Page 18 - Port of Baltimroe Magazine - Jan Feb 2012

[16] The Port of Baltimore ■ January/February 2012 To subscribe or renew, visitwww.marylandports.com
EXECUTIVE VIEW
he year 2011 was a
remarkable one in many
ways for the Port of
Baltimore. As our nation continued to
climb out of the worst economic period
since the Great Depression, the Port
continued in its role as a key economic
generator for Maryland by making
some significant accomplishments in
the areas of cargo, cruise, environment
and security.
The most significant news for our
cargo business in 2011 was also our
most recent news, when in December
Hapag-Lloyd AG, the fifth-largest
container company in the world,
announced it would make Baltimore its
first U.S. port of call on a service from
North Europe. It was a true team effort
of Ports America Chesapeake, CSX
and the Maryland Port Administration
(MPA) that staved off intense
competition from other ports and
brought this business to Maryland.
We expect to handle about 30,000
containers annually from Hapag.
Last year was also a very successful
year for autos. The public terminals
surpassed their monthly record for
most cars in October … and then
exceeded that record in November
when more than 51,000 cars (including
a record of nearly 22,000 exports)
came across Baltimore’s docks. By the
end of November, the public terminals
had already seen more cars through 11
months than during any previous full
calendar year. The Port’s astounding
year for cars included handling more
non-containerized auto tonnage than
any other U.S. port for the first 10
months of the year.
Baltimore’s container business
also had a memorable year. With
final numbers being tallied as of this
writing, our public terminals were
expected to break their record for most
containers in a year. The year also
included a visit of the largest container
ships ever to call Baltimore, the 9,200-
TEU sister-ships MSC Bruxelles and
Sindy. In preparation for the Port’s
new 50-foot container berth, the MPA
hosted a business opportunity seminar
with Ports America Chesapeake and
CSX that was attended by Governor
O’Malley, Highstar Capital Managing
Director Christopher Lee, CSX Vice
President for Emerging Markets Fredrik
Eliasson and more than 120 companies.
Maryland’s cruise business continued
to make waves. For the third straight year,
we saw a record amount of passengers
(more than 251,000) and number of
scheduled cruises (105). The higher
passenger traffic catapulted Baltimore to
fifth on the East Coast and 12th nationally
for passengers. Last year we also began
using a state-of-the-art, temperature-
controlled, mobile passenger boarding
bridge. Our two year-round cruise
providers, Carnival and Royal Caribbean,
also committed to extending their stays in
Baltimore and continuing to serve one of
the largest and wealthiest markets in the
United States.
In addition to our business side,
the MPA became greener in 2011. Our
evolving Environmental Management
System led the way for us to receive
the nationally renowned ISO 14001
Certification. We also earned an
Environmental Achievement Award from
the EPA for several ongoing initiatives,
including dredged material management,
installing clean diesel engines in port
equipment and a program that greens
local schoolyards. Additionally, the MPA
began an energy performance contract
with Pepco Energy Services that will
provide improved efficiency and greater
cost savings.
Making certain that the people who
work at the Port of Baltimore as well as
the cargo that we handle are done so in a
safe and secure manner is a challenging
job in our current times. We are fortunate
to have an outstanding security team that
includes the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs
and Border Protection, the MPA Security
Department, the Maryland Transportation
Authority Police and Securitas.
Our public-private partnership
with Ports America Chesapeake
continues to greatly benefit not only
the Port of Baltimore but also the state
of Maryland. About 5,700 new jobs
are and will continue to be created
as a result of this partnership. As we
look ahead into 2012, I am eagerly
anticipating the August opening
of the new 50-foot container berth.
The berth will allow for some of the
largest container ships in the world to
come to Baltimore and will open up
new opportunities for us to increase
business, grow jobs and further
entrench ourselves as an economic
stalwart for our state. ★
T
James J. White, Executive Director
PORT REPORT PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL MCALLEN
PORT REPORT COVER PHOTOGRAPHY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): BILL MCALLEN, KATHY BERGREN SMITH, BILL MCALLEN, COURTESY OF WWL, BILL MCALLEN