|
Maryland officials welcomed Maersk Line back to the port of Baltimore on Wednesday after an absence of nearly 20 years.
Port officials said the line is bringing three ships weekly from the Far East, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.
A delegation led by Lt. Gov. Boyd K. Rutherford gathered at Seagirt Marine Terminal to mark the renewal of a partnership that is expected to increase the port's container ship traffic.
"As the port succeeds, Maryland succeeds, and now Maersk is here and is going to link that success to the success of our state," said Rutherford, who was filling in for Gov. Larry Hogan, who was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
The Maryland Port Administration forecasts that Maersk, which quietly resumed calling on the port in early February, would bring an added 31,000 TEUs to the port per year. The world's largest shipping line, Maersk handles about 15 percent of all global container shipments.
|
Maersk ships once called at Baltimore port terminals more than 120 times a year, but the line's departure in the late 1990s marked an end to the port's hopes to be a major container shipping center.
White said the port wants to recapture more of the line's business. "We view this as the first step in getting Maersk back," he said. "We're hoping to get it all back. We want global services coming through Maryland."
"This is a homecoming to us," said David Zimmerman, Maersk's vice president for North American sales. "We're delighted to be back."
Maersk's return also reflects changes in the shipping trade since the line left Baltimore, White said. Container ships are much larger now, carrying three to four times as many containers, making it more economical traveling up the Chesapeake Bay to unload in a port closer to consumers.
For more of the Baltimore Sun story: www.baltimoresun.com
|
