Tour of NS Savannah May 19, 2019

This 181.66×23.77m (596x78ft) nuclear powered cargo ship was built in 1959 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey. She was built to demonstrate the peaceful use of nuclear power and carried 14,040 tons of cargo and 60 passengers with a crew of 124. Some info from Wikipedia.

the NS Savannah is a beautiful ship and looks like the back half of a cruise ship and the front half of a cargo ship. Inside she is quite beautiful with styling that would have looked typical of the 1960s.

6541-1 Control board in NS Savannah — NS Savannah Control Room

The Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay Ship Watchers facebook group which was present as part of National Maritime Day celebrations was given a special tour of this amazing ship. As the photos suggest I was mainly interested in the mechanical workings of the ship but that is hardly all there is to see aboard this very special ship.

6579-1 Nuclear chamber on NS Savannah — NS Savannah nuclear chamber

The unique thing to see on board this ship was the nuclear reactor containment vessel painted in red. It was easily accessible now because a slice of the barrier had been cut out to allow for visitors. It is an impressive sight even if you don’t understand what it is, but for those that do it gives pause to know what you’re looking at.

6554-1 Engine Room of NS Savannah — NS Savannah Machinery

The place my camera and I were happiest was the main machinery room which housed the steam plant. This is located aft the nuclear power plant and ahead of the control room. As a result there was a lot of interesting things in this area.

6638-1 Spare Propeller of NS Savannah — Propeller

After visiting these areas we visited several other interesting areas of this ship including the sick bay before moving on to the superstructure where a propeller was on display on cargo bay doors.

6648-1 Bridge of the NS Savannah — Bridge of NS Savannah

By the time we visited the bridge we’d been on board about three and a half hours – longer than we expected but hardly enough to see everything as there would still have been plenty more to see. The bridge looks surprisingly ordinary given how special this ship is. I would have expected it to have more bells and whistles in similar fashion to the control room several decks below. It seems that the ship’s bridge is mostly the same for a given era whether she is powered by coal, diesel, or a nuclear reactor.

6410-1 Stern of nuclear ship Savannah — Stern of NS Savannah

A very special thank you goes to W Frank Mathers for conducting this tour and sharing his vast stores of knowledge about this ship and all of its nooks and crannies! This ship is open on special occasions but special tours can be requested. For more information see their website. See more photos I took aboard this ship by clicking here.

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Evergreen Triton Arrives in Baltimore May 24, 2019

This 368x51m (1207.35×167.32ft) container ship is the largest container ship to arrive in Baltimore, Maryland. The previous largest was the Gunde Maersk which I saw come to Baltimore October 21, 2018. The Triton was built in 2016 by Samsung Heavy Industries in Goeje, South Korea and can carry 14,424 TEUs and is owned by Evergreen Marine.

I was aboard the tugboat Lynne Moran which is nearly identical to the April Moran shown in the photos, both owned by Moran Towing. A third tugboat, the Bridget McAllister, was also helping. We sailed out of Baltimore past the Key Bridge to await the arrival of this giant ship. Sitting in the quiet of the early morning with the lights of Baltimore on one side and the lights of the buoys and marine traffic on the other and the moon and stars above it was hard to imagine a giant ship would soon be arriving.

IMG_6821-1 — Container Ship Evergreen Triton Arriving in Baltimore, Maryland May 24, 2019

Shortly after 4am the silhouette of the ship appeared out of the darkness framed by the ship’s lights. Soon the April Moran disappeared on the other side of the ship and the Bridget McAllister moved in behind the ship and attached a line to help slow and steer the ship.

6838-1 Container ship Evergreen Triton and tug Bridget McAllister — Container Ship Evergreen Triton Arriving in Baltimore, Maryland May 24, 2019

The Lynne Moran moved to the stern port side to begin turning the ship towards the dock. It was an impressive sight to be feet away from the hull of this enormous ship and look up and see the containers stacked high above me. This ship is larger than a strip mall!

IMG_6874-1 — Bow of Lynne Moran pushing against the Evergreen Triton

After passing under the Key bridge and having turned the ship enough towards the dock the Lynne Moran moved around the rear of the ship with the Bridget McAllister still pulling and went to the starboard to help the April Moran do the final turn and push to the dock. At times it was hard to tell we were moving unless you looked to watch the motion of the water.

