Maryland Port Administration

WASHINGTON -- The federal government will more than triple its grant funding this year for port security in Maryland, providing money for a state-of-the-art video surveillance system and technology to help monitor the thousands of trucks that enter the port of Baltimore each day. Additional money to protect regional transit is also getting a big boost in the annual grants announced yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security. Nationwide, federal spending on what the department calls infrastructure protection is increasing 29 percent to $884 million.

Royal Caribbean International will bring the newly renovated Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship back to Baltimore next year, officials said Tuesday. The ship, which is undergoing a $48 million modernization, will replace another cruise vessel early in 2013, according to a statement from the Maryland Port Administration. The refurbished ship will have new dining options, a new nursery and technology upgrades, including ship-wide wireless Internet service, the port administration said.

Louis J. "Lou" LoBianco, who was a well-known port figure and a highly acclaimed expert in the application of roll-on/roll-off cargo technology to the Port of Baltimore, died Dec. 1 of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The former longtime Towson residence — who had lived in Mays Chapel since last year — was 68. "Lou was one of the main reasons why the Port of Baltimore is known today as the top roll-on/roll-off [ro/ro] port in the U.S.," said James J. White, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration.

With guns bristling, police officers in full tactical gear sweep across the vast deck of a cargo ship and creep up the stairs to the bridge. Their mission: Take the vessel back from armed intruders. Twice a month, the Natural Resources Police Tactical Response Team practices its craft. Tuesday morning's exercise was aboard the USNS Gilliland, a 956-foot vessel operated by the Navy Military Sealift Command and tied up at the Clinton Street Marine Terminal. "Basically it's a high-rise lying on its side, but it's a lot more complicated," said Sgt. Mel Adam, the squad leader, of the vessel.

Royal Caribbean International will bring the newly renovated Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship back to Baltimore next year, officials said Tuesday. The ship, which is undergoing a $48 million modernization, will replace another cruise vessel early in 2013, according to a statement from the Maryland Port Administration. The refurbished ship will have new dining options, a new nursery and technology upgrades, including ship-wide wireless Internet service, the port administration said.

The former Navy hospital ship USS Sanctuary, which served in the aftermath of World War II and in Vietnam, has been sold and is now under tow from Baltimore to Brownsville, Texas, for recycling. The move marks the end of a 22-year residence in Baltimore Harbor that was troubled by deterioration, failed business ventures and lawsuits. The Sanctuary left the harbor Wednesday. Two suits are still pending. But the 529-foot ship's former owner — Potomac Navigation, Inc. — is in settlement talks with the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Cargo volume at the port of Baltimore grew 15 percent last year, the largest increase of any major U.S. port, state officials announced Monday. The port's public and private terminals moved 37.8 million tons of goods from cars to coal in 2011. It all was valued at more than $51.4 billion, a 24 percent increase over 2010. "The port is leading the pack," said James White, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. Longshoremen at the six public terminals managed by the administration set volume records in processing autos, wood pulp and containers.

The port of Baltimore has played host to some massive containerships in its time, but none larger than the MSC Sindy, which paid a call Monday at the Seagirt Marine Terminal. More than 31/2 football fields long and capable of hauling 9,200 20-foot containers, the Panamanian-flag Sindy unloaded more than 900 containers and took on more than 500 during her brief stop in Baltimore between calls in New York and Norfolk. By this time next year, however, the Sindy could be no more than an average-size containership coming to call on Baltimore.

With guns bristling, police officers in full tactical gear sweep across the vast deck of a cargo ship and creep up the stairs to the bridge. Their mission: Take the vessel back from armed intruders. Twice a month, the Natural Resources Police Tactical Response Team practices its craft. Tuesday morning's exercise was aboard the USNS Gilliland, a 956-foot vessel operated by the Navy Military Sealift Command and tied up at the Clinton Street Marine Terminal. "Basically it's a high-rise lying on its side, but it's a lot more complicated," said Sgt. Mel Adam, the squad leader, of the vessel.

I write to convey Ports America Chesapeake's steadfast objection to the Baltimore City Council's request to increase the fees charged for oversize and overweight trucks associated with freight travel to and from the Port of Baltimore. Ports America and its predecessor companies have operated in Baltimore for 89 years. We are committed to making investments that will strengthen the Port of Baltimore for the future. Ports America objects to the proposed fee increase because it puts the Port of Baltimore at a competitive disadvantage, and it will negatively impact the master lease and concession agreement between Ports America and the Maryland Port Administration.

