The Baltimore Fire Department said the collapse was an ongoing mass casualty incident.
Tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge along Interstate 695 in maryland Sailors entered the Port of Baltimore following a “shipping strike” early Tuesday that is expected to cause major economic disruption not only for the region but for the entire country.
The port is a major shipping route for containers and cruise ships, is the deepest port on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, is closer to the Midwest than other East Coast ports, and has a public terminal, according to the Maryland government’s website. There are 5 terminals and 12 private terminals.
Interstate 695 is also a vital link for trucking and automobiles between Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, and the disaster comes ahead of the upcoming Easter weekend.
A Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter flies over the Dali cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and sank in Baltimore, Maryland. (Julia Nickinson/Reuters Photo)
Two people rescued, several missing after Baltimore bridge collapses after ship collision
The port is the busiest in the U.S., handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2023, according to Maryland Port Authority data. It is also the largest port in the United States, handling not only agricultural products but also agricultural and construction equipment.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the port handled a record amount of cargo last year, making it the 20th largest port in the nation by gross tonnage.
Chloe Demlovsky, executive for global economics at New York University, told Fox News Digital that the port has grown significantly in recent years and the collapse of the bridge would have a devastating impact on the region. .
“The canal has become even more important since the expansion and deepening of the Panama Canal in 2016, allowing us to berth some of the very large container ships coming out of Asia. Those ships can now go to Baltimore through the Panama Canal,” Demlovsky said. He said.
“And from there, we can connect to important trucking routes to serve not only the entire country, but especially the Eastern Corridor, which is a very busy area. So we have a strategy for moving a lot of troops. It has become a very important area.”
The port is one of the smallest on the northeastern coast and handled 265,000 containers in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Reuters. By comparison, during the same period, the ports of New York and New Jersey handled about 2 million containers, and the Port of Norfolk in Virginia handled 850,000 containers.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) confirmed that the cargo ship that crashed into the bridge was the Singapore-flagged 95,000 gross tonne container ship Dali, bound for Sri Lanka. Dozens of cargo containers carrying cargo for Maersk customers are stacked on top of each other. There were 22 crew members on board the ship at the time of the accident, but Maersk said there were no crew members or employees on board.
Part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remains after a container ship struck a support beam on Tuesday. (Nathan Howard/Reuters Photo)
It was not immediately clear what kind of cargo the Dali was carrying.
The port is also popular with cruise ships, with operators such as Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean using the port to serve the Caribbean, Canada and other Atlantic destinations, Reuters reports. . According to the Maryland state government’s website, more than 444,000 cruises carrying more than 444,000 passengers departed from the port in 2023.
Bridge collapses due to frigid water temperatures, authorities scramble to save lives
According to ship tracking service Marine Traffic, eight bulk carriers and one car carrier bound for Baltimore are currently anchored just off the coast of Ken Island, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. ing.
“It’s hard to know exactly how this will play out, because there are port issues, and then there are trucking issues. And when you get down Interstate 695, there are a lot of large trucks and hazardous materials all over the corridor. This is where they were transported along. ”
“So when we get into the holiday season, there’s going to be a lot of chaos. And it’s going to take quite a while for things to change before we can do anything in that area.”
More than 40 vessels remained in the Port of Baltimore, including small cargo ships, tugs and pleasure boats, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider Marine Traffic showed.
Demlovsky said some ships may be rerouted to the West Coast, meaning cargo would have to be trucked back across the country, which would be much more expensive and time-consuming. . Furthermore, several well-known companies such as Amazon.com and FedEx have set up logistics warehouses and other facilities in the industrial park at the north end of the bridge.
Officials said “more than seven people” were missing and two people had been pulled from the water. No casualties have been reported yet. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Demlovsky said prices could rise to cover these costs, and the vessel’s insurance could also be inflated.
“There are already significant insurance issues in terms of some of the Red Sea issues and some of the shipping-related issues. Since COVID-19, there’s just been a lot of focus on supply chains… so… It’s becoming harder to get insurance on these major shipping vessels anyway. ”
Meanwhile, Rep. Carol Miller (R-Virginia), a member of the Commerce subcommittee, also said the incident will have an impact on commerce.
“Obviously there’s going to be an impact on trade,” Miller said on Fox News Tuesday. “I’m worried about families and all the inconvenience that’s going to be caused by the bridge being gone. The bridge was a great connection.”
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A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told FOX News Digital that the company is “deeply saddened by the tragedy” and “our hearts and prayers go out to everyone affected.”
The company’s Vision of the Seas liner uses the Port of Baltimore, and alternative ports are being created for ongoing and future sailings, a spokesperson said. The ship is scheduled to arrive in the Virgin Islands on Wednesday morning, according to SeaScanner.com.
Reuters contributed to this report.
