A Crucial Function for the Port: Drift & Debris Collection

Navigable waterways free of drift and debris are crucial to the continued operation of any maritime port. While many small craft operate to remove solid surface pollutants brought into waterways through storm water, maritime littering, and illegal dumping, it takes a special craft to remove large drift hazards such as trees. The Port of Baltimore is protected from those kinds of floating hazards by the US Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District debris vessel REYNOLDS. Operating 40 hrs per week, the REYNOLDS is one of two boats the USACE Baltimore District operates in service to the Port.

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Caption: USACE Debris Collector REYNOLDS alongside the South Locust Point Pier in June 2024.

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Named for John Reynolds, a former Chief of Operations for the Baltimore District, Corps of Engineers, she was built in 1992 by Patti Marine Enterprises in Pensacola FL. and was launched in 1993. The REYNOLDS is equipped with a hydraulic front end loader with a mesh basket. The loader has been designed so that it can pick debris directly out of the water and is controlled by the vessel operator. In support of the Clean Energy Initiative, the REYNOLDS runs on B-99 bio-diesel.

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A view of the metal mesh debris collector controlled by an articulated crane arm. The arm is operated from the bridge of the REYNOLDS. (Photo by Cynthia Mitchell, US Army)

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The Baltimore District’s Harbor Drift Collection and Removal Unit operates out of dock facilities at Fort McHenry and conducts drift collection and removal operations on a year-round basis. Operations were initiated in July 1949 for the collection and removal of floating debris from a 24-square-mile area of the navigable portions of the Patapsco River and its tributaries, upstream of Fort Carroll, and channelward of the pierhead line. The collection effort intensifies following storms, extreme high tides,and high river flows. Corps boat operators conduct routine patrols and respond to calls received from the US Coast Guard, US Navy, Association of Maryland Pilots, marina operators, and private citizens. Operations are concentrated in open waters of the main Federal channels and in the vicinity of major terminal facilities. The REYNOLDS provides benefits to navigation by reducing damages, financial losses and safety hazards to both commercial and recreational vessels and helps keep the waterways aesthetically pleasing to business owners, residents and visitors.

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Debris Vessel REYNOLDS pulls large log in Baltimore. Joe Huber, Baltimore District small craft operator, cuts into a log that was pulled from the Patapsco River near Bodkin Point. The mission was requested by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources on Oct. 17, 2018. Ben Birney, at back, operated the crane. Only approximately half of the log is seen in this photo. (U.S. Army photo by Jeffrey Peacock)

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The importance of the REYNOLDS can best be illustrated by the fact that the USACE is planning to replace her with an improved version in the very near future. In 2022, Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) was tasked by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Marine Design Center (USACE), to develop a contract level design for a replacement for the REYNOLDS. The replacement vessel will be 70’ x 22’ with a hull depth of 11 feet and a design waterline of 6’ x 5”. The REYNOLDS will serve as a drift collection vessel to lift and carry debris on the main deck on rivers, inshore, coast and protected waters within the Baltimore District, in addition to supporting survey work and barge movement work.

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Concept by Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (https://bristolharborgroup.com/portfolio/reynolds/ Accessed 06/02/2024)