6919-1 April Moran shoving on Evergreen Triton — Tugboat April Moran assisting the Evergreen Triton to Dock

The Bridget McAllister detached and headed off as the two Moran tugs pushed the Triton against the docks while the mooring lines were attached. As the sun started to rise we were soon able to get a good look at the huge ship the tugs assisted to dock. Even as we sailed away the containers on deck seemed to go on forever!

7020-1 Tugboat April Moran and container ship Evergreen Triton at dock — Tugboat April Moran sails home in the sunrise with the Evergreen Triton at dock beyond

The two tugs went back to their own dock knowing another job had been well done. The crew aboard the tug, Captain Wesley “Wes” Southworth, Mate Eddie Lucas, Engineer Eric Hardison and Deckhand Blake Hadel made the extraordinary look easy and routine as experienced professionals will. Please click here to read about my time aboard the tugboat earlier the same morning!

7036-1 April Moran — April Moran at sunrise

A very special THANK YOU goes to Moran Towing for inviting me aboard for this amazing experience! Please click here to see more photos taken during this ship’s arrival.

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National Maritime Day in Baltimore May 19, 2019

The actual designated day for National Maritime Day is May 22 which is the anniversary of the SS Savannah beginning the voyage of the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

6411-1 Liberty Ship John Brown — Liberty Ship John Brown on Pier 13 – NS Savannah is on the right.

Baltimore’s National Maritime Day celebration took place on pier 13 where the NS Savannah lives. This is also a historic ship in that she was the first nuclear powered merchant ship.

6332-1 USACE Reynolds, bow of Liberty Ship John Brown, tug Lynne Moran to left, ship Olympian Highway behond — USACE Reynolds

Several other vessels were also on hand to celebrate this day including the Liberty Ship SS John W. Brown, the Pride of Baltimore II tallship, The Army Corps of Engineer debris removal ship Reynolds, Baltimore Fire & Rescue boats #1 and 2, and a police boat. Pilot boat Maryland and tugboat Bridget McAllister were in close proximity but it isn’t clear to me if they were part of the celebration or not.

6386-1 Glovis Caravel and spar of Pride of Baltimore II — Roro Glovis Caravel and spar of Pride of Baltimore II

I was in attendance with Mike Singer representing the Baltimore & Chesapeake Bay Ship Watchers Facebook group. Several organizations including ourselves had tables under a large tent. About mid day it became very windy and some displays were blown over! Beyond one end of the tent a pool had been set up for radio controlled boats to be operated in.

6481-1 Baltimore Fire Rescue boat #2 — Baltimore City Fire Department Fire Rescue Boat #2

A large swath of the Baltimore Port can be viewed from this location and we saw a good amount of ship traffic including the arrival of the cruise ship Carnival Pride, roro ships Glovis Caravel and Glovis Sunlight, the roro Olympian Highway was moved from one dock to another and some tugboat traffic also took place.

6639-1 Seagirt Marine Terminal — Three Ships at Seagirt Marine Terminal

At the Seagirt Marine Terminal three ships were docked, the general cargo ship BBC Maryland and the container ships Archimidis and Maersk Suzhou. A large number of containers could also be seen as well as some rubber tire gantry cranes.

Towards the end of the day we were treated to a fantastic tour of the Nuclear Ship Savannah. It look a lot longer than we thought it would but there was a lot to see as well! This ship is open for visitors only occasionally but I recommend jumping if the opportunity presents itself.

6465-1 Tugboat Bridget McAllister — Tugboat Bridget McAllister

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Army Heritage Days May 18, 2019

I had visited this event last year (click here to see photos) and had a fantastic time. This is a very well put together event with trams provided rides to stops over the sprawling Army Heritage Center grounds in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There are numerous static displays in place year round on their grounds and during this yearly event re-enactors liven them up and provide interpretation. One great thing about this event that I don’t see very often is free water provided from dispensers near the portable restrooms at several locations on the grounds.

IMG_6073-1 — Bell UH-1D Iroquois Helicopter Landing

One of the first things to happen on the morning of this event was the landing of Liberty Warbirds’ Bell UH-1D Iroquois helicopter. She flew in, did a loop and a half then approached slowly for landing with the distinctive “thumping” a helicopter makes. Impressive and fun to watch!

