| Port of Baltimore | |
|---|---|
 Cargo loading cranes at the Seagirt and Dundalk Marine Terminals along the northeast shore of the Northwest Branch of thePatapsco River towards theInner Harbor and downtownBaltimore | |
 Interactive map of Port of Baltimore | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 39°16′30″N76°35′06″W / 39.275°N 76.585°W /39.275; -76.585 |
| Details | |
| Owned by | Maryland Port Administration |
| Draft depth | 50 feet |
| Air draft | 182 feet (Chesapeake Bay Bridge). Previously also restricted to 185 feet by theFrancis Scott Key Bridge (1977-2024) |
TheHelen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is ashipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of thePatapsco River inBaltimore, Maryland, on the upper northwest shore of theChesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facility for specialized cargo (roll-on/roll-off ships) and passenger facilities. It is operated by the Maryland Port Administration (MPA),[1] a unit of theMaryland Department of Transportation.[2]
Founded in 1706, the port was renamed in 2006 forHelen Delich Bentley (1923–2016), who represented Baltimore as aU.S. Representative for a decade and who had also been a maritime reporter and editor forThe Baltimore Sun daily newspaper.[3]
In 1608,Captain John Smith traveled 170 miles (270 km) fromJamestown (established the previous year) exploring the shores, rivers, creeks, and streams to the upperChesapeake Bay towards theSusquehanna River, leading the first European expedition to thePatapsco River, named after the nativeAlgonquian peoples who fished shellfish and hunted.[4][5]
English royal and proprietary land grants from 1661 were combined in 1702 byJames Carroll, who named itWhetstone Point because of the landform shape resembling a sharpening stone. The area is now known asLocust Point, a residential and industrial area. The port was founded on this site in 1706 by theprovincialMaryland General Assembly, which designated it one of the officialPort of Entry for the tobacco trade with theKingdom of England. In 1729–1730,Baltimore was established by Act of Assembly to the northwest at "The Basin" of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco. This area was later known as theInner Harbor.
In 1776, local citizenry erectedearthworks for port defense during theAmerican Revolutionary War known asFort Whetstone. These port fortifications were replaced beginning in 1798. In addition,Fort McHenry was expanded and reconstructed with brick and stone in a "star fort" shape. This work was conducted by the officers and engineers of theUnited States Army and itsCorps of Engineers and theU.S. Department of War.[6]
Fells Point, first namedLong Island Point in 1670, is the deepest point in the natural harbor on the north shore of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco. It soon became the colony's main shipbuilding center, with manyshipyards, famed for the construction of the unique styledBaltimore clipper smaller-sized sailing schooners. These were notorious as commerce raiders, and privateers used them. This type of activity led to the British attack in September 1814, during theWar of 1812 known as theBattle of Baltimore. It is noted for the famous bombardment ofFort McHenry as well as a land attack to the southeast at theBattle of North Point, which attacked fortifications on the east side of town at Loudenschlager's and Potter's Hills (today's Hampstead Hill/Patterson Park).Fells Point was incorporated into oldBaltimore Town in 1773. TheContinental Navy ordered their first frigate warship,USSVirginia, from George Wells at Fells Point in 1775. The first ship named theU.S.F Constellation was produced at the Harris Creek shipyard east of Fells Point (the site of the future neighborhood ofCanton) by a master shipwright from Hingham, Massachusetts named David Stodder.[7] The thirdUSSEnterprise was built at Henry Spencer's shipyard. Over 800 ships were commissioned from Fells Point shipyards from 1784 to 1821. TheCalifornia Gold Rush of 1848–1849 led to many orders for fast vessels. Many overland pioneers also relied uponcanned goods supplied fromBaltimore factories.[8][9]
After Baltimore's founding, the waterfront developed intodrydocks, warehouses,ship chandlers, and industry, including mills, which were built behind the wharves.In what is nowCanton, further southeast of Baltimore and Fells Point along thePatapsco River, John O'Donnell's plantation was developed in the early 1800s for worker housing and industry, including the Canton Iron Works owned byPeter Cooper and laterHorace Abbott during theCivil War and others.[10]
In 1828, theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) began track laying, eventually extending intoLocust Point in 1845. The arrival of B&O and other railroads made the port a central transshipment point between inland points and the rest of the world.[11] By the 1840s, theBaltimore Steam Packet Company ("Old Bay Line") was providing overnight steamship service down the Chesapeake Bay.[12] After theCivil War, coffee ships were designed here for trade with Brazil.Other industrial activities in Canton included Baltimore Copper Smelting Company and small oil refineries, later purchased byStandard Oil.[13] By the end of the nineteenth century, European ship lines had terminals for emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Germany, and Poland.[11]
On March 26, 2024, the container ship MV Dali struck a support pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River and blocking the main shipping channel into the Port of Baltimore. Vessel traffic to and from the port was suspended for about 11 weeks.[14]
Maintenance of harbor channels and navigation aids began early.Dredging in the harbor can be traced back as far as 1783, when the Ellicott brothers (ofEllicott Dredges) excavated the bottom at their wharf in theInner Harbor. In 1790, the state government began systematic dredging using a "mud machine", which used a horse-drawn drag bucket, later upgraded with steam power. In 1825, Sen.Sam Smith of Maryland petitioned Congress for federal funding for this work.[15]
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At this time, Congress was smarting from the incursions of theWar of 1812 and had determined to expand naval defenses. In Baltimore, it led to the misconceived construction ofFort Carroll, an island three-tiered brick fortification in the 1840s (similar to various other East Coast island forts built such as the famousFort Sumter in Charleston harbor, South Carolina), supervised by young Col.Robert E. Lee of theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers but federal dredging appropriations preceded that project, beginning in 1830. This first project was completed in 1838. In the 1850s, a second dredging project was undertaken under Capt.Henry Brewerton, who was also later in charge of the Fort Carroll project. He excavated a straight channel fromSparrows Point out to the mouth of the Patapsco nearSeven Foot Knoll Light betweenNorth Point andHawkins Point, which was erected in 1855; this channel, known today as the Brewerton Channel, continues to be the central link in the path into the harbor.[citation needed]
In 1865, Maj.William Price Craighill took over as Baltimore District Engineer of theCorps of Engineers. His initial survey of the Brewerton Channel disclosed severe shoaling at the mouth of the river. He excavated a new channel starting from the older channel at a point just northwest of Seven Foot Knoll and running south to the mouth of theMagothy River, where it turned to the south-southeast and continued to Sandy Point, just north of the present location of theChesapeake Bay Bridge. In the 1870s, a cutoff channel was dug to ameliorate the turn between the old and new channels; the Brewerton Channel was also extended to provide a connection to theChesapeake and Delaware Canal. Enlarged and extended to access various facilities within the port, the Brewerton and Craighill Channels continue to be used to the present, essentially unaltered in configuration.[16]
Federallighthouse construction in the bay began in the 1820s, and one early project was the erecting ofrange lights to guide ships into the Patapsco. TheNorth Point Range Lights were lit in 1822, marking a path roughly the same as that of the current Craighill Cutoff Channel. Subsequent channel construction was followed shortly by light projects. Brewerton's channel was marked by theHawkins Point andLeading Point lights, constructed in 1868 and converted to skeleton towers in 1924. The original (lower) Craighill Channel was marked with range lights in 1875, following two years of temporarylightships; the cutoff was marked with the upper range lights in 1886, replacing the North Point range, which had been discontinued in 1873. In later years, a pair of skeleton towers were erected on Locust Point to mark the Fort McHenry Channel, the final leg from the end of the Brewerton Channel to Curtis Point and the Inner Harbor. These lights remain in use, though they have all been automated. TheCraighill Channel Lower Range Rear Light is the tallest lighthouse in Maryland.[citation needed]
In 2006, then-Maryland GovernorBob Ehrlich participated in naming the port afterHelen Delich Bentley during the 300th anniversary of the port.[3]
The port has container cranes,roll-on/roll-off ramps, and bulk facilities, especially for steel.[1]
From 2014 to 2017, the Port of Baltimore was the fourth fastest-growing port in North America. In 2017, it ranked 8th of 36 US ports for gross tonnage and 7th in dollar value.[17][18] It handled 9.8% more cargo than the previous year; in the third quarter, it handled 15% more than the same quarter in the previous year. The port handled around 700,000 vehicles annually[19], including (as of 2004) mostMercedes-Benz cars imported into the U.S.[20]
In 2019, the port handled 43.6 million short tons (38.9 million long tons; 39.6 million metric tons) in foreign commerce (imports and exports), valued at $58.4 billion. In 2019, the Port of Baltimore ranked 11th of 36 US ports in handling foreign tonnage and 9th in dollar value of the cargo handled.[21]
In 2024, the port's public and private marine terminals handled 45.9 million tons of cargo, its second-highest annual total, worth a total of $62.2 billion. It processed more than 25.5 million tons from July to December, reflecting a strong recovery from the Key Bridge collapse disruption.[22]
The Port handles one-fourth of the country's coal exports.[23]
The Port of Baltimore includes five terminal areas, which are located in theMaritime Industrial Zoning Overlay District:[24]
In the 1996 action filmEraser, the final battle takes place on and around aRussian cargo ship in the Port of Baltimore, referred to in the movie as the "Baltimore Docks".
The port appeared in the 2002 thrillerThe Sum of All Fears.
The second season of the HBO seriesThe Wire centers around activity at the port.
In the first season of the Amazon Prime seriesJack Ryan, the antagonists smuggleCesium-137 into the port.
NOAA maps:
Baltimore Harbor approaches | |
|---|---|
| Craighill Channel (lower) | |
| Upper Craighill Channel (cutoff) | |
| Brewerton Channel |
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