Evergreen’s new containership Ever Max completed the U.S. portion of her maiden voyage setting new records including becoming the largest containership to dock at Baltimore’s Seagrit Marine Terminal. Port officials hailed her arrival as part of their ongoing efforts over the past few years to expand the port’s capacity.
They reported that the 1,200-foot Ever Max (160,000 dwt) arrived with a capacity of 15,432 TEU topping the previous record also held by Evergreen with the Triton, which arrived in 2019 with a capacity of 14,424 TEU. Before that, the Gunde Maersk arrived in 2018 with a capacity of 11,000 TEU setting the record.
The Ever Max made a port call to Baltimore on August 19 departing the following day for the Suez Canal. She is operating on Evergreen’s US East Coast route having previously made port calls in Savannah, New York, and Norfolk, before Baltimore.
The ship also set a new capacity record during her transit of the Panama Canal earlier in the month with the Panama Canal Authority reporting she was rated to transport up to 17,312 TEU through the Canal. However, she was carrying a less-than-capacity load and was also required to offload 1,400 boxes for transshipment across the Isthmus due to the draft restrictions at the Panama Canal. She made the transit with a reported 13,345 TEU.
“Welcoming the new Evergreen vessel, Ever Max, to Seagirt Marine Terminal is an example of continued growth for the Port of Baltimore,” said Mark Schmidt, vice president and general manager of Ports America Chesapeake, which operates the Seagirt Marine Terminal. “Ever Max was completed this year, and comes to Baltimore from the Samsung shipyard in Korea.”
Port officials highlighted that among the port’s capabilities is a 50-foot channel to accommodate the larger boxships. The port also added new NeoPanamax cranes to accommodate the larger ships. Currently, there is an expansion underway of the Howard Street Tunnel owned by rail company CSX. It is providing for the ability to move double-stacked container rail cars through the tunnel and along the routes serving the Northeast and Midwest. The full project includes clearance improvements at 21 other locations in addition to the tunnel so that double-stacked containers will be able to move by rail between Baltimore and the Ohio Valley and onto Chicago. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the port estimates the project will increase its annual container movements by 160,000 containers annually.
