The Port of Baltimore has inked a new contract with its biggest roll on/roll off customer through 2045, a deal that will support nearly 1,000 jobs over the next three decades, Governor Larry Hogan announced Thursday.

The contract extends the close ties of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, a global shipping and logistics giant based in Norway, and the State of Maryland. Baltimore is the nation's busiest port for roll on/roll off cargo or ro/ro in industry shorthand which includes, cars, trucks, heavy farm equipment, construction machinery and others. In 2014, the port handled a record 792,000 cars and 861,000 tons of ro/ro cargo.

"This new contract, tying WWL's success to that of the Port of Baltimore for the next three decades, will support nearly 1,000 jobs here in Maryland and is a ringing endorsement of the strength and importance of this partnership," Governor Hogan said in the announcement of the deal.

WWL played a key role in growing the Port of Baltimore's ro/ro business; Baltimore is WWL's busiest port of call in North and South America.

"Baltimore is WWL's largest port of business in the Americas, and a gateway to key markets in the U.S. and around the globe," said Raymond Fitzgerald, WWL's president of the Atlantic region. "WWL-operated ships call Baltimore nearly 150 times each year to accommodate the needs of our customerssome of the largest and top vehicle, heavy machinery and RoRo shippers in the world."

Cars and trucks weren't the only bright spot for the Port in 2014. The public marine terminals set a bevy records last year, including the best-ever 29.5 million tons of international cargo that crossed its docks at a value of almost $53 billion. The Port supports about 13,650 direct jobs and the economic activity generated there is linked to nearly 130,000 across the State.