Since the commitment was made to revitalize Baltimore's Inner Harbor area, the one missing piece has been development of a facility to accommodate passenger ships.
Yet the port has been able to attract more than 50 cruise ships since 1990 -- an average of nearly a dozen a year.
These vessels have called at Dundalk Marine Terminal's Berth 5, a rudimentary passenger facility converted from freight service as break-bulk terminals have given way to container operations, but a far cry from the amenities of potential sites closer to the city center.
The site that the state and city hope to develop for cruise-ship visits lies at the foot of Caroline Street, where land has become vacant with closure and demolition of the old Allied Chemical plant and the subsequent cleanup of contamination from the chrome-ore works.
Baltimore is fortunate that a generation ago such sites were not pre-empted by construction of freeways along its waterfront.
Since then, many of the port's shipping activities have migrated downriver, from the finger piers along Pratt and Light Streets to marginal wharves like Dundalk. With the opening of Harborplace in 1980, the Inner Harbor became a mecca of pedestrian and shopping activity, and construction of the proposed cruise terminal is a logical next step.
Aside from the two proposed sites, either of which would complement surrounding activities, the passenger-cruise niche may help the port fill the void created by recent loss of bulk movements and general cargo. Baltimore has long been a major bulk port, with such commodities as export coal and grain and import ore, petroleum products, sugar, gypsum rock and salt regularly accounting for more than 80 percent of total tonnage.
These bulk flows have been reduced in volume. Coal tonnage is off, as Baltimore faces stiff competition from Hampton Roads, which benefits from its location nearer the lower-sulfur, higher-Btu coals of southwestern Virginia, southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. Pacific coast and Australian coal shipments to the steel industries of Japan and South Korea, and generally lower petroleum prices worldwide, also depress Baltimore's coal business.
Export grain shipments are approaching an all-time low as an increasing share of corn, soybeans and wheat reach the world market via the Mississippi Valley and the Gulf ports. Ore, which, a generation ago was imported through Canton, Port Covington and Curtis Bay, in addition to Sparrows Point, is now largely confined to the Bethlehem Steel facility; of the others, only the CSX facility at Curtis Bay remains, and it is seldom used. Petroleum products are now delivered to Baltimore principally by pipeline, not tanker.
Other than automobiles -- for which Baltimore remains one of the nation's top ports, general cargo movements are also off. While recent figures suggest a 12 percent upturn in container movements from a year ago, the long-term forecast is less promising.
Our best year was 1984, when nearly 5.5 million tons of containerized cargo were handled. The recent surge should place the port in the 4.2 million ton range -- still more than 20 percent below that banner year a decade ago. We continue to haul a large share of these "boxes" to Hampton Roads by barge or truck, rather than bring all the vessels up the Chesapeake Bay -- a distance of some 180 miles or 10 1/2 hours, with associated fees for pilotage each way and operating costs exceeding $50,000 per day.
Yet cruise chips would not be constrained, for the trip up the Chesapeake would be an integral part of the voyage. The scenery along the shore -- agricultural land interspersed between stretches of forest and marsh, fishing fleets and pleasure craft would enhance the journey, especially for passengers who had been at sea for several days.
The cruise terminal in Baltimore would enable guests to arrive by water and enjoy the rejuvenated waterfront, with its shops, restaurants, hotels, boutiques and other attractions. Guests could stroll the promenade along the water's edge from Clinton Street in Canton to Harborview adjoining Federal Hill, availing themselves of the many choice spots along the way. The National Aquarium, the Science Center, the Christopher Columbus Center and the soon-to-be-revitalized Top of the World atop the World Trade Center afford the visitor opportunities to enjoy Baltimore's waterfront -- and to learn.
Baltimore's cruise terminal would also serve as a new gateway to the nation's capital, as bus and rail connections could be easily developed. The Baltimore-Washington Common Market -- the fastest-growing of the four largest consolidated urban regions in America -- would offer a splendid market for cruises each season.
Indeed, accessibility to this major market, combined with the accouterments associated with the new terminal and the amenities of the Inner Harbor, would almost certainly be translated into increased cruise-ship service, raising the average number of cruises per season from its current 12 to perhaps 20 or more. The economic impact of such an increase is apparent, as Baltimore would stand to benefit from more people spending more money more often. Finally, the new terminals would serve to tie Baltimore and Washington ever more tightly -- with Baltimore receiving those additional benefits of its new bond with the nation's capital.
John T. Starr is a geography professor at UMBC.