Page 19 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 3 - 2024

Keeping the Port
Community Informed
Another important task for Unified Command was keeping the Port of Baltimore community apprised of an oper- ation that deeply affected their livelihoods.
“The Governor was holding press conferences every day, and we were supporting that,” Pinchasin said. “Our senior leaders worked hard to build trust with the community and helped explain the complexity of what we were dealing with.”
The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) was a crucial part of this effort. “The MPA has been awesome from day 1,” Pinchasin said, citing the fact that the MPA quickly offered use of the cruise terminal for Unified Command operations. “They weren’t just focused on the government side of the Port — they really served as a mouthpiece for all the stakeholders’ perspectives. It helped us understand that we weren’t just pulling steel from the river. We were bringing the economic engine of the region back to life.”
As part of that effort, MPA Executive Director Jonathan Daniels held weekly calls to inform an audience of hundreds of Port stakeholders on the progress of salvage operations.
In addition, the Baltimore Port Alliance (BPA) served as an important convener for various Port stakeholders.
“The week following the tragedy, our Executive Steering Committee (ESC) coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Captain of the Port [David O’Connell] to convene a special meeting,” said Armand Patella, the BPA’s current Chairman. Attendees at the meeting included ESC members representing pilots, tugs, vessel operators and agents, freight forwarders, union labor, trucking, terminal operators, U.S. Customs and more.
“This meeting would lead to help forming the eventual recovery plan and timeline,” Patella recalled. “The group contributed to the Coast Guard’s understanding of impacts, priorities and capabilities under the circumstances.”
In the weeks that followed, the ESC “identified and established clear lines of communication for crucial decision makers between the Port community and the Unified Command, while its members provided valuable information for the Governor’s office, the Maryland and U.S. Departments of Transportation, and the White House.”
PHOTOS BY BILL MCALLEN
The Maryland Transportation Authority is currently accepting requests for proposals for a design-build team to rebuild
the Key Bridge. A project team is expected to be selected
in mid-to-late summer this year, with the entire project estimated to be completed in fall 2028.
Gov. Moore expressed gratitude to the men and women of Unified Command for working around the clock to quickly and safely reopen the 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep shipping channel. In only 78 days, Unified Command removed
more than 50,000 tons of debris from the Patapsco River,
fully restoring the channel, welcoming back global shipping businesses and cruises, and getting Marylanders back to work.
“With the fully opened shipping channel and return of our global cargo and cruise partners, the Port of Baltimore looks forward to once again being one of the nation’s top ports, supporting thousands of jobs,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “Thanks to Gov. Moore’s steadfast leadership and the unprecedented collaboration within the Unified Command and among our public and private partners, we’ve brought business back to Baltimore in a matter of weeks.” 
#BaltimoreIsBack
Above: “The governor made a commitment to me and the men and women of the ILA and, sir, your word was good!” – Scott Cowan, President of ILA Local 333
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