Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are eliminating calls at the port of Baltimore, among several changes to their Gemini cooperation’s North Europe-North America services.
To better align with customer needs, Philadelphia will replace Baltimore on the TA3 service, Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO) said in a customer advisory Monday.
The new rotation is Southampton – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Wilhelmshaven – Newark – Norfolk – Philadelphia – St. John – Southampton. The new schedule kicks off with the sailing of the Maersk Fredericia from Southampton Jan. 4.
Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE) in an update said its North Europe–North America AL1 service and Americas Service Northbound Service (USW) will omit Baltimore “for schedule recovery”.
The changes comes as the Maryland port continues to recover from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024, which is now expected to take longer and cost more than originally planned. At the same time, CSX recently restarted operations on the city’s Howard Street tunnel following construction to clear the century-old bore for doublestack trains along the I-95 corridor. That was projected to boost Baltimore volume by as much as 160,000 containers per year.
Baltimore has long been known as the leading Northeast ro-ro hub, with vehicle traffic compromising more than 50% of all cargo, according to some reports. In 2024 Baltimore handled approximately 750,000 cars and light trucks as well as 850,000 tons of farm and construction equipment, second to Brunswick, Ga., among U.S. gateways. Disruptions from the Key bridge collapse hurt container throughput, which fell 41% from a record 1.26 million TEUs in 2023 to an estimated 741,215 TEUs.
For ocean carriers, calling Baltimore adds several days’ transit time compared to Norfolk, Va., and Philadelphia. Ships have to navigate 150 miles through the Chesapeake Bay, among the longest ship channels in the world, according to a 2019 study by Texas A&M University. The route also requires the services of multiple local pilots to guide vessels in, along with a separate docking pilot at the port.
Maersk said it has also added an inbound call at St. John in Canada on its TA2 service. The new rotation is Antwerp – Southampton – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Saint John – Charleston – Savannah – Norfolk – Antwerp. The first vessel on the new schedule is the Kiel Express departing Antwerp Dec. 29.
Maersk and the Maryland Port Administration did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
