The largest container ship ever to visit the Port of Baltimore, the Evergreen Triton, arrived Friday.
This mega-ship is 30 percent bigger than the Gunde Maersk, which was the port’s previous “largest ship ever.” The Triton can handle 14,424 Twenty-foot Equivalent (TEU) containers. The 1,210-foot-long behemoth is able to stop in Baltimore because of the port’s 50-foot deep channel and 50-foot deep berth.
“Thanks to Maryland’s investment in a 50-foot berth, every year we are seeing larger and larger container ships choosing the Port of Baltimore,” said Governor Larry Hogan.
Supersized ships like the Triton and the Maersk are becoming more common on the East Coast because of the newly-expanded Panama Canal.
In December, the Maryland Port Administration and Ports America Chesapeake announced a $32.7 million project to develop a second 50-foot-deep container berth at the port’s Seagirt Marine Terminal. When completed, this second berth will allow the Port of Baltimore to handle two supersized container ships simultaneously. Construction on the new berth is expected to start by the end of 2019, and it should be ready for use by early 2021.
The Port of Baltimore set a new cargo record in 2018, handling a combined 43 million tons of international cargo, worth $59.7 billion, through both its state-owned public terminal and the privately-owned marine terminals. The previous record of 40.9 million tons was set back in 1974. The port is now ranked 11th in the nation for cargo moved, and first for autos and light trucks, roll on/roll off heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar and imported gypsum.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
