Steamship

The Maryland Port Administration has embarked on a reorganization of Dundalk Marine Terminal, the largest dock complex in Baltimore, to give steamship lines there some of the same advantages now available only at the state's new, high-tech Seagirt Marine Terminal.The basic concept is simple. Instead of a crazy quilt pattern of separate storage areas for each major steamship line scattered across Dundalk's 570 acres, two private terminals will be carved out of the acreage adjacent to the large public terminal's principal container cranes.

For the Steamship Trade Association, moving to Fells Point has been a bit like coming home.The maritime business organization, which had previously occupied downtown offices at 32 South St., returned to its roots recently by moving to the Swann's Wharf building in the 900 block of Fell Street.The association is holding an open house on July 17 at its new offices near the waterfront.The move follows a trend for some businesses to move away from the downtown area to locations nearer marine terminals.

Polish Ocean Lines, one of the most important steamship lines in the port of Baltimore, has no plans to shift vessels to Hampton Roads, Va., now that the line has received permission to call there.Until last week, 12 militarily sensitive ports in the United States, including Hampton Roads, were off limits to vessels from Eastern bloc nations. On May 8, President Bush lifted that prohibition on ships from Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania.Krzysztof Tyc, the senior representative for POL in North America, said yesterday that while he welcomed the decision, he did not expect the line to shift ships from Baltimore to Hampton Roads.

The Maryland Port Administration's budget made it through the legislature without major cuts that would hamper the agency's ability to operate, Maryland Transportation Secretary O. James Lighthizer said yesterday."

The Army's distribution center on the banks of the Susquehanna River just south of Harrisburg is piled high with the goods of war: tank treads and sprockets stacked on pallets; wooden crates bound with steel straps, the boxes marked "multiple launch rocket system"; rotor blade covers for Apache and Blackhawk helicopters; metal cases containing turbines; even stacks of olive green burlap for sandbags.This huge warehouse at the New Cumberland Army Depot has been straining in recent weeks to keep the supplies moving to troops in Persian Gulf.

Ramsay, Scarlett & Co. Inc., one of Baltimore's oldest steamship agencies, has moved its corporate headquarters from South St. to the newly renovated space in the Equitable Bank Building at 10 N. Calvert St.Ramsay, Scarlett Travel, a full-service travel agency, accompanied its parent company in the move.Ramsay, Scarlett, which had operated from its own building for 20 years, sold the 20,000-square-foot building last spring.The firm now occupies 4,647 square feet in the Equitable building's lobby level in space that formerly housed the Alex.

One on One is a weekly feature offering excerpts of interviews conducted by The Evening Sun with newsworthy business leaders. Maurice Byan was appointed interim president of the Steamship Trade Association last August and recently was appointed president.Q. Can you briefly explain what the Steamship Trade Association is and how it began?A. It's an association of maritime-related businesses or businesses that do maritime work, not necessarily just employers of ILA (International Longshoreman's Association)

Many of the major ports on the East and gulf coasts are knee-deep these days in military cargo headed for the Middle East, but Baltimore has yet to load a single military cargo ship in support of Operation Desert Storm."

What's the good news from the Port of Baltimore? It is still open for business. What's the bad news? Almost too horrible to contemplate.That about sums up the bleak outlook on the docks. December's two-day strike by union boss Richard P. Hughes and his clerks local has had a devastating impact that could be felt for years to come. The result already is less cargo - and thus fewer longshoremen's jobs - at the port.Baltimore's poor labor image was the "overriding factor" in the decision of Tricontinental Service to take its business to Norfolk.

A new steamship line consortium that port officials have been trying to lure to Baltimore has decided to keep sending its ships to the Philadelphia area instead, but Baltimore may still stand a chance of winning the line's business.Senator Line, a German company, has aligned with Cho Yang Line, a South Korean company, and DSR Line, based in Germany. The consortium, known as Tricom, will allow the new group to expand Senator's around-the-world service, starting early next year. Baltimore has been competing with other East Coast ports for inclusion on Tricom's schedule.