The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore has never been stronger.
The port ranks first nationally for roll-on/roll-off cargo, second in automobile importing and exporting, and second again in imported forest products.
Recently, the U.S. Census Foreign Trade Division reported its national cargo rankings for 2005. The total value of cargo moving through Baltimore was the highest in port history at $35.8 billion, marking only the second time in the port?s 300-year history that value had exceeded $30 billion. In 2006, the Maryland Port Administration boasted a new cargo handling record for the fourth consecutive year, by exceeding 8 million tons of general cargo across the public piers.
Moreover, port work provides 19,000 direct jobs, $2.4 billion in personal wages and salary and $2 billion in business revenues, according to state of Maryland statistics.
Unquestionably, 2006 was an eventful year. In March, the General Assembly signed a resolution proclaiming 2006 as the 300th anniversary year of the Port of Baltimore. A Tricentennial Committee was formed under the leadership of Helen Bentley and a yearlong campaign of events was kicked off. In May, the Tricentennial Committee was a sponsor of the International Volvo Races at the harbor, and participated in the semi-annual Waterfront Festival. The signature event was the tricentennial anniversary gala in June at the new Locust Point Cruise Terminal.
During the port?s 300th birthday bash, Gov. Ehrlich announced that the port was to be renamed the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, in honor of the lifelong port advocate and self-titled “godmother” of the port.
Last year also underscored the 50th anniversaries of the MPA and the invention of the shipping container, which revolutionized global trade.
Security was also bolstered at the port in 2006, with the arrival and implementation of mobile radiation portal monitors, important tools able to detect radiological materials or devices that might be smuggled into the port.
The forward outlook is bright for Maryland?s port of Baltimore, just as it was more than 300 years ago, when Baltimore Clipper ships departed to distant ports loaded with cargo and goodwill.
A longtime export analyst and consultant, Joseph R. Hughes? maritime-related articles have appeared in numerous publications. He is a native Baltimorean. E-mail your questions to him at [email protected].
