Port of Baltimore welcomes first container 'megaship' via new Panama Canal
State officials welcomed the Evergreen Ever Lambent, the first container 'megaship' to arrive at the Port of Baltimore through the newly expanded Panama Canal, July 19, 2016. The ship is nearly as large as four football fields, and was carrying approximately 8,400 20-foot long containers. (photo courtesy of Maryland Port Authority)
In 1830, the Baltimore Harbor was surveyed and it was determined that the controlling depth was 17 ft. from the Chesapeake Bay to Fort McHenry. By 1836, Congress appropriated funds to dredge the entrance channels, which was completed in 1838. 178 years later, the Baltimore District continues to dredge material from the Baltimore Harbor and Channels to ensure continued safe navigation in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski called the day "a 30-year overnight success," after a long lobbying effort for hundreds of millions of federal dollars to ready the port for the ships, which need a 50-foot-deep channel to call. Original public domain image from Flickr