Page 46 - Port of Baltimroe Magazine - Jan Feb 2012
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port view
A
s Jimmy Carter prepared his Presidential inaugural
address in January 1977, the Chesapeake Bay sank
into a deep freeze. The National Oceanographic
and Aeronautics Administration (NOAA) recorded
temperatures 10 degrees below the norm for both January and
February. Activities at the Port of Baltimore were limited, shipping
was disrupted and most vessels were ordered to stay tied up as
the U.S. Coast Guard issued minimum horsepower requirements.
But cargo still needed to move, so tugs and barges gathered in
STORY BY KATHY BERGREN SMITH
convoys and followed a track broken either by a Coast Guard ice-
breaker or a ship.
The area between the Patapsco River and the Bay Bridge was
the worst. In the photo, you see barges loaded with coal for a power
plant, while in the distance is a fuel barge. The tug closest to the
camera is a Philadelphia vessel owned by C.G. Willis. Two other tugs
work together to meet the horsepower requirement.
President Carter would soon be asking Americans to turn down
their thermostats to conserve fuel.
The above photograph is provided courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Industry and is part of the museum’s
BGE collection. Visit the Baltimore Museum of Industry at 1415 Key Highway on the south side of the Inner
Harbor; check out their web site at
or call 410-727-4808. The museum is open Tuesday through
Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
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The Port of Baltimore
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January/February 2012
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