b'42American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(BEYONDcontinued from page 38) and Lieutenant Governor Miller basi-of Baltimore was on a roll. In 2023,cally stipulated that we lost six Mary-the Port had posted a record in cargolandersaspartoftheaccident.His tons, ro/ro was rolling, cruise passen- theme throughout, and it was evident gers were the highest since 2012 andduring every meeting that he had with the Howard Tunnel project was gettingthe Unified Command, is I want this underway to provide double stack raildone.Prioritynumbertwowasthe clearances to enable freight to move toopening up of the channel again and theMidwest.Additionally,theenvi- the opening up of the Port. But that ronmental initiatives were kicking offwas not going to be done while sac-and a new port director, Jonathan Dan- rificing any type of safety consider-iels, was ready to take the helm of theations. He was bound and determined Maryland Port Authority (MPA). nottoneedanytypeofadditional DanielswasappointedthePortfatalities to the salvage operation.of Baltimores executive director on February5 th, amere51daysbeforeB eyond theB ridgethe incident. His last career stop wasAlthough the incident situation was in the Port of Everglades in Florida.at the time still unfolding, there was But his long port management resumestill the future of the Port to be con-beganshortlyafterhegraduatedsideredthemissionforwhich from the Citadel in Charleston, SouthThe speed at which the ship channel was reopened was beyond extraordinary given theDaniels was hired. As Daniels relates, Carolina. At that time, Daniels madeimmense challenges that the salvors faced removing the bridge debris. the ports future was evident on day theunusualchoicetoattendMaineGreat Lakes, so to a degree, ports areoutreachacceleratedandasDanielstwo[aftertheDaliallision]when MaritimeAcademytopursuemari- the family business. explained, I recently met with a lot[MarylandDepartmentofTranspor-timemanagement.ItmightbesaidIntakinganyportmanagementof the people that Im working with,tation(MDOT)]Secretary[PaulJ.] that that set him on a career path thatposition one of the key tasks is get- that we would be working with duringWiedefeld, my boss, pulled me aside included positions in ports like East- tingtoknowtheportstakeholdersthe Unified Command [the combinedand said, You have to deal with this port Port Authority in Maine, and theandbeingtwomonthsintothejob,group of USCG] and probably put meinstant, and it is international in scope. Port Authority of Oswego, New York,Daniels was already heavily engagedin contact with people that I would notDont forget the fact that you have a where he met the then local Congres- beforetheDaliincident.Butthehave met until maybe a year or so, aport to manage and a port to grow. sionalrepresentativeDanielMaffei,incidentacceleratedtheprocess. Asyear or more into my second year. Thathasbeenthroughoutthisinci-nowtheCommissioneroftheFed- Daniels said of the lead up, WhatsDaniels is no stranger to ports indent. We as a staff and as a Maryland eralMaritimeCommission(FMC).interesting is that the Friday (Marchtimes of crises. He was involved in thePort Administration MPA) never lost Or his later executive postings in the22) before the incident, I was reallyrebuildfromHurricaneKatrinaandsight of the fact that we were going Port of Gulfport, Mississippi and PortwrappingupwhatIcallmystake- COVID. Andhisviewsofhowthetocomeoutofthis,[and]thatwe ofGreaterBatonRougeinLouisi- holdertourandmetwithalotofState of Maryland handled the situa- weregoingtohavetheopportunity ana before the penultimate job at thegroups, (and) met with the Baltimoretion offers insight into just how well ato rebound, but more importantly that Port Everglades. But the career pathPortAlliance.metwithalotofgrave situation has been handled andwe had a need to be able to evaluate wasntquiteasserendipitousasitthe Port users and stakeholders. Thatthe promise this holds for the future.all aspects of our operation to see how seems as both his father and grandfa- was my last outreach meeting. How- The view from the Governor andwe were going to grow from this.ther had worked as stevedores on theever, because of the Dali incident thethe leadership from Governor Moore(BEYONDcontinued on page 43)WHERE RESILIENCEMEETS PROGRESS.The Port of Baltimore has always been synonymous with progressand opportunity. Now more than ever, it is our resilience that willdefine us. Its Ports America Chesapeakes dedication to serviceand reliability that drives us forward. With an unwaveringcommitment to our community, customers, employees, and the ILA,we are charting a course towards a brighter future, building backbetter and emerging strongertogether.'