Page 30 - Port of Baltimore Magazine July August 2011
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O
n March 19, 1963, the S.S.
Sophie Maris
(translated
as “Wisdom of the Sea”) was the first vessel to
call on the newly constructed “B Berth,” built in
Canton by Rukert Terminals Corp. The Canton
complex got its start in 1937 when William George “Cap”
Rukert acquired a 400-foot wooden pier and six acres from the
Pennsylvania Railroad for its Pier 5 facilities at 2100 S. Clinton
Street. The company had started as a warehousing operation
in nearby Fells Point in 1921, but left in search of deeper water.
STORY BY NANCY MENEFEE JACKSON
In the mid-1940s, Rukert purchased the Lazaretto Depot
from the Western Maryland Railroad, a property that Cap was
convinced would become one of the most valuable in Baltimore.
There, Rukert, which specialized in bulk and breakbulk cargo,
built its A and B berths. The original B Berth served ships until
2003, when it was demolished to make way for a reinforced
B Berth that opened last year. The new B Berth, which is
950 feet long and 50 feet deep, can handle today’s larger
ships and bear a load of 2,000 pounds per square foot.
COURTESY OF RUKERT TERMINALS CORP.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
RUKERT TERMINALS CORP. AND THE
COMPANY’S UPCOMING 90TH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION, PLEASE SEE PAGE 20.
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The Port of Baltimore
■
July/August 2011
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