Green Ridge Departs Baltimore September 26, 2020

This 199x32m (653x105ft) American flagged roro ship was built in 1998 by Marugame Yard in Marugame, Japan according to BalticShippin.com. She held the name Hercules Leader until 2005 when she became the Green Ridge. Her stated owner according to BalticShipping is Central Gulf Lines. According to this 2019 Hellenic Shipping News article Central Gulf Lines and Waterman Steamship Corporation rebranded as Waterman Logistics.

According to their Fleet Information page they have 4 roro ships, the Green Ridge, Green Lake, Green Cove, and Green Bay, the latter which has visited Baltimore in the past but by chance I saw entering the Columbia River in Oregon in August of 2019. According to this same page the Green Ridge can carry about 6,000 cars.

On August 18, 2015 a multi-agency rescue operation attempted to help an ill merchant sailor about this ship while in the Pacific Ocean. This Coast Guard News item has more details on the incident as does this 129th Rescue Wing article which incorrectly identifies the ship as a container ship. Despite the best efforts of all involved the crewman did not survive.

According to this 2017 Defense News article the Green Ridge was harassed by the Russian military ahead of an annual military exercise in the area. This blog posting on Medium.com by @DFRLab has more photos and information and refers to the incident as bullying.

This US Army article from October 16, 2019 shows photos of and has details of 300 pieces of equipment moved through Latvian port on this ship.

This video from December 2014 by friend of Baltimore Shipspotting, binmei.jp shows her sailing the Kanmon Strait in Japan. Also from 2015 is this video from a different YouTuber of the ship being turned for departure at Yokohama, Japan. This video posted earlier this year but taken in 2016 shows this ship’s engine room. This video posted earlier this month shows the ship loading and unloading military hardware including the Osprey.

In my almost 6 minute video below she can be seen heading outbound on the Patapsco River having concluded her business here in Baltimore, Maryland.

You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.