Port of Baltimore awarded federal funding for berth upgrade

The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) will receive US$6.6 million in US Department of Transportation grant funding to contribute to a project that will deepen a second container berth to 15 metres at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal.

The state of Maryland will contribute US$7.8 million and Ports America Chesapeake, which operates the Seagirt Marine Terminal for the MDOT MPA, will add US$18.4 million for a total project cost of US$32.7 million.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2019 and should take approximately one year to complete.

A second 15-metre deep draught container berth will allow the Port of Baltimore to handle two supersized containerships simultaneously.

Under a public-private partnership agreement signed in 2010 with Ports America Chesapeake, a 15-metre deep draught berth was constructed at the Seagirt Marine Terminal. The Port of Baltimore is one of a few US East Coast ports with the necessary 15-metre deep channel to accommodate supersized containerships.