Maersk Line, part of the Maersk Group and the world’s largest container shipping company, returned to the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore.
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Maersk, which has a leading 15 percent market share of the global container business, began operating three weekly container services involving the Port of Baltimore earlier this year and will bring an estimated 31,000 new containers per year.
The Port of Baltimore is included on Maersk services to the Far East, Mediterranean, and Northern Europe. Maersk’s presence means that the Port of Baltimore now is home to the four largest container shipping companies in the world.
The Port of Baltimore is known within the shipping industry as being one of the most efficient container ports on the East Coast, averaging nearly 40 container moves per hour per crane, one of the fastest and most efficient rates among East Coast ports.
The Port’s container facility, the Seagirt Marine Terminal, includes 11 cranes, four of which are super Post-Panamax capable of reaching 22 containers across a ship. Along with a 50-foot-deep channel and 50-foot-deep container berth, the Port of Baltimore is in a favorable competitive position to accommodate some of the largest ships in the world today.
Combining both the public and private marine terminals, the Port of Baltimore had a record year in 2014 and saw 29.5 million tons of international cargo cross its docks last year at a value of nearly $53 billion.
Baltimore is ranked as the top port among all U.S. ports for handling autos and light trucks, farm and construction machinery, imported forest products, imported sugar, and imported aluminum. Overall, Baltimore is ranked ninth for the total dollar value of cargo and 13th for cargo tonnage for all U.S. ports.
Business at the Port of Baltimore generates about 14,630 direct jobs, while about 108,000 jobs in Maryland are linked to Port activities. The Port is responsible for $3 billion in personal wages and salary and more than $300 million in state and local taxes. ■