At a ceremony in the Port of Baltimore, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath and USACE Deputy Commanding General Butch Graham among others announced the full reopening of the Port of Baltimore’s Ft. McHenry channel to 700 feet wide and to a depth of 50 feet.
Scott Cowan, President of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA Local 333) thanked the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for “overdelivering… by making it possible to get every ship in here over the past several weeks.” He also praised the salvage and dredging industries. Mr. Cowan stated, “I want to thank all the salvors, DonJon Marine, Resolve, Skanska … The Dredging Contractors of America, especially Cashman Dredging – It wasn’t only the steel they were taking out of that river, those good old Irish boys, they were digging that debris off the bottom so we could get to 50 feet, so that was a big deal.” Mr. Cowan concluded, “the Port is back open for business, let’s go, let’s get the cargo in here, let’s put this thing in the past and move forward!”
Mr. Cowan’s full remarks are posted here. He covers a lot ground on labor, business and bipartisanship at both the state and federal levels.
