SSI Excellent Comes to Baltimore September 14, 2019

This 229x32m (751x105ft) bulk freighter was built in 2016 by Jingling Shipyards (now part of China Merchants Heavy Industry Holdings) in Nanjing, China and owned by Dubai, UAE based Ventra Shipping according to BalticShipping.com.

Two weeks after arriving in Baltimore, Maryland she made the news when she rescued from a life raft 3 crewmen on September 27 from the offshore tug Bourbon Rhode which sank sometime after issuing a distress signal on the morning of September 26. As of this writing 11 of the crew are still missing. The Bourbon Rhode ran into mechanical troubles during Hurricane Lorenzo in the Atlantic Ocean 970nm due West of the Verde Islands. Articles on this incident can be found at Maritime Bulletin, The Maritime Executive, and gCaptain.

In my video of her arrival below she can be seen passing the outbound cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas. The pilot boat Baltimore can be seen alongside to deliver a pilot. Tugboat April Moran can be seen moving to intercept. As the ship passes under the Key bridge the tugboat Lynne Moran can be seen passing on the far side of the bulker as the April Moran turns to move alongside. In the final scene the roro ship Hoegh Trapper can be briefly seen before the SSI Excellent passes.