period of labor unrest was yet another problem: the Port had
become known for not “working in the rain,” exasperating
both business leaders and former Gov. William Donald Schaefer,
who brought in Helen Delich Bentley to mediate the dispute be-
tween the International Longshoremen’s Association representing
dockworkers and the Steamship Trade Association representing
shippers. Bentley kept both sides talking during a successful
marathon eight-week bargaining session.
In 1990, Baltimore ranked fifth nationally in total tonnage and
was No. 2 in containerized cargoes in 1981, but as the limitations
of the maturing container market became more evident, the Port
acted on recommendations of a marketing study authorized
by its Executive Director Tai Yoshitani and re-invented itself,
adopting a niche strategy in 1996 which focused on vehicular traffic
or “ro-ro” — automobiles, plus farm and other off-road equipment
that rolls on and off ships under its own power — and forest
products. BalTerm, a joint venture between Terminal Corporation
and Logistec of Montreal, has dedicated, customized terminals for
handling the Port’s paper market.
In 2001, Baltimore business was buoyed to learn that Med-
iterranean Shipping Company, a world leader in container
capacity, had agreed to call at Seagirt for another 10 years. The
Port was an East Coast pioneer in securing long-term contracts
with shipping companies.
To help capture more of the market, the Maryland Port
Administration opened a new, dedicated ro-ro terminal at the old
Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock site in Masonville in 2002.
Later that same year, in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks,
Congress passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act,
which imposed a barrage of costly security measures on America’s
maritime community.
The Port scored another coup in 2003 when
Mercedes-Benz inked a long-term lease to use its
Fairfield terminal; Baltimore expects to process
no less than one million Mercedes vehicles over
the first 10-year lease period. By 2005, Baltimore was the national
leader in ro-ro cargo, with more than 50 percent of the total
U.S. market.
The Port continues to progress in the national rankings. In
2004, as record cargoes in excess of 8 million tons crossed its
piers, Baltimore ascended to the seventh spot nationally in cargo
value, and climbed to 14th in tonnage. Traffic increased in all
targeted commodities — ro-ro, forest products, and containers
— and Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the largest roll-on roll-off carrier
in the world, chose Baltimore as its North Atlantic hub. With
the groundbreaking for Baltimore’s new cruise terminal in South
Locust Point, an array of statewide businesses hope to benefit
from an increased flow of passenger ships.
“
W
orking in the Rain”
Facing page: In 2005, more
than a half-million cars
crossed Baltimore’s piers.
Top: The Port’s state-of-the-
art security technology
scans containers.
Above: The first VW bugs
were discharged at Pier 6 on
Pratt Street.
61
