Change will mean goods reach Baltimore and Midwest quicker

The Maryland Port of Baltimore (MPOB) has become the first United States port of call for the Mediterranean Shipping Company's (MSC) North Atlantic service. By making Baltimore its first US port, MSC has reduced its total travel time for its Antwerp (Belgium) to US North Atlantic cargo service by four days. MSC, the largest container shipper at the MPOB, previously designated Norfolk as its first US port of call before making a stop in Baltimore and continuing to other US ports.

'We have enjoyed a long and excellent relationship with MSC, and are quite pleased that they have selected Baltimore as their first port entry into US waters,' said Maryland Port Administration Executive Director Brooks Royster. 'By coming to Baltimore first from North Europe, MSC lowers their overall travel time for bringing goods into the United States from 14 to 10 days. That means that cargo comes into our port quicker and is transported to receivers quicker. This gets the finished goods into the hands of consumers quicker.'

MSC's North Atlantic service now travels from Hamburg (Germany) to Bremerhaven (Germany) to Antwerp (Belgium) to LeHarve (France) then direct to Baltimore. The MSC vessel 'Delhi' was the first ship in this new rotation. It arrived in Baltimore on October 31.

MSC has been a MPOB customer for more than 20 years. In 2001, MSC signed a ten-year agreement with the MPOB. In 2003, the Maryland Port Administration renegotiated an additional 150,000 containers over the life of the contract through April 2011. In 2004, MSC celebrated two historic achievements: surpassing 100,000 containers and two million gross tons of cargo through the MPOB in one year. MSC ships carry a wide variety of household and consumer merchandise including paper, toys, electronics, and auto parts.