By the latter part of the 18th century, the port of Baltimore was a hubbub of piers and wharves spanning much of Fells Point and the Inner Harbor. Convoys of ships, including the fleet Baltimore Clippers, sailed up the Patapsco River only to arrive in the harbor without advance notice to workers and businessmen. Logjams and costly delays were the norm of the day.
In 1790, some local entrepreneurs devised an advanced notification system called the “Baltimore Telegraph.” Spotters would peer through a powerful telescope from a lookout perch atop Federal Hill to identify owners? vessels or colors. Signal flags could then be displayed from a tower, providing several hours? advanced notice to waterfront workers.
The crude but effective communication system saw the port of Baltimore into the mid-20th century.
By then, the port community demanded more efficient, secure and environmentally sound maritime operations. In 1954, the Baltimore Maritime Exchange became a nonprofit organization to provide more timely communication and information services to members.
The BME also used a lookout post, stationed at North Point. Once a ship was spotted, a telephone call notified the uptown office of the vessel name and time of arrival. A dispatch was then sent to agents, tugs, longshoremen and others on the advisory list.
The demise of lookout posts and signal flags came in 1960, when the state port authority, local ship pilots and the BME worked together to create a ship-to-shore communications system. The “Voice of the Chesapeake Bay” was heralded in a press release to describe the new system.
Ship pilots would carry portable VHF radios to improve bridge-to-bridge communications and provide quick and accurate information to base station dispatchers.
“From time to time, first responders were alerted to emergencies aboard incoming vessels, such as heart attack victims,” BME Manager David Stambaugh said. “These communication alerts are still used to help.”
Today, the BME employs current technology, including Web-based resources, to provide advance tracking and communications that now extend from hours, out to many days.
Working day to day with the Coast Guard and other federal agencies, the BME uses an online database, which provides information seven days out.
“It?s a two-way street of communications and reports,” Stambaugh said.
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].
