Shipping activity to increase at Port of Baltimore by end of February
BALTIMORE -- Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced Thursday that a top ocean carrier container company would be doubling the size of its service to the state, according to staff at the governor's office.
ZIM Shipping Lines will increase its E-commerce Baltimore Express frequency from bi-weekly to weekly, beginning at the end of February, staff said.
The container company will increase the size of its ships coming into the port by nearly 50%, too, according to staff at the governor's office.
It will perform this feat by first utilizing 6,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit container vessels, and, over time, relying on 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit container ships, staff said.
Baltimore will be the first U.S. port of call for this expanded service, according to staff at the governor's office.
"The Port of Baltimore is one of the most productive ports in the nation and one of Maryland's top economic generators," Moore said in a statement. "When one of the leading container shipping companies in the world increases its business here, it's a reflection of the maritime industry's strong confidence in both Maryland's Port and Maryland's workers."
The Port of Baltimore generates roughly 15,300 jobs. Overall, nearly 140,000 jobs overall linked to port activities, staff said.
The port ranks first among the nation's ports for volume of autos and light trucks, roll-on/roll-off heavy farm and construction machinery, and imported gypsum, It ranks ninth for total foreign cargo value and eleventh among major U.S. ports for foreign cargo handled, according to staff at the governor's office.
"Maryland's strategic location and proximity to more than one-third of the U.S. population within an overnight drive has helped spur significant growth in E-commerce around our state," Acting Maryland Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson said in a statement. "We are thrilled to see that ZIM is choosing to expand its service, particularly at a time when the demand for goods is rapidly increasing both here and across our nation."
