Page 13 - Port of Baltimore Magazine July August 2011

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July/August 2011

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The Port of Baltimore

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11

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL MCALLEN

CARGO

— . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . —

Wise in the Ways of Windmills

C

anton Railroad Company is paying close

attention while the Port of Baltimore continues

to receive additional wind-turbine windmill

shipments.

Canton Railroad President & CEO John C. Magness

explained, “Everybody’s looking for new sources of energy,

and [windmills] seem to be becoming more the way to

go.” But it’s not just the energy efficiency of windmills that

intrigues Magness — it’s also the intermodal efficiency

of a location that must rise to the challenge when han-

dling such a cargo. The windmill sections, each weighing

between 50 and 70 metric tons, take up a large amount

of space at Rukert Terminals, leaving little room for only

eight to 10 flat railcars to maneuver. As first demonstrated

with a shipment that arrived in March, the terminal’s 275-

ton and 210-ton cranes operate in tandem to carefully

move each piece onto the railcars, which then leave the

yard to link up.

“It’s an interesting process to watch, involving a lot

of people,” said Magness, who noted that two more CSX

trainloads left the terminal for Ohio in mid-July.

SHIPPING

— . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — .

Port Welcomes Next

Wave of Big Vessels

A

t 9,178 TEUs, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)

Bruxelles

became the largest container ship to enter the Port

of Baltimore when it arrived in mid-July. Flying the flag of

Liberia and sailing with a service speed of 25 knots, the

Bruxelle

s

has an overall length of 336.67 meters and breadth of 45.6 meters.

The MSC

Sindy

, another 9,200-TEU vessel, sailed into Baltimore a

couple of weeks later.

Top: Rick Tippett and Greg Faherty of Maryland Line

Handlers secure the ship. Inset: Wheel ceremony participants

were, from left, Rick Adams of On Deck Services, MSC's

Marco Di Casagrande, Capt. Adam Sikorski, MPA's

Cynthia Burman and Ports America's Jim Dragos.