Page 26 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 3 - 2022

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HISTORY
COURTESY OF THE BMI
Dundalk Marine Terminal
What is now the Dundalk Marine Terminal was once the Baltimore Municipal Airport. Pan American made the location a seaplane facility that was used until 1941, at which point the U.S. Army took over the airport’s operations and renamed it Baltimore Army Airfield, according to the Dundalk-Patapsco Neck Historical Society & Museum.
After the war, the site continued to operate as a civilian airport, but closed down in 1960 because it could not accommodate larger planes. At that point, the site was retooled as a marine terminal.
The two historical images, courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s collection, show the terminal in its first decade of operation — they were taken in 1964 (See Image 1) and 1967 (See Image 2), respectively. Even back then, Dundalk Marine Terminal was a powerhouse. In its first year of operation alone, the terminal received shipments of 40,000 cars.
Today, Dundalk’s 570 acres, 13 berths and four container cranes make it the largest and most versatile general cargo facility at the Port of Baltimore. It handles containers, automobiles, farm, construction and other roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) equipment as well as wood pulp, steel, breakbulk
and project cargo. Recently, the Port signed a 20-year agreement to serve as the East Coast hub for Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the largest ro/ro carrier in the world, with service from Dundalk.
The Port is also currently working on reconstructing
and strengthening its ro/ro berths at Dundalk. Ro/ro machinery, especially on the agriculture side, is getting larger and heavier and this project will allow Baltimore to continue handling this cargo. Dundalk Berth Three began reconstruction proceedings in February 2021 and will be completed by May 2023. (See Image 3) Other Dundalk berths have already been or are scheduled to be reconstructed.
COURTESY OF THE BMI
BILL MCALLEN