Page 8 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 4 - 2022

PORT MESSAGES GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE
Growing Business While Restoring Maryland’s Shoreline
Dredging is an ongoing necessity for the Port of Baltimore to accommodate the huge ships that deliver cargo, keep our supply chain open and grow our economy. With federal funding secured by our Maryland congressional delegation and in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration project is the latest example of Maryland being an international leader in the beneficial use of dredged material for coastal and island restoration.
Last month, we officially kicked off the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration project, which will use dredged sediment from Maryland’s Port of Baltimore shipping channels to rebuild a pair of vanishing islands off Dorchester County. Restoring James and Barren islands will boost island habitat and help protect the Dorchester County shoreline from
EXECUTIVE VIEW
Truckers Make Our Port Work
This issue of Port of Baltimore Magazine centers around trucking. Truckers are the backbone to every port in the United States, and Baltimore is surely and reliably
served by a hard-working trucking sector. Indeed, America’s trucking industry is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. Nearly every good consumed in the U.S. is put on a truck at some point. There are more than 116,500 trucking industry jobs in Maryland – that’s one in 17 jobs in the state. More than 92% of Maryland communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods.
That’s why I’m pleased to be on the Board of Directors of Task Force Movement: Life Cycle Pathways for Veterans and Military to Trucking, associated with the White House’s trucking action plan to strengthen America’s trucking workforce.
We were happy to recently welcome the Honorable Patrick Murphy — the 32nd Under Secretary of the Army, a Gulf War vet and Task Force Movement Chairman — to the Port for a visit. Our veterans deserve as much thanks and support as we can give them. This committee will help provide good-paying, family-supporting trucking jobs to a great but underappreciated segment of our population — our wonderful veterans.
While our industry continues to grapple with pandemic- related supply chain impacts, Baltimore has added new services, welcomed diverted ships from other ports, and has been working very closely with Ports America Chesapeake
to improve overall efficiencies for our truckers at our Seagirt Marine Terminal. I detailed these plans for you in my last magazine column. Ports America is also leading a major effort to achieve Green Marine certification status for their U.S. terminals. This includes performance measures in areas such
erosion. The island sites will eventually replace Poplar Island as Maryland’s primary receiving site for channel dredged sediment from the Chesapeake Bay.
The Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration project will follow in the footsteps of Poplar Island — which has been completely restored to its original acreage using dredged sediment. After its expansion, Poplar will continue receiving sediment until 2032, when Mid-Bay comes online.
Over the last eight years, our administration has remained firmly committed to investing in and supporting projects that will benefit the Port of Baltimore as both a major generator of jobs and as a strong environmental partner. Achieving this effective balance will help grow the business side of the Port of Baltimore while enhancing Maryland’s environment for years to come.
Larry Hogan, Governor
as gas emissions, air pollutants, spill prevention and waste management. Ports America is a real environmental leader and I’m happy to say that working with them, we’ve already achieved that important status at the Port of Baltimore.
Our cruise business has rebounded nicely following that industry’s restart last year. Both of our year-round cruising partners, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, are sailing full capacity from Baltimore to the Bahamas, Bermuda and Caribbean. We’ve also worked very closely with the CDC and both cruise lines to make sure our cruise terminal has the most current health and safety protocols in place.
Recently, I was happy to be joined by White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Congressman John Sarbanes, Army Civil Works Assistant Secretary Michael Connor, Army Corps of Engineers Major Gen. Richard Heitkamp and Col. Estee Pinchasin for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island kickoff announcement. This $4 billion project will rebuild James and Barren islands using sediment dredged from Port shipping channels, creating wildlife habitat and providing shoreline protection for Dorchester County. Mid-Bay will eventually replace Poplar Island as our primary containment facility for bay material and keep our channel depths maintained for the next 35 years.
We’ve got a lot going on in Baltimore both commercially and environmentally. We also are working very hard to give all our customers a great Port experience. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our great supply chain partners to make that happen and make Baltimore the best port in the nation.
William P. Doyle, Executive Director
[6] The Port of Baltimore ■ ISSUE 4 / 2022