BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Local and state officials gathered Wednesday at the Port of Baltimore to welcome ZIM Shipping Line, a shipping carrier focused on e-commerce, to the port.
The Israel-based company will begin the service from China and Southeast Asia to the U.S. East Coast with stops at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore every other week, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration. Eventually, officials hope to have the service run weekly.
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The service is known as the Zim e-Commerce Baltimore express. Bayard Hogans, Vice President of Operations at Ports America Chesapeake, said the service will have the fastest transit time between Asia and Baltimore. Products will go directly from the port to warehouses and other states.
Governor Larry Hogan met with ZIM President and CEO Eli Glickman last December to encourage him to bring the company to Baltimore.
“Important and export demand for containerized cargo has substantially increased over the past year and the Port of Baltimore continues to lead the way in responding to the supply chain crisis by bringing more and more ships and more and more goods into the country,” Hogan said. “And the addition of Zims business is yet another sign of the unprecedented growth of Baltimore. ”
Why is this significant to you?
Think supply chain issues….
Officials say this will bring products more quickly to store shelves and then to your door steps. @wjz
— Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) May 11, 2022
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To accommodate even more massive container ships, the port is making more space to put them. After having dredged a second 50-foot berth at the port, Hogan said they are pursuing a third 50-foot berth, which is used for mooring vessels.
“This is a continuation of our continued and concerted efforts to make the Port of Baltimore far more competitive with other ports for this extremely sought-after containerized cargo market,” Hogan said. “And all of that hard work and investment is certainly paying off here today.”
The new service comes after the arrival of four new cranes, which became operational last week, and the groundbreaking of the Howard Street Tunnel Expansion Project to allow for double-stacked cargo on trains traveling to and from the port.
The port this year also added a new Maersk line reaching Southeast Asia, Vietnam and China and a Mediterranean Shipping Co. line with stops in the Indian Subcontinent and Mediterranean.
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