Page 26 - Port of Baltimore - May/June 2017

GROWTH MOVE
“The acquisition of the Point Breeze Business Center demonstrates the State of Maryland’s commitment to maintaining the Port of Baltimore as a world-class maritime destination.”
— Paolo Magnani, Quality Control and Marketing Executive Vice President, MSC.
“Ports America Chesapeake is extremely pleased about the additional acreage resulting from the recent purchase of the Point Breeze Business Center,” said Ports America Chesapeake General Manager Bayard Hogans. “This land expansion will give Seagirt Marine Terminal the necessary capacity to maintain its operational productivity to accommodate the ultra-large container vessels and related increase in cargo volumes, which is an economic win for the region.”
“Since welcoming our first big container ship through the newly expanded Panama Canal last year, the Port of Baltimore has seen a significant jump in its container business,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said. “Larger ships have been arriving here and bringing more containers. This [purchase] will give the Port additional land to handle the increased business and will also generate jobs.”
“The credit for this goes to Governor Hogan and the Board of Public Works. This is the first major land purchase for cargo opportunities that we’ve made in 30 years,” said MDOT MPA Executive Director James J. White. “The governor understands our needs. Our containers are growing at a rapid rate. Without this additional land, we would have been out of space at Seagirt Marine Terminal by 2023. Now we will have further room to grow until 2030.“
Port Cited for Efficiency of Operations
The extra parcel of land should be another huge boost to the Port and its operations. Last year, the Port was
named the most efficient container port in the U.S. by the Journal of Commerce for the third consecutive time. Baltimore averaged 71 container moves per
hour per berth, as more shippers have taken advantage of terminal and gate efficiencies at the Seagirt Marine Terminal. More than 538,000 containers were handled over the public marine terminals, an increase of 3 percent over the previous record set in 2015.
Also in 2016, Baltimore welcomed its first big container ship that came through the newly expanded Panama Canal. The Port is one of only four
East Coast ports with the necessary infrastructure to accommodate some of the largest ships in the world.
The Seagirt Marine Terminal, the Port of Baltimore’s primary container facility, includes 11 cranes, four of which are Neo-Panamax, the largest cranes in the world.
The MDOT MPA plans to use the additional land it has purchased as a container storage location, but can
also use it for autos and roll on/roll off storage. About 1,650 direct jobs are expected to be generated due to this purchase. In 2016, the Port handled a record 538,567 containers. Since July 2016, when the Port welcomed its first large container ship through the Panama Canal, containers are up 7 percent.
“The acquisition of the Point Breeze Business Center demonstrates the State of Maryland’s commitment to maintaining the Port of Baltimore as a world-class maritime destination,” said Paolo Magnani, Quality Control and Marketing Executive Vice President
for MSC. “MSC is a longstanding partner to the Port of Baltimore, and this new investment will capitalize on
[24] The Port of Baltimore ■
May/June 2017