A

Publish and Present

520542 - Through the Deck and Under the Crane at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore MD

Primary Author(s)

• 

  Kirk Riden, P.E.

  Vice President
  Appledore Marine Engineering, LLC
  Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Additional Author(s)

• BC

  Benjamin Cook, E.I.T.

  Engineer Diver
  Appledore Marine Engineering, LLC
  Portsmouth
• DS

  Danielle Somma, P.E.

  Appledore Marine Engineering, LLC
• TD

  Thomas Ducharme, P.E.

  Appledore Marine Engineering, LLC

Marine structures are typically built with a 50 year life span in mind and must withstand in some
of the harshest environments on Earth. The portal crane and its substructure called Crane
Runway 5 at the USCG Shipyard in Baltimore Maryland is one such of these structures. In mid-
2017 significant amounts of fill loss was noted through a small gap in a steel sheet pile bulkhead
during a routine inspection of Crane Runway 5. This finding initiated a series of special
inspections and a deep dive into the history and design of Crane Runway 5.
All signs from the special field investigation pointed to an over loaded structure and a new
design was needed. The Appledore team set to work on the new design under the direction of
USCG Civil Engineering Unit Cleveland.