MD Steamship Trade Assn fringe bonds.
4% of the bond amount.
The Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore, Inc. (STA) is the multi-employer group that bargains on behalf of stevedoring, terminal, and other waterfront employers at the Port of Baltimore under its collective agreement with the International Longshoremen's Association. A signatory employer can be required to post a bond guaranteeing that fringe-benefit trust contributions owed on behalf of covered longshore workers are paid as the agreement requires. It is a private, contractual requirement between the employer and the ILA-STA trust funds, not a Maryland statute. Premiums cost 4% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, after a quick soft credit check that never affects your score.
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Apply to bonded in one sitting.
Fringe-benefit bonds are straightforward to issue once you know the amount the STA calls for. Enter it, consent to a soft pull, and you're done:
Apply online
Your company details, the bond amount the STA or its trust funds require, and the effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most fringe-benefit bonds clear quickly; the soft credit pull informs approval and never affects your score. Pricing is 4% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. Larger amounts may get a brief review.
Deliver to the STA
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to hand to the Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore or its trust fund administrator. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the fringe benefits bond actually guarantees
This bond is a payment guarantee running to the Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore, Inc. and its affiliated fringe-benefit trust funds. An employer that signs the STA's collective bargaining agreement with the International Longshoremen's Association commits to remitting fringe-benefit trust contributions — typically health & welfare, pension, and related funds — on behalf of the longshore labor it employs at the Port of Baltimore.
It is a three-party arrangement: the signatory employer (the principal), the surety carrier, and the STA or its trust funds (the obligee), protecting the covered longshore workers whose benefits depend on timely contributions. If a signatory employer fails to remit contributions as agreed, the trust funds can make a claim against the bond — and if the surety pays, the employer repays the surety. It is a labor-relations backstop, not insurance for the employer.
This is a private, contractual requirement arising from the STA's collective bargaining agreement, not a Maryland statute — the bond amount is whatever the association or the trust funds call for, and there is no single figure that applies to every employer. Confirm your required amount with the STA or its trust fund administrator before applying; premiums are priced at 4% of that amount, $100 minimum, after a quick soft credit check that never affects your score.
You need this bond if you are
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. The pull never affects your score, and your price — 4% of the bond amount, $100 minimum — is set at application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Maryland bonds.
Stay signatory without the bonding delay.
Priced at 4% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. Soft pull only. Enter the amount the STA calls for and deliver the same day.