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BALTIMORE — During a visit Friday to the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, President Joe Biden announced $8 million in federal funding to double car shipping capacity at Baltimore’s only unaffected terminal.
The bridge collapse has killed six people and stranded 11 ships in Maryland Harbor. it costs a carrier roll-on/roll-off up to $10 million. It has cut off cargo ship access to all but Tradepoint Atlanticat the former Bethlehem Steel site in Sparrow Point, out the blocked channel.
Funding to quickly pave 10 acres of new parking areas “will allow Sparrows Point to take on more ships,” the president said.
It is critical short-term capacity for the Port of Baltimore, the nation’s busiest seaport for cars, light trucks and other roll-on/roll-off loads. The shipping channel of the port is expected to fully reopen by the end of Mayaccording to an Army Corps of Engineers schedule.
Tradepoint looks forward to welcoming you six scheduled and nine diverted ships transporting 10,000 cars in between. Five acres at the terminal have been set aside for storage of the breached bridge material, according to the company.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said funding for the additional fleet of vehicles came through an increase in a Maritime Administration grant previously awarded to Baltimore County.
“Can be used for additional cargo dump space,” Buttigieg he said. “This project is already underway.”
Biden’s plea to shippers: ‘Pledge to stay’
The White House’s multi-cargo office convened a meeting of more than 100 supply chain stakeholders the week of the disaster to assess cargo diversions and coordinate mitigations, Buttigieg said.
Diversions from Baltimore have already begun. automotive industries and other shippers have announced plans to reroute shipments to other ports on the East Coast and elsewhere around the country. Port of Baltimore drivers share prices for Norfolk and New York routes in a truck driver Facebook group.
Amazon, The Home Depot, Domino Sugar and other companies that ship through the Port of Baltimore have pledged to keep their operations there and keep workers on the payroll while the collapsed bridge is removed from the shipping channel, he said. Biden.
“We call on every company in and around the port to do the exact same thing: commit to staying,” the president said during his remarks in front of the damaged bridge.
US ro/ro leader eyes container growth
The president also highlighted other federal aid, including $60 million in emergency relief funding he had made available to Maryland after the disaster. He said the federal government would pay to rebuild the bridge with union labor and American steel — and “move heaven and earth” to do it as quickly as possible.
Speaking almost on behalf of the Port of Baltimore and noting that his father was born and raised in the city, Biden sent a clear message to his shippers, carriers and other customers.
“We’re coming back,” he said. “We’ll be back soon.”
Baltimore doesn’t handle nearly as much container volume as the Port of Virginia and the Port of New York and New Jersey, though local officials hope that could change with the planned expansion of the Howard Street Tunnel to accommodate double stackers containers on CSX trains .
But the port’s 50-foot channel, furthest inland location on the East Coast, and highway and rail connections have made it the nation’s busiest seaport for automobiles, farm and construction equipment, and other roll-on/roll cargo -off for more than a dozen years. The Port of Baltimore handled nearly 850,000 cars and light trucks last year.
Liability questions will not delay the response
The 984-foot Dali container ship struck a support pier and lowered the bridge after the ship appeared to lose power before dawn on 26 March. The crash is under federal investigation.
The ship’s owner, Grace Ocean, and the manager, Synergy Marine, filed a legal petition to limit their liability to $43.7 million – the amount the ship was said to be worth immediately after the collision plus the revenue it was due to receive for the cargo it was carrying, Legal Dive reported.
The tragedy has created uncertainty for the approximately 15,000 workers directly employed at the port and more than 140,000 others in trucking, warehousing and other related industries.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott reiterated Biden’s desire not to wait for the lawsuit to clear the canal and begin a new bridge project.
“Everyone should be held accountable for the full existence of the law,” Scott said in an interview. “We will all work in partnership to ensure that this happens. But as you heard from my president, we can’t wait for that.”