Page 8 - Port of Baltimore Magazine Jan/Feb 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
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January/February 2013
The happenings in and around the Port
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EVENTS
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DEC Meeting Covers Port’s Recent
Cargo Successes and Key Issues for Future
J
udging by the turnout at a recent
event inside Baltimore’s City Hall,
the continued success of the Port
of Baltimore is one hot topic.
With a theme of “Preparing for the
Next Generation of Shipping Through the
Port,” the $25-a-head meet-and-greet
drew 150 guests — three times more than
originally anticipated by the Maryland/
Washington D.C. District Export Council
(DEC) as plans were finalized for this
inaugural get-together, according to
Treasurer Dennis “Doc” Noah.
Calling the gathering “a timely
opportunity to tell people in Baltimore,
‘Look what’s in your backyard,’” Noah
added, “We’re very proud of our Port. It’s
over 300 years old, it’s super-post-Panamax-
ready, it’s a wonderful asset for the city.”
The all-volunteer Maryland/
Washington D.C. DEC consists of local
business leaders that participate in trade
promotion activities with a particular
focus on assisting small- and medium-
sized exporters. Sponsors of January’s
event were SunTrust Bank and Bentley
World Packaging.
The first two speakers — former
U.S. Rep. Helen Delich Bentley and
Maryland Port Administration (MPA)
Deputy Executive Director M. Kathleen
Broadwater — both touted Baltimore’s
2012 cargo successes and also stressed
the importance of funding for continued
dredging operations. As Broadwater put
it, “to be prepared for the future” any
navigational channel leading to the Port
must be “competitive in its dimensions
and adequately maintained.” To that
end, the MPA is actively participating
in working groups at the national level
and advocating for the full use of the
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for
dredging operations. The Port “has a face
in Washington, D.C., and a place at the
table,” Broadwater said.
MPA Director of Marketing Richard
Powers reviewed positive numbers for
“key commodities” such as automobiles,
roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro), containers and the
cruise industry. He also spoke directly to
DEC members in the standing-room-only
crowd when he said, “It is truly amazing
what is being made in the United States.
We have a lot of business at the Port of
Baltimore that is going out as export.”
Capt. Kevin Keifer, U.S. Coast
Guard Sector Baltimore Commander,
addressed the Panama Canal expansion
project scheduled to be completed in
2015. Keifer said the Coast Guard is
concentrating on increasing its container
and vessel inspection staff to handle the
expected business boom at Baltimore’s
Seagirt Marine Terminal.
Next to step to the podium, Ports
America Chesapeake President and CEO
Mark Montgomery described the public-
private partnership that has resulted in
Seagirt now having a 50-foot container
berth and four super-post-Panamax
cranes at the ready. (The fourth crane
was just being endurance-tested later
in the same week as the DEC event.)
Anticipating an “exciting future” in
Baltimore, Montgomery commended the
Port’s “physical assets and motivated
workforce.” He also added a plug for
ongoing dredging efforts. “It’s important
to keep those super-highways of the
waterways clear,” he said.
John Redding, The Belts Corporation
Senior Vice President, concluded the
evening with an explanation of the
Maritime Industrial Zoning Overlay
District (MIZOD) — a key component
to ensure that maritime-related
companies are insulated from non-
industrial development and can count on
unimpeded transportation access. “If we
didn’t have the land, we wouldn’t have
the Port,” Redding noted.
A standing-room-only crowd inside Baltimore’s City Hall heard speeches from Capt. Kevin Kiefer, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Baltimore Commander,
and Maryland Port Administration Deputy Executive Director M. Kathleen Broadwater, among others.
BLAISE WILLIG
