CSX on May 21 reported that it is ramping up loading operations at its Curtis Bay coal piers in Baltimore, Md., just two months after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The March 26 collapse, initiated by the Dali container ship striking the bridge, halted all shipments out of the port, including coal, due to the inability of ships to access the channel.
The Curtis Bay coal pier in Baltimore Harbor, a hub for global trade, is one of CSX’s largest export coal facilities, according to the Class I railroad. The facility has a rated and demonstrated capacity of 14 million tons of coal throughput annually. “It’s important for both the global economy by ensuring coal reaches the market, and for our customers and the health of their business,” said John Healy, CSX Director of Sales for Export Coal.
CSX reported that its operations team “quickly mobilized to find alternative solutions” as a result of the bridge collapse. According to CSX General Manager for Coal and Ore Piers Aleek Young, “We had to assess what we could do to support our customers.”
The team facilitated partnerships with a third-party barge company to mid-stream coal from Curtis Bay, transloading it to large vessels in Annapolis, Md., CSX said. It also collaborated with steamship lines to create a custom shipping solution between Baltimore and New York. “These temporary measures ensured that shipments continued to reach their destination, maintaining the supply chain’s integrity and minimizing disruption for CSX’s customers,” according to the railroad.
CSX said it also performed maintenance work at the facility during the recovery period that “will increase the site’s resiliency and allow the company to run stronger through the rest of the year once it returns to normal operations.”
According to a May 22 Reuters report, “CSX is scheduled to receive and load the first large ship at its Curtis Bay coal terminal on Saturday [May 25], Joe Hinrichs, CSX’s CEO said at the Reuters Supply Chain conference in Atlanta. ‘We’re now starting to load trains at a regular pace’ to support normalizing coal operations, Hinrichs said. For the last 10 days, the railroad has been loading coal on small ships that used smaller channels at the port, the CEO added.”
According to Reuters, “Hinrichs said CSX correctly estimated losses from the accident in April, when it forecast that the port closure could result in the railroad losing $25 million to $30 million per month in coal revenue.”
“Baltimore accounted for 28% of coal exports in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),” Reuters reported.
“Based on updated export data, success rerouting coal shipments to alternate ports and progress resuming trade via Baltimore, the EIA earlier this month revised its 2024 coal export forecast up from its preliminary outlook issued last month,” according to the news outlet. “The May EIA forecast calls for 2024 coal exports to fall 1.1% versus 2023. In early April, the agency forecast a 5.3% decline. The EIA’s March outlook, issued before the bridge collapse, called for growth of about 1% this year.”
Reuters noted that CSX, along with Norfolk Southern, also serves CONSOL Energy’s Baltimore Marine coal terminal.
CSX-Baltimore Connection
CSX on May 21 said that while Baltimore Harbor is “a critical port to global markets, it also means a little more to the people at CSX.”
Commented Joe Hinrichs: “This region holds a special place in CSX’s history, as it has been central to CSX operations for nearly two centuries. We remain deeply connected to this dynamic community, and we felt it was our duty to support it.”
CSX also donated $50,000 to the Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Key Bridge Fund, which it said supports community initiatives “focused on healing, response, and honoring those impacted by the collapse.”
The CSX team “came together in response to a very atypical situation,” John Healy said. “It showed what CSX can do when we all work together with one focus in mind, which is serving our customers and helping people in need.”
Further Reading:
- VIDEO: Dali refloated and relocated
- VIDEO: Unified Command starts preparations for Dali refloat
- NTSB: Dali had two blackouts on day before bridge strike
- VIDEO: Explosive cuts part demolish Key Bridge
- VIDEO: Key Bridge Salvors Are Tackling a Challenge of Epic Scale
- Video: First Commercial Vessel Transits New Fourth Baltimore Temporary Channel
- Watch: Salvors Remove First Containers From Dali
- USACE Targets End-of-May Restoration of full Port of Baltimore Access
- Watch: Two Baltimore Temporary Channels Now Open (UPDATED)
- How NS is Responding to the Key Bridge Collapse (Updated)
