Global shipping trends have introduced
larger , more economically and
environmentally efficient ships to the
world's shipping fleet . This class of
ship , the ultra large container vessel
or UV requires large scale
infrastructure investments ranging from
the widening of the Panama Canal to
improvements in us national and
regional rail systems , ports and
harbors . The Panama Canal expansion
completed in 2016 now enables these
deep traffic vessels to transit its
locks and will bring a growing number
of US CVS to ports along the US east
coast . The port of Baltimore is well
positioned to handle this increased
traffic after modernization efforts to
its Seager Marine terminal , the
destination for a majority of the
port's container traffic . The port of
Baltimore is now one of only four US
east coast ports with a 50 ft deep
channel and 2 50 ft deep berths . Plus
recent investments in Seager marine
terminals , intermodal connectivity
enabled the rapid transfer of cargo to
and from the UC . The US Army Corps of
Engineers are you and the Maryland
Department of Transportation's Maryland
Port administration have invested
heavily in dredging to maintain
Baltimore's navigation channel depth
and width . However , while the current
configuration works well for legacy
ships that can easily exit the terminal
via a loop channel . Vessels with
drafts greater than 42 ft such as CVS
can only back out through the loop
channel's turning basin . A maneuver
that presents concerns and vessel
traffic inefficiencies . We're bringing
progressively larger and larger up to
ultra large container ships into the
terminal . The terminal was not
originally built , obviously handle
ships of this size didn't exist when
the terminal was built . And so it
requires constant expansion , constant
development to get these high t ships .
And so it's the constraints of
the limitations of the approach channel
and the turning basins that really have
created the challenge . And then
Baltimore specifically is a very wind
prone harbor , very , very intense wind
specifically in the winter months and
they run cross channel into the
approach channels to sea . As a result ,
the USA Baltimore District and the
Maryland Port administration initiated
a study to identify safe , technically
feasible , economically justifiable and
environmentally acceptable
modifications to the existing Seat Loop
channel . The study included
engineering improvements such as
deepening and widening the western half
of the sea loop channel to meet future
demand capacity and provide large
vessels an alternative path to exit the
terminal . The study also leaned on the
rich expertise of the US Army Engineer
research and Development Center or dic
ship simulator facility which has
modeled the maneuverability of large
ships through our nation's ports and
harbors for USA since the late 1980 s .
In coordination with the Baltimore
District and the port . The ship
simulator was used to optimize channel
design and assess vessel navigation
safety within the proposed improvements
in the Seager Loop channel . What's
unique about the ship simulator is that
it provides us the opportunity to test
navigation channel designs in a virtual
environment . So this means that we can
test the channel designs prior to
construction which ultimately provides
savings and design , construction and
maintenance costs . This effort was
supported by four ship captains from
the Association of Maryland pilots who
operated the ship simulator through
these tests over a two week period ,
providing realism to the simulations
and offering invaluable assessments and
feedback . And it's very important
actually in any study that you have
pilots from that area come in to do the
testing because they're the ones that
know that water way they know the
challenges they face every day . So you
can have a great design on paper and
these engineers that do these designs
do a wonderful job in creating these
designs . But there are some aspects of
these channels that only those pilots
are gonna know they're credibly open to
any sort of input that we have at
pilots because it seems like they want
to use that data and our input to
ensure that the project is designed to
specify to meet the needs of the
traffic and the stakeholders . It
allows us to simulate real world
situations in inclement weather in very
risky conditions with absolutely no
worry of having real collateral damage
in real life . So it allows us to
simulate and actually find where that
line is where things become safe and
unsafe . Multiple simulations were
conducted with a variety of channel
maneuver scenarios and environmental
conditions . The vessel models tested
included a 1300 ft long container ship
navigating within the Seager loop
channel with assistance from several
tug boats to simulate a ship that is
forecasted to call on the port of
Baltimore in the future . Without
simulations , it would not really be a
safe proposition to just shoot from the
hip on a class ship that's just so much
bigger and so much more critical than
anything we've ever handled . So , you
know , at least initially where your
achilles heels might be before you
actually get a real ship and you have a
real problem and it's a great
partnership between the core and us to
be able to , if they see what we do ,
they see the challenges that we're up
against and they have the ability to
make the adjustments . Ultimately , it
will lead to better channel designs ,
allowing larger vessels to get into
these harbors , which increases the
commerce , which helps the economy and
it all works together . The ability to
deliver these rapid solutions is the
Hallmark of Eric's ship simulator team
driven by an interdisciplinary group of
engineers and scientists with an
exceptional commitment to its customers .
I've never seen civil servants of the
quality that I've seen in the work
ethic that I've seen at a , this is ,
this is no experience I've ever had in
government . I have many good
experiences in government but , er , is
the most impressive , um , civil
service operation . And I say that
frankly and honestly that , that I've
ever seen it , it's really been a great
experience beyond what I would have
ever expected .