The Baltimore Bridge Collapses After a Cargo Ship Rams a Support Column

(CTN News) – Baltimore Bridge collapsed early Tuesday, due to a cargo ship losing power and hitting it and plunging into the river. The collapse could disrupt the port for months. There were six people missing.

Maryland’s governor said the ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash brought down the bridge. The Baltimore Bridge collapsed like a toy when the ship struck one of its supports. Thick, black smoke billowed from the burning vessel.

The ship barreled toward the Baltimore Bridge just in time for authorities to stop cars from crossing, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. It happened in the middle of the night, long before the morning commute.

Six people are still missing after filling potholes on the bridge, said state transportation secretary Paul Wiedefeld.

Based on the depth of the water and the time since the crash, their employer said Tuesday afternoon they are presumed dead. In a statement, Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the bridge came apart as the crew was working on it. There are no bodies yet.

It was totally unforeseeable. It’s all we’ve got. Safety is a big deal to us, and we have cones, signs, lights, barriers, and flaggers. But we didn’t see the bridge collapsing.” Rescuers pulled two people from the water. A person was treated at a hospital and discharged.

There were also multiple vehicles in the water, but nobody was inside. ‘It looked like something out of an action movie,’ said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. Dispatchers told officers to stop traffic just before the collapse after a ship lost its steering, based on Maryland Transportation Authority radio traffic.

One cop stopped traffic to alert the construction crew he was driving onto the bridge. Seconds later, a frantic officer yelled, “The whole bridge just fell down.”. Let’s go, let’s go, it fell down.” On a separate radio channel for construction workers, someone said officers were stopping traffic because a ship lost steering. 30 seconds later, the bridge collapsed and the channel went silent.

The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure says 35 bridges collapsed worldwide from 1960 to 2015. Baltimore Bridge port will be closed for months, if not years, as a result of the collapse. As well as cargo, it’ll stall commuters.

Baltimore Bridge – state Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said losing this bridge would devastate the entire region.

Traffic delays were advertised as far south as Virginia. The sonar detected vehicles in 50 feet (15 meters) of water. NOAA buoys collected data on water temperatures before dawn Tuesday.

Dali, which is managed by Synergy Marine Group, hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. The ship was being piloted by one or more local professionals. Grace Ocean Private Ltd owns the ship. This Baltimore Bridge spans the Patapsco River, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s named after the Star-Spangled Banner writer.

He said all vessel traffic was suspended until further notice, but trucks could still use the port. Biden said, “It’ll take some time.”. We’ll be there for them every step of the way until the Baltimore Bridge and port are rebuilt.” A FBI agent was on the scene and said terrorism wasn’t suspected.

Data from Marine Traffic shows the Dali was flying under the Singapore flag from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The website says the container ship is about 985 feet long and 157 feet wide. The shipping information system Equasis says inspectors found a problem with the Dali’s machinery in June, but a more recent inspection found nothing wrong.

Maersk said it chartered the ship. Maersk wasn’t on board. According to the state, the Port of Baltimore Bridge handled foreign cargo worth $80 billion last year. As a result of the collapse of ocean container shipping and East Coast trucking, Americans should expect shortages of goods.

“It’s not just the port of Baltimore,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport. Despite not being a major container port, Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said the collapse won’t affect global trade. Cars and farm equipment are more important.

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