There were a variety of displays from many eras of history, some which pre-date American history. There was also a nice selection of food options. I got a prime rib sandwich from Gary’s Pig Roast and found it to be very tasty. I could have gotten onions, mushrooms, or cheese but I got mine plain.

IMG_6203-1 — Vietnam War Living History Group

I met up with my friends in a Vietnam War living history group and I did a few photos for them. It is always great to catch up with friends and see what they’ve been up to and what they’re planning to do next! You can see more of these photos plus others I took that day here.

6168-1 WWII Era P-51 Mustang Fighter Plane — North American P-51D Mustang

The American Airpower Museum sent two aircraft that did two flyovers during the day, one of which was the North American P-51D Mustang seen above and also the Douglas C-47 “Skytrain”. I would have preferred they fly lower and closer but it was still a pleasure to see them!

IMG_6226-1 — 17th and 18th century re-enactors

There were also several non-military living history setups which showed what life was like in various periods. In the above photo bread that had been made at their camp was being shown off. There was a lot to see and learn while at this event!

In addition to the outdoor displays there were a number of things going on indoor at the museum as well which by themselves would have made this a great event to go to. You can see more photos I took at this event by clicking here and photos I took at my visit in 2018 by clicking here. Most things shown were present at both events so take a look at both sets!

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Tanker Lara Comes to Baltimore May 11, 2019

According to FleetMon this ship is 183x32m (600.4×104.99ft). The last time I saw the symbol on her funnel it was on the Empire Bulkers owned Michalis on December 3, 2018. I was a little puzzled since this ship is definitely not a bulker. I found that she is instead owned by Empire Navigation which is also based in Greece. She was built in 2007 by SPP Shipbuilding in South Korea. I was unable to find a working website for this company at the time of this writing but if I find one later I will edit it in.

In the video below I included a bit of B roll which makes this video a bit longer than the usual arrival video. I was also able to get footage of the ship being helped to dock by tugs April Moran and Harriet Moran. The pilot boat is Maryland. Early in the video tugs MS Janet and MS Debbie (barely visible) are seen pushing a loaded coal barge. After the pilot boat Maryland but before the cable layer Decisive a Black Crowned Night Heron can be seen. After the Decisive heads out of the Patapsco River for the Chesapeake Bay the pusher tug MS Debbie can be seen returning to Baltimore, Maryland. Finally the tugboat MS Janet can be seen returning with an empty coal barge.

Video of tanker Lara arriving in Baltimore, Maryland May 11, 2019

The last tanker I saw come to town was the Emanuele S on January 6, 2019. A lot of tanker traffic came and went in between, that was just the last time I saw one.

5972-1 Tanker Lara with tugs April Moran and Harriet Moran — Tanker Lara at dock in Baltimore, Maryland

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CSL Tacoma Comes to Baltimore May 6, 2019

This 228x32m (748.03×104.99ft) ship is a self discharging bulk freighter. One of five trillium class ships for Canada Steamship Lines Americas she was built in 2013 by Chengxi Shipyard Company in Jiangyin, china according to BalticShipping.com. From the outside she looks like your ordinary bulk freighter with the addition of a boom attached to a structure just forward of the superstructure. CSL has provided an excellent video on how the self discharging mechanism works – click here to watch it. Check out the rest of their YouTube channel while you’re at it – they have a lot of great videos.

Watch her bring a load of gypsum to Baltimore, Maryland in the video below. The pilot boat Maryland can be seen bringing a pilot aboard in this evening arrival. In the last scene a fisherman can be seen enjoying the sight of this ship while preparing his rod for casting. For best results watch FULL SCREEN.

Video of CSL Tacoma arriving in Baltimore, Maryland May 6, 2019

I saw this ship depart Baltimore on December 21, 2018, click here to watch that video.

5851-1 Self discharging bulker CSL Tacoma — CSL Tacoma arriving in Baltimore, Maryland May 6, 2019

Check out more of my blogs about ships here! You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.

Star Kinn Comes to Baltimore May 4, 2019

This 209×32 (658.7×104.99ft) general cargo ship was built in 2010 by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea according to BalticShipping.com. She is a K-Class ship owned by Bergen, Norway based Grieg Star which is a member of G2 Ocean which is a joint venture between them and Gearbulk. A very detailed data sheet on their K-Class ships can be viewed here. This ship has unusual gantry cranes on deck. G2 Ocean’s website says this about them: “Gantry cranes are efficient, and with rain protection between the gantries, these are still setting standards for efficient and safe carriage of unitised, bulk and project cargoes needing special care. Our cranes have a lift capacity from 35 to 70 metric tonnes.” Other G2 Ocean ships I have seen are the Star Lysefjord on December 28, 2018 and Misago Arrow on March 10, 2019.

