Baltimore will join Norfolk, Va., as the only East Coast ports with 50-foot-deep berths and cranes able to accommodate vessels up to 1,200 feet long. Baltimore Sun photo.
About two weeks from now, a cargo ship 2 1/2 football fields long will squeeze under the Key Bridge and deliver the future of the port of Baltimore.
On its deck are four massive cranes built in China that state officials and the maritime industry hope will turn the already bustling Seagirt Marine Terminal into a conduit for mountains of goods delivered by the world’s largest ships.
Baltimore will join Norfolk, Va., as the only East Coast ports with 50-foot-deep berths and cranes able to accommodate vessels up to 1,200 feet long, which will begin using a widened Panama Canal in 2014. The berth and cranes are part of a 50-year, public-private partnership formed in 2010 between the state and Ports America Chesapeake.