There’s no getting around it. Cargo ships are getting larger, and if ports are going to survive, they’re going to have to get larger as well. As big as the port of Baltimore is, it isn’t big enough. Not when new cargo ships are headed toward super-sized proportions. Before tugs can move the oversized ships into Baltimore, a new 50-foot berth with taller cranes must be built. A groundbreaking for that berth gave the governor a photo-op on Monday. “It’s going to support 2,700 permanent jobs to handle the increased container traffic that will come through our port,” said Governor Martin O’Malley.
The Panama Canal is also being expanded to handle the larger ships and to stay in business as a critical shortcut. The new berth will take two years to complete.