Cargo volume at the port of Baltimore grew 15 percent last year, the largest increase of any major U.S. port, state officials announced Monday. The port's public and private terminals moved 37.8 million tons of goods from cars to coal in 2011. It all was valued at more than $51.4 billion, a 24 percent increase over 2010. "The port is leading the pack," said James White, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. Longshoremen at the six public terminals managed by the administration set volume records in processing autos, wood pulp and containers.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Port of Baltimore's six public terminals received an "excellent" security assessment from the Coast Guard. The annual review grades security operations at the Dundalk, Seagirt, North Locust Point, South Locust Point, Fairfield and Masonville terminals managed by the Maryland Port Administration. Captain of the Port Mark O'Malley said the continued excellent rating was due to continued training for security and law enforcement officers and upgrades in facilities, including better credentials for workers, a state-of-the-art entry system for trucks and tighter perimeter controls.

It was Happy Hour at the Poncabird Pub on Wednesday, and the South Baltimore tavern was as busy and bustling as usual, but as late-afternoon sunlight streaked through a side window, the expressions it caught on the faces at one table were decidedly grim. "This [stinks]," said Dane Sobus, a regular customer who has spent many evenings drinking with crew members and workers from the USNS Comfort, the hospital ship the Navy announced this week will be moving to Norfolk, Va., after a quarter-century in the port of Baltimore.

Port of Baltimore passenger cruise traffic rose nearly 20 percent in 2011, the fourth consecutive year of customer increases, the Maryland Port Administration announced Monday in a news release. More than a quarter million people sailed on 105 cruises, good for fifth place on the East Coast and 12th place nationwide. Port officials say about 220 jobs are tied to the cruise industry and estimate the value of cruising to the state economy at $90 million. The port has 100 cruises scheduled this year.

Baltimore surpassed New York to handle more auto tonnage than any other port in the United States during the first six months of 2011, the Maryland Port Administration reported Monday. The agency said it handled more than 538,000 tons of autos during the first half of the year, compared with 413,403 tons for New York — last year's market leader — during the same period. Port spokesman Richard Scher said Baltimore posted a 15 percent increase over the same period last year, while New York registered a 21 percent decline.

The former Navy hospital ship USS Sanctuary, which served in the aftermath of World War II and in Vietnam, has been sold and is now under tow from Baltimore to Brownsville, Texas, for recycling. The move marks the end of a 22-year residence in Baltimore Harbor that was troubled by deterioration, failed business ventures and lawsuits. The Sanctuary left the harbor Wednesday. Two suits are still pending. But the 529-foot ship's former owner — Potomac Navigation, Inc. — is in settlement talks with the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Port of Baltimore's six public terminals received an "excellent" security assessment from the Coast Guard. The annual review grades security operations at the Dundalk, Seagirt, North Locust Point, South Locust Point, Fairfield and Masonville terminals managed by the Maryland Port Administration. Captain of the Port Mark O'Malley said the continued excellent rating was due to continued training for security and law enforcement officers and upgrades in facilities, including better credentials for workers, a state-of-the-art entry system for trucks and tighter perimeter controls.

The port of Baltimore moved up one spot in the national rankings in cargo handling last year on the strength of a 37 percent jump from 2009 in the value of shipments over its docks, according to the U.S. Census. Gov. Martin O'Malley said Tuesday that the port had climbed to 11th place from 12th in the value of the cargo it handles and advanced two places, to 13th from 15th, in tonnage. The port grabbed the No. 1 spot among the nation's 360 ports in handling of three cargo categories: trucks, imported salt and imported iron ore. Previously, the port had held the No. 2 rankings in trucks and ore, and sixth place in salt.

The port of Baltimore has played host to some massive containerships in its time, but none larger than the MSC Sindy, which paid a call Monday at the Seagirt Marine Terminal. More than 31/2 football fields long and capable of hauling 9,200 20-foot containers, the Panamanian-flag Sindy unloaded more than 900 containers and took on more than 500 during her brief stop in Baltimore between calls in New York and Norfolk. By this time next year, however, the Sindy could be no more than an average-size containership coming to call on Baltimore.