The Port of Baltimore has officially reopened and resumed operations at full capacity, marking a major milestone in the massive cleanup effort after the M/V Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, causing it to collapse.
The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) has now officially reopened the Fort McHenry Channel to commercial vessel traffic for 24-hour availability without restrictions.
Supply chain visibility platform Project44 has provided some insights into current port operations and the impacts resulting from the extended closure. Their data revealed that vessel berthing times significantly decreased after the Federal Channel was partially reopened on May 20 following the refloating and removal of the Dali. While export dwell times at the Port of Baltimore remain high due to clearing the backlog of containers, import container dwell and vessel berthing times are now stable, indicating healthy labor force and operations at the port, according to Project44.
Median Weekly Import and Export Dwell for the Port of Baltimore. Chart courtesy Project44
During the closure, many containers that were initially destined for the Port of Baltimore were redirected to other ports. Project44’s analysis shows that the ports that received the most volume were New York (46%), Norfolk (20%), and Newark-Elizabeth (9%). The data shows that dwell times at these ports have remained stable, however, the rerouted containers experienced higher dwell rates due to bottlenecks in finding drayage coverage for out of network transit lanes.
The extended dwell times also resulted in demurrage charges, which are fees levied by ports when containers remain at the port for an extended period. The estimated demurrage costs due to the crash could be as high as $85 million, according to Project44. However, as containers are no longer rerouting around Baltimore, further demurrage costs are not expected.
Shipowners and charterers are altering leasing contracts to cope with the multi-million dollar port fees expected to be imposed on Chinese-built vessels by the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter.
The United States' announcement of a 25% tariff on auto imports rippled throughout the world on Thursday, as global vehicle suppliers warned of immediate price hikes and dealers raised fears of job losses in countries with a large car industry.
March 27, 2025
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