Why did the Baltimore bridge collapse and what do we know about the ship?

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A massive cargo ship smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore early on Tuesday, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the US Eastern Seaboard.
Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom was hospitalised, and searched for more in the Patapsco River after huge metal spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.
The ship reported a power issue before impact, which enabled officials to stop traffic on the bridge before the collapse.

“By being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a briefing. The bridge was up to code and there were no known structural issues, Moore said.

What happened in Baltimore?

A container ship named the Dali was sailing down the Patapsco River when it struck a pylon of the bridge, crumpling almost the entire structure into the water. The vessel’s crew notified authorities of a power issue before the crash, Moore said. The bridge was up to code and there were no known structural issues, he said. There was no indication of terrorism, police said.

Why did the bridge collapse?

The metal truss-style bridge has a suspended deck, a design that contributed to its total collapse, engineers say. The ship appeared to hit a main concrete pier, which rests on soil underwater and is part of the foundation.

Are there any casulties?

A construction crew was fixing potholes on the bridge and eight people fell 56 meters into the river where water temperatures were 8 C. According to research for the Federal Aviation Administration, that is the upper limit of what a human could survive falling into water. Two people were rescued, one unharmed and one critically injured. Six people remain missing.
Authorities saved lives by stopping vehicles from using the bridge after receiving a mayday call, the Maryland governor said.

The ship also dropped its anchors to try to avoid the collision.

Video posted on social media shows a ship striking a bridge in the US city of Baltimore, causing a partial collapse.

The moