Massive wind turbines imported from various locations around the world are setting down at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. The first shipment of wind turbine components arrived at the North Locust Point terminal, Dec. 12. Over the next five to six months, 32 units will manifest through the port.
“Our geographical location made our port of entry the natural choice for this immense project,” said Brooks Royster, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. “This massive project, once completed, will be a positive environmental alternative to the traditional means of energy being used today.”
Wind farms are developed with all necessary infrastructures, including land, wind turbines, approach roads, and transmission lines.
Wind turbines convert kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy and electricity.
Reaffirming a global economy, Suzlon Energy/AS, an Indian corporation with offices in Denmark and the United States, has partnered with the port of Baltimore to handle this project cargo. The generators and blades were produced in India, while the remaining components were constructed in Germany and Spain.
Once the elements are completed at their final destination in Pennsylvania, each turbine will weigh 290 tons with a diameter of 300 feet from blade tip to blade tip and reach a height of 250feet.
The extreme dimensions of this cargo require planning equal in size and preparation for a safe and efficient vessel discharge, says Kris Helling, the U.S. logistics manager for Suzlon.
Vessel and terminal operations will be handled in Baltimore by P&O Ports.
RUBBER TIRE GANTRY CRANES
If you take a drive down Broening Highway, and go past Baltimore?s marine terminals, you?ll likely see a gang of rolling giants.
Literal giants of industry, these towering overhead structures are 70 feet high and 80 feet wide. Purchased in 2003 by the Maryland Port Administration, 12 RTG?s currently operate at Seagirt?s container facility.
An RTG is a bona fide space saver. Gantry cranes can load and stack containers 4 high and 6 wide for efficient storage. A spreader adjusts for 20-foot and 40-foot containers, which are secured on a locking pin chassis.
Steering is electronically controlled and engaged by an operator stationed in a moveable cab with a traveling crane.
Gantry crane design renders simultaneous hoisting and trolleying.
RTG?s are driven by trained longshoremen, under the administration of P&O Ports. Operational skills take about a month to learn, according to the MPA.
The high-tech structures have enabled the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore to handle expanding cargo volumes. Container capacity has increased 50 percent since the super cranes rolled off a Big Lift cargo vessel from Finland, and went to work.
Last year, the terminal boasted an average of 37 container moves per hour, fastest among East Coast ports.
A longtime export analyst and consultant, Joseph R. Hughes? maritime-related articles have appeared in numerous publications. He is a native Baltimorean. E-mail your questions to him at [email protected].