In the video below she can be seen arriving on an overcast and lightly foggy day. The pilot boat Maryland can be seen approaching as a power boat passes. A sailboat can also be seen passing.

Video of Star Kinn arriving in Baltimore, Maryland May 4, 2019

The container ship Limari was also seen on this day.

5790-1 General Cargo Ship Star Kinn — Gantry Cranes on Star Kinn

Check out more of my blogs about ships here! You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.

Limari Comes to Baltimore May 4, 2019

This 269x32m (882.55×104.99ft) container ship was built in 2005 by CSBC in Kaohsiung, Taiwan according to BalticShipping.com. Owned by Hapag-Lloyd she can carry 4045 TEUs and has 879 reefer plugs according to this data sheet.

In the video below she can be seen coming to Baltimore, Maryland on an overcast and slightly foggy afternoon. The pilot boat Maryland can be seen coming alongside. As the ship nears a fishing rod can be seen bending as a fisherman deals with a snag. In the final scenes a Baltimore bound sailboat can be seen.

Video of container ship Limari coming to Baltimore, Maryland May 4, 2019

I previously saw the Limari come to Baltimore on November 27, 2018.

5721-1 Container Ship Limari — Container ship Limari entering Baltimore, Maryland May 4, 2019

Check out more of my blogs about ships here! You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.

Post Epoch Release: Maple Syrup Barrel Finish May 4, 2019

The Baltimore Spirits Company had their first Post Epoch Rye release of their whiskey finished in a maple syrup barrel. This 100 proof sipping whiskey was aged 2+ years in a new American oak barrel then transferred for nearly half a year into a barrel first used for Bourbon, then used to age maple syrup. The total age is 2 years and 8 months. Their Epoch Straight Rye, which was used for the basis, is the first rye whiskey distilled in Baltimore in 50 years.

IMG_5630-1 — Bottles of Post Epoch Rye Whiskey finished in Maple Syrup Barrels

Free tastings were provided as they are every day (up to 4 samples) they are open and so I was able to get a taste of this new release. I am not a whiskey expert but I am an expert on Things I Like and I found it to have a very nice flavor.

IMG_5629-1 — Products of Baltimore Spirits Company

As you can see from the above photo they have a selection of very interesting beverages. You can get details on each of them by clicking here.

IMG_5634-1 — Tasting Room of Baltimore Spirits Company

Entering their facility is a bit of a surprise. Their beautifully antique styled tasting room up front is in a large room that also has their distillery in the rear and buffered in between are the barrels aging their products. They are located in Union Collective.

IMG_5653-1 — Staff of Baltimore Spirits Company

They have free distillery tours every hour on Saturdays from 1pm to 5pm and I did the 1pm which was lead by co-Founder and CFO Ian Newton (center in the photo above). I learned a lot about how they make their products and I highly recommend coming down and doing this. Every one of the staff I interacted with was friendly and enthusiastic. I definitely plan to return in the future to try more of their products, some of which are released on a seasonal basis.

Sugarvale was also on hand to help celebrate and although I did not partake of their cocktails some other customers in the area seemed to be enjoying their purchases.

I did, however, get a pulled pork sandwich from So Good BBQ who was also on hand. I took it without sauce and it was delicious with a sweet and smoky flavor. If you run into them definitely give them a try!

Be sure to check out other photos I took at this event by clicking here!

SBI Echo Comes to Baltimore April 28, 2019

This 199x32m (562.89×104.99ft) Ultramax bulk freighter was built by Imabari Shipbuilding in Imabari, Japan in 2015. She is owned by Scorpio Bulkers Inc. (SBI). Looking at their fleet list their oldest ship was built in 2014 and newest in 2018 with the largest number appearing to have been built in 2015.

In the video below she can be seen passing an outbound bulker near the mouth of the Patapsco River. The pilot boat Maryland passes then approaches from astern. She can be seen riding low in the water and clearly loaded. As she passes the company logo can be seen on the ship’s funnel – pretty cool looking! In the final scene she is passing the docked container ship Guthorm Maersk.