“Beginning next year when the Port of Baltimore’s new 50-foot container berth is completed, we will be able to accommodate fully-loaded ships like the Bruxelles and even larger ones to the Port of Baltimore,” said MPA Executive Director James J. White. “Large ships like these need 50-feet of water depth in order to bring in their maximum loads. In 2012, Baltimore will be one of only two East Coast ports to have that water depth and be able to handle these massive vessels.”
Until the new 50-foot container berth is finished, ships the size of the Bruxelles cannot arrive at the Port fully-loaded. The Bruxelles came to Baltimore carrying 6,312 TEU containers, about 2/3 of its maximum capacity.
"The arrival of the MSC Bruxelles, the largest ever container ship to dock at the Port of Baltimore, is another important milestone in the relationship between the Port, Ports America Chesapeake, and MSC,” said MSC USA-Baltimore Office Manager Mauro Dal Bo. “We are very excited about the completion of the new container berth in 2012 as it will lead to new opportunities between our three companies."
The Port of Baltimore’s 50-foot container berth is scheduled to be completed in August 2012. When finished, it will accommodate ships carrying up to 14,000 TEU containers. Including current construction, the project will support 5,700 jobs and, when completed, accommodate larger ships and attract more cargo to Baltimore. With the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014, it is expected that a larger number of ships, including new supersized ships, will travel to East Coast ports to reach customers quicker and more economically than traveling to West Coast ports and transporting cargo across the country via rail.
The 50-foot berth is a key element of the 50-year agreement between the MPA and Ports America Chesapeake to lease and operate the state-owned 200-acre Seagirt Marine Terminal that began in 2010. Ports America is investing in other necessary infrastructure at Seagirt, saving the State hundreds of millions of dollars it would have had to invest in capital improvements. Ports America is also making annual payments to the State and providing ongoing revenues to the MPA.
