Vessels are back in Baltimore! The Port of Baltimore is open for business for nearly all vessel sizes. There is a 45 foot channel open now with 42 feet of draft. All but the largest containerships transiting the Panama Canal can call the port.
Last week the Atlantic Sun (Atlantic Container Line) discharged and loaded RO/RO and mafi cargo in Baltimore. MSC had a vessel in Baltimore as well. Ocean carriers in most trade lanes are accepting bookings to/from Baltimore. RO/RO carriers like Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Hoegh Lines are accepting bookings. Bahri has also confirmed their ship will arrive in Baltimore later this month.
The main exception are for the carriers from Asia requiring the full opening of the 50 foot federal channel. It’s expected to be open at the end of May. For now Zim Lines and MSC are taking bookings from Asia to Baltimore. Very soon Evergreen and Maersk will begin accepting bookings to Baltimore from Asia. We think as soon as the 50 foot channel is officially open they will start taking bookings.
Longshoreman that have been idled for nearly 7 weeks are slowly seeing work return to the terminals. They have had a tough time while the port was closed.
The Dali will be refloated early Monday morning and then brought over to Seagirt Terminal for further examination and assessment of the damage to the ship. The hope is that repairs can be made to enable the Dali to set sail to a place where final repairs can be made on the ship. There is going to be a lot of litigation that will last for years.
The Port of Norfolk is still overwhelmed with diverted containers and breakbulk/mafi cargo. Appointments to pick up breakbulk/mafi cargo are sometimes taking 14-21 days to confirm a pick up date. Appointments cannot be made until the shipment is fully released and available at the terminal. With the opening of The Port of Baltimore the hope is that less cargo will divert to Norfolk and they can process the cargo that is delayed down there. The situation there is very difficult.
New York is still doing well for containers diverted there. Breakbulk/mafi cargo arriving at Faps Terminal are still seeing pick up delays with long waiting time for drivers to get loaded.
The Port of Baltimore has a resilient community that worked so hard to get the port back open so quickly. The federal, state and local governments were on the same page in the effort to get the Port of Baltimore open. The Unified Command Team has done amazing work. A big thanks to all members of that team.
We are grateful to all the people involved with the efforts to full open The Port of Baltimore to all vessels. We are close to being fully operational. It’s going to happen very soon. Baltimore is ready to accept all shipments!
Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Jim Shapiro and the entire Thunderbolt Team.