Baltimore County News

Unified Command dive teams have recovered the body of a missing person at the Key Bridge incident site in Baltimore.The recovered individual was identified as 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval.Unified Command salvage dive teams located what they believed to be the missing construction worker and notified the Maryland Department of State Police. Maryland State Police Underwater Recovery Team deployed in coordination with dive teams from allied law enforcement partners and recovered Suazo-Sandoval.Maryland State Police investigators…

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index fell on Friday to log its third straight weekly decline, weighed down by a dip in rates across all vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, shed 41 points or 2.5% to 1,628 points, its lowest level in seven weeks.The index was down over 10% for the week.The capesize index was down by 80 points, or 3.4%, at 2,274. It logged a weekly rise of over 13%.Average daily earnings for capesize vessels…

The U.S. Transportation Department on Friday said it reached an agreement with Baltimore County to revise an $8.26 million grant agreement to enable Tradepoint Atlantic (TPA) to accommodate more cargo.Repurposing the funds will allow a boost in cargo to Sparrows Point at the Port of Baltimore, which is outside the area affected by last week’s collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and continues to move cargo.The changes will enable Baltimore County and TPA to speed paving at least 10 acres that will be used for an additional cargo laydown area by the end of April…

Baltimore-based offshore wind energy development company US Wind, Inc. announced its plan to form a long-term partnership with Haizea Wind Group Management S.L. to manage and operate Sparrows Point Steel, Maryland’s first permanent offshore wind factory in Baltimore County, Maryland. The facility will be available to manufacture steel components for the U.S. offshore wind industry, including monopiles and towers.“The partnership between US Wind and Haizea to lead Sparrows Point Steel will create one of the premier offshore wind industrial facilities in the world…

If you’ve perused social media in recent weeks, you may have come across people singing chanteys, which were work songs employed on merchant sailing ships.Historically, chanteys – which are also spelled as “shanties” or “chanties” – began with a sing-out by a crew member recognized as “the chanteyman,” usually someone prized for his voice and ability to extemporize. Fellow sailors would respond with the refrain as they toiled away at their tasks. Now we’re seeing TikTok and Twitter users belting out songs inspired by chanteys to their followers…

Brian Bailey, Director of Safety and Environmental Stewardship for the American Waterways Operators (AWO), was recently named a 2020 Rising Star of Safety by the National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit public service organization promoting health and safety in the U.S. Marine News spoke with Bailey about workboat safety and the AWO’s mission to protect industry workers, assets and the environment.Please tell us a bit about yourself and your role at AWO.I’ve been with The American Waterways Operators as its Director of Safety & Environmental Stewardship since 2016…

Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,300-acre multimodal global logistics center in Baltimore, Md., said its dry dock will return to service this week after last being used in 2017. BAE Systems’ Titan dry dock departed is scheduled to arrive in Baltimore and dock at Tradepoint Atlantic’s onsite dry dock to undergo a five-month-long repair and maintenance program starting Thursday.Used in Norfolk, Va. for servicing ships as long as 1,000 feet, BAE Systems' massive Titan dry dock has a 52,534-ton lifting capacity and is one of the world’s largest and most modern floating steel dry docks.

Maryland state lawmakers have passed the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) of 2019, which would incentivize the development of 1.2 GW of additional offshore wind energy off the coast of Maryland.US Wind Country Manager Salvo Vitale testified last month before the Senate Finance Committee and House Economic Matters Committee urging passage of the legislation while citing the significant economic benefits that the legislation would make possible by incentivizing the development of 1,200 MegaWatts of additional offshore wind energy off the coast of Maryland."The benefits are many and will prove transformational to Maryland's economy: 5,000-7…

U.S. U.S. ports and our marine transportation system – and the hardworking men and women behind these operations – are essential drivers of the American economy. Every day, our ports and waterways handle millions of tons of domestic and international cargo, including food and agricultural products, petrochemicals and automobiles. In 2014 alone, $1.7 trillion worth of U.S. goods moved through our ports, representing 75 percent of imports and exports by weight. But ports, like our highways and bridges, face challenges.

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, convened the Subcommittee at the Ceremonial Courtroom at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore to examine the proposed development of a liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal at Sparrow's Point in the Port of Baltimore. Witnesses included Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, Governor Martin O'Malley, Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, as well as representatives of the United States Coast Guard, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the AES Sparrow's Point project, as well as two residents of the Sparrow's Point neighborhood. Following the hearing, Chairman Cummings released the following statement.

Gov. Martin O'Malley urged the federal government Wednesday to deny a proposal from AES Corp. to build a liquefied natural gas facility on Sparrows Point. The Arlington, Va., company, filed an application last month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the LNG plant near the Turner Station neighborhood of Baltimore County. Baltimore County has proposed legislation to stop the construction. But the federal energy commission can overturn local laws if it feels the project is deemed to be in the best interest of the country. The plant has the potential to provide power for large portions of New England and the mid-Atlantic. O'Malley said in a statement Wednesday that he opposes the project.

A Baltimore County judge ordered the owners of the Sparrows Point shipyard to temporarily stop dredging in the Patapsco River in Maryland. A Circuit Court Judge granted a temporary injunction to stop contractors from removing sediment in the river near the Key Bridge at the request of a group of Dundalk-area residents also opposed to a liquefied natural gas terminal planned for the site, according to a lawyer for the group. The Greater Dundalk Alliance's LNG opposition team alleges in its court filing that the dredging is stirring up toxins that will harm nearby residents and the Chesapeake Bay. The community group, however, must post a $750,000 bond by today to cover the company's revenue lost by not dredging, in the event that the contractors are allowed to resume the work.

In a ceremony yesterday attended by Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Baltimore County officials and senior U.S. Navy leadership, Lockheed Martin received the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Excellence Award for consistently exceeding design, production, and quality challenges as the prime contractor for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), installed aboard the U.S. Navy’s Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers. Capt. Mick Outten, U.S. Navy Program Manager for the MK 41 VLS, said, “I believe that the MK 41 VLS program is one of the great success stories of today’s modern Navy.” He continued, “The MK 41 VLS program is a model…