Port of Baltimore: Roll On/Roll Off cargo and the ICTF

In July 2007, the MPA installed a new ramp at the South Locust Point terminal to allow paper products to be rolled on and off ships at a faster rate, thereby doubling productivity and allowing the port to push tonnage capacity over one million. Baltimore is seen by the paper industry as setting the new standard for the movement of paper products due to the efficiency the ramp allows for within the process. In 2006, the MPA opened its new, dedicated 60,000-foot Cruise Ship terminal at the South Locust Point terminal. The structure used for the passenger terminal was formerly a paper-shed building situated on 14 acres of land with easy access from either side of I-95. (“Wheels in Motion; TOTE’s Tacoma terminal…ro-ro operations.” Journal of Commerce 7/16/2007)

The port has a state-of-the-art Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF). The rail facility, part of the $160 million Seagirt Marine Terminal, is designed for high-speed transfer of intermodal cargo between CSX Transportation rail lines and the port’s pier facilities at Dundalk Marine Terminal and Seagirt. The 70-acre ICTF has the capability of direct ship-to-rail transfer of cargo. With four loading tracks of up to 3,000 feet in length, it has the capacity to handle 200,000 containers per day. The rail yard eliminated the seven-mile haul between the old ramp in Baltimore and the ICTF in Dundalk. The Seagirt ICTF offers double-stack capability, as well as providing shippers and steamship lines with reverse landbridge opportunities to the rest of the country. (“Wheels in Motion; TOTE’s Tacoma terminal…ro-ro operations.” Journal of Commerce 7/16/2007)