When the time came for questions after the recent PlanMaryland presentation at the Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport, the mention of transportation inspired Glen Paine, executive director of the Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies in Linthicum, to raise his hand.
Not surprisingly, Paine’s interest in the topic concerned the port and the maritime industry. “It’s a critical part of our transportation infrastructure,” he said. “Everyone seems to be more focused on the other modes of transportation — road, rail and air — but equal attention should be focused on water-borne transportation.”
It’s important for states that have waterways to “get involved and see what waterways are really all about,” Paine said, “because they can be a vital part of their infrastructure and economy.”
In general, he felt that programs like PlanMaryland, the first statewide plan to coordinate the various county and overall state plans (such as its annual consolidated transportation plan), need to address how water-borne transportation fits into an overall plan.
“The logistics, with the road and rail connections, are critical to the growth of our port and any port,” Paine said.
East Coast Gateway
Capt. Eric Nielsen, president of the Association of Maryland Pilots in Baltimore, agrees with Paine, and thinks he sees how any perceived slight of the industry might have occurred.
“[Waterborne transportation] is a unique mode, and some of the people in the other modes are not involved with it,” said Nielsen. “For instance, the water mode and auto mode don’t interact any more without ferries; and rail doesn’t interact with it, other than transferring cargo from ships to rail.”
Some observers are concerned that the full potential of the Port of Baltimore is not being tapped during the creation of Maryland’s transportation plans. Photo: Maryland Port Administration
What the industry is contemplating today, he said, is short sea shipping. That calls for the use of a barge or small ship, instead of using tractor-trailers to transport goods from state to state, up and down any coast.
“For instance, it might be easier and more cost effective to ship cargo from Boston to Norfolk, and anywhere in between, using our waterways,” Nielson said.
But while that mode has been “discussed for years, it hasn’t really gathered any momentum,” he said.
“There are barge services that do this, but they haven’t seen significant increases in demand. For whatever reasons, trucks still get the majority of the business. In Baltimore, it’s about 75%” of the business for the trucking industry, with the remainder of the business targeted for the railroad and barging, Nielsen said.
All told, he doesn’t feel that the port is used to its fullest potential. Still, he allows that “it’s growing,” also noting the new 50-foot berth that is coming to Sea Girt Marine Terminal that will accommodate ships that will be able to go through the wider, deeper, longer Panama Canal locks (when work is completed by 2014).
“At that point, we’ll be one of two ports on the east coast that will be able to handle the ships that are making full use of the new locks there,” Nielsen said, adding, “I think that will lead to increased business here, especially given our distinct competitive advantage of being so close to the Midwest market.”
Products from shipments that arrive in Baltimore often get forwarded to the Midwest markets like Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis and Toledo for manufacturing. “We’re closer to all of them than Norfolk, Philadelphia or New York,” he said.
In fact, that’s part of the reason behind the rail yard that CSX is proposing for one of a few sites in Howard County. “The idea is to provide for double stacking containers so they can go to the Midwest,” Nielsen said. “That would allow users to avoid the Howard Street tunnel’s height limitations.”
Port of Diversity
While there are observers who feel that the port isn’t operating at its full potential, Richard Sher, spokesman for the Maryland Port Administration, said the state “is very familiar with the relevance of the port, what it means economically and as one of the leading job generators in the state, so [it operates at] a very high level.”
One example of forward thinking is the recent 50-year agreement that calls for Ports America Chesapeake (PCA) to run the Sea Girt Marine Terminal that was signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley. “The transportation people fully understand the importance of the port to the state’s transportation plan and overall well-
being,” said Sher.
One factor that everyone understands more keenly than ever today is jobs. “That’s the name of the game at the port,” said Maryland Department of Transportation spokesperson Jack Cahalan. “We must stay competitive in what is an incredibly competitive industry if we are to maintain and protect the nearly 17,000 direct jobs at the port, with the 120,000 jobs that are indirect and induced — like those in warehouses, with firms that are involved in importing/exporting, distribution and even restaurants that depend on the facility.
“People have no idea about what comes in and out of the Port of Baltimore,” said Cahalan. “Electronics, clothing, automobiles, farm equipment … all of these various products flow in and out of the Dundalk and Sea Girt marine terminals every day.”
How about helicopters? The rail cars used for the Washington, D.C., Metro? And the granite for D.C.’s new Martin Luther King Memorial? Yes, those items, too. “You talk about diversity,” he said. “It’s one of the most fascinating things you’ll ever see.”
He also mentioned some of the state’s recent investment at the port, including the new $4 million passenger bridge for the cruise ships and the $50 million a year spent on dredging. “[The state] will spend $320 million during the next six years on dredging operations,” Cahalan said. “Even in tight financial times, the state invests money there.”
Perception Issue?
Some observers feel that the port being located in a part of town where many people don’t see it could also be part of any perception that it isn’t being used to a heightened potential.
“These days, because of the high security that is required by the port since 9/11, people can’t go down like they used to,” said retired Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley, for whom the port is named. “Therefore, they somewhat forget about it.
“So, that could be part of the problem,” she said. “People don’t realize that, without that port, they would not have all of the [goods] and comforts that they have for their individual and family purchases here in the fourth largest [when metro Baltimore is combined with metro Washington, D.C.] consumer market [in the country].”
Linda Greene, executive director of the BWI Business Partnership, also was quick to stress that while the port might be somewhat out of sight, it’s hardly out of mind for the state’s transportation and economic development powers that be.
“I think the state absolutely has to, and does, recognize the port and how it’s tied into the overall transportation plan. The port is vital,” said Greene, pointing out that BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport “has always benefitted from the fact that the port is so close by.”
She also noted attending the Maryland Association of Counties convention, where the importance of syncing state and local planning, including transportation planning with the PlanMaryland effort was stressed.
Back to the Question
With that point in mind, she returned to Paine’s question.
“I think what Glen was basically saying was that we always need to elevate Maryland’s maritime industry in our thinking, due its importance to the transportation and economic development of the state,” she said.
It looks like the time to mention that point was now, as Paine was quick to point out recent history concerning that topic.
“When there were billions of dollars of [government] funds that were invested in the transportation system at the start of the recession, most of the money was set aside for road, rail and air construction. Those sectors got billions of dollars — but maritime only got millions,” he said. “That sounds like a lot of money, and it is, but it’s really not in the grand scheme of the issue, when you consider it on a national scale.
“Planning is tough, and I applaud PlanMaryland for what they’re doing,” he said. “I just do think that more attention should be given to the Port of Baltimore in the thought process.”
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