The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Port Administration have invested heavily in dredging to maintain Baltimore’s navigation channel depth and width. However, while the current configuration works well for legacy ships that can easily exit the terminal via a loop channel, those with drafts greater than 42 feet, such as Ultra Large Container Vessels, can only back out through the loop channel’s turning basin, a maneuver that presents safety concerns and vessel traffic inefficiencies.
As a result, the USACE Baltimore District and the Maryland Port Administration initiated a study to identify safe, technically feasible, economically justifiable, and environmentally acceptable modifications to the existing Seagirt Loop Channel. The study included engineering improvements, such as deepening and widening the western half of the Seagirt Loop Channel, to meet future demand capacity and provide large vessels an alternative path to exit the terminal.
The study also tapped the rich expertise of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Ship Simulator facility and a team of licensed pilots from the Association of Maryland Pilots, who ran multiple simulations of proposed design improvements to the Seagirt Loop Channel, providing valuable feedback on vessel navigation safety.