Seagirt looks for port developer/operator

Seagirt looks for port developer/operator Seagirt Marine Terminal in the Port of Baltimore is seeking parties interested in expanding the terminal to take advantage of potential all-water transpacific container services from Asia to the U.S. East Coast once the Panama Canal is widened by 2014.
   The terminal is seeking a private party to develop and operate a deepwater berth for a lease period of 30 years or longer, according to a news release from Public Financial Management Inc., a consultant working on behalf of the terminal.
   The private partner would assume all existing carrier contracts and would be obligated to construct a fourth berth and purchasing a minimum of four new container cranes.
   “The MPA is also seeking an advanced payment and an ongoing revenue stream during the lease term,” the release said.
   The terminal quay and approach channel have a depth of 45 feet and 50 feet, respectively, making it one of the few options on the U.S. East Coast for large container vessels, the likes of which will be able to pass through the new wider locks of the Panama Canal when that project opens in five years.
   Seagirt is the largest container facility in the Port of Baltimore, with three berths and seven container cranes and a design capacity of 1 million TEUs annually. The terminal is served by CSX through on-dock facilities and Norfolk Southern through near-dock facilities.
   The port expects the redeveloped terminal to have capacity of 1.5 million TEUs, helped by CSX’s National Gateway Initiative that will allow double-stack trains to be built near-dock.
   “The market served by Seagirt Marine Terminal encompasses the mid-Atlantic region north and south and west through the Ohio Valley,” the release said. “This international market is estimated to consume in excess of 3 million TEUs annually.'
   Seagirt has seven weekly services that call, with the three largest lines serving the port are MSC, Evergreen and CSAV.