JOC Staff | Dec 28, 2012 9:28AM EST
The Port of Baltimore’s Seagirt and Dundalk public marine terminals will be open Saturday for the delivery and receipt of cargo if no agreement is reached between the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance on a new master contract.
Access gates at Seagirt will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Dundalk will be open Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the Maryland Port Administration. Both terminals are usually open only Monday through Friday.
A 90-day extension on the existing master contract expires at midnight Saturday, and the ILA has vowed to strike ports from Maine to Texas if no deal is reached.
“While we hope for a resolution before the deadline, at the same time we want to do as much as we can to keep the cargo supply chain moving,” MPA Executive Director James J. White said in a written statement. “Opening on Saturday allows cargo owners and trucks to come to the Port of Baltimore, deliver or receive their cargo and get it moving before a possible labor work action.”