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Nuclear-powered cargo ship on display tomorrow in Baltimore

A rare event featuring a nautical vestige of the Cold War.

Mark Reutter May 17, 2013 at 7:47 pm

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For a revealing look at the nuclear arms race of the 1950s, consider attending the Port of Baltimore’s inaugural Maritime Expo tomorrow morning (Saturday) at Pier 13, located at the southern tip of Canton on Newgate Avenue.

The signature event will be the commemoration of National Maritime Day onboard the NS Savannah between 11 a.m. and 12 noon, featuring former Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley and U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski.

The commemoration – and the rest of the day’s events from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – is free to the public and will include tours of visiting ships, displays of Lego model ships and maritime heritage activities.

In addition, more than 25 companies will provide information on career opportunities at the Port of Baltimore.

Response to the Russians

It’s the display of the NS (nuclear ship) Savannah that’s of special interest.

Launched in 1959 as part of President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program, the Savannah was the world’s first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship (the Russians held claim to the world’s first non-military atomic ship when it launched the icebreaker Lenin in 1957).

Costing a then-extravagant $46.9 million, the ship operated in limited commercial service between 1962 and 1970 – one of four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built.

She was defueled in 1971, and her nuclear reactor made permanently inoperable in 1976. Small amounts of radioactive material remain onboard,  to naturally decay, in closely-monitored locations.

A Rare Sighting

Docked at Pier 13 since 2008, the ship is not open to the public, despite being named both a National Historic Landmark and a Nuclear Engineering Landmark.

Parking for tomorrow’s Maritime Expo will be available on lower Newkirk Street, Newgate Avenue and Pier 12. Additional free parking can be found on the surface lot at Boston and Clinton streets opposite the First Mariner Bank Tower.

Starting at 9:30 a.m., an MTA shuttle bus will operate hourly from the lot to the event site, according to the event’s sponsor, the Maryland Port Administration

May 18, 2013 - Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized