Ports America Chesapeake, LLC entered into a unique public-private partnership deal with the Maryland Port Administration in 2009, signing a 50-year lease to operate Seagirt Marine Terminal.

Ports America will invest $500 million in the project, providing $140 million to the state fund for highway, bridge and tunnel projects near the port.

The $1.3 billion deal to enlarge the Seagirt Marine Terminal will position Baltimore as one of only four U.S. East Coast ports with a 50 foot draft to handle the new super-post-Panamax cargo ships.

Seagirt has four all-electric, high-efficiency, Super-Post-Panamax gantry cranes which can reach 22 containers across, in addition to the existing seven cranes at Berths 1 - 3 which were modified to handle ships 18 containers across and can trolley to the new Berth.

In January 2013 the new Berth 4 with a 50 foot draft, 1,200-linear-foot became fully operational ahead of schedule and under budget. This impressive new dock can handle 14,000 - TEU vessels.

Seagirt's practical yard layout has storage areas directly behind the berths, further increasing the productivity of vessel loading and discharge operations. Truck turn times are less than 30 minutes for single moves and 60 minutes for double moves.

Ports America Chesapeake’s Seagirt Marine Terminal set a container handling record of more than 1 million units in 2018

Annual volume is 630,000 containers and current vessel container production is 37 Net MPH, one of the highest on U.S. East Coast.