The proposed changes would come at the top from who would run the port to who would serve on its board.

The states port authority is running into choppy waters since Maersk's announcement three weeks ago.

“It hasn’t been a litany of good news, so the way were doing it could stand of little bit of changing,” said S.C. Representative Jim Merrell.
 
Those changes could start at the top. The port is currently is run by a nine member board appointed by Governor Mark Sanford (web | news) .

“Id much rather have one person accountable. You can have a consulting board or whatever the case may be and eventually it would be the governor held accountable. But right now there’s just too many layers,” said Merrell.
 
Robert New's been doing business on the waterfront for years and has some different ideas about how the port should be run.

“We need people with maritime background or business background and understand the issues at hand,” said New, who owns Charleston Port Services. 

New believes in the power of a board, as does trucking broker Paul Drennan. Both would like to see a more diverse board.

“You don’t have this cross section of people on this board that truly reflect the diversity of elements that interact with that port,” said Drennan.

Whether the port is run by one or by many, maritime business leaders and some lawmakers alike agree the current board is a sinking ship.

Some legislators would also like to take away the governor’s power to remove board members, something Governor Sanford has only done once.

As far as the Maersk situation, port authority board members met today in Columbia to discuss it. The Maritime Association is scheduled to meet tomorrow as well.

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