Evergreen Triton Arrives in Baltimore May 24, 2019
This 368x51m (1207.35×167.32ft) container ship is the largest container ship to arrive in Baltimore, Maryland. The previous largest was the Gunde Maersk which I saw come to Baltimore October 21, 2018. The Triton was built in 2016 by Samsung Heavy Industries in Goeje, South Korea and can carry 14,424 TEUs and is owned by Evergreen Marine.
I was aboard the tugboat Lynne Moran which is nearly identical to the April Moran shown in the photos, both owned by Moran Towing. A third tugboat, the Bridget McAllister, was also helping. We sailed out of Baltimore past the Key Bridge to await the arrival of this giant ship. Sitting in the quiet of the early morning with the lights of Baltimore on one side and the lights of the buoys and marine traffic on the other and the moon and stars above it was hard to imagine a giant ship would soon be arriving.
Shortly after 4am the silhouette of the ship appeared out of the darkness framed by the ship’s lights. Soon the April Moran disappeared on the other side of the ship and the Bridget McAllister moved in behind the ship and attached a line to help slow and steer the ship.
The Lynne Moran moved to the stern port side to begin turning the ship towards the dock. It was an impressive sight to be feet away from the hull of this enormous ship and look up and see the containers stacked high above me. This ship is larger than a strip mall!
After passing under the Key bridge and having turned the ship enough towards the dock the Lynne Moran moved around the rear of the ship with the Bridget McAllister still pulling and went to the starboard to help the April Moran do the final turn and push to the dock. At times it was hard to tell we were moving unless you looked to watch the motion of the water.
The Bridget McAllister detached and headed off as the two Moran tugs pushed the Triton against the docks while the mooring lines were attached. As the sun started to rise we were soon able to get a good look at the huge ship the tugs assisted to dock. Even as we sailed away the containers on deck seemed to go on forever!
The two tugs went back to their own dock knowing another job had been well done. The crew aboard the tug, Captain Wesley “Wes” Southworth, Mate Eddie Lucas, Engineer Eric Hardison and Deckhand Blake Hadel made the extraordinary look easy and routine as experienced professionals will. Please click here to read about my time aboard the tugboat earlier the same morning!
A very special THANK YOU goes to Moran Towing for inviting me aboard for this amazing experience! Please click here to see more photos taken during this ship’s arrival.