Bentley urges independent Baltimore port

Bentley urges independent Baltimore port    Former U.S. congresswoman and long-time maritime advocate Helen Delich Bentley reportedly told a Maryland Senate committee Wednesday that the Port of Baltimore should operate independently from of the state’s Department of Transportation.
   Today’s Baltimore Sun reported today that Bentley told the state’s Senate Budget and Taxation Committee the Baltimore seaport is “a business and needs to be administered as such.”
   The Mid-Atlantic port’s profile was raised in late February when Maryland Port Administration executive director James White abruptly resigned over management friction with Gov. Bob Ehrlich’s political appointments to various port marketing posts. Port users, including shippers and carriers, protested the governor’s actions.
   The Sun said Bentley asked Maryland’s senators to consider the management model of Alabama’s Port of Mobile. The Southeast port recently became independent. The Port of Baltimore was an independent entity between 1956 and 1971, Bentley noted at the hearing.
   The Sun reported that Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert Flanagan, who also testified at Wednesday’s hearing, scoffed at Bentley’s suggestion. He said the port needs access to the state’s Transportation Trust Fund, which is administered by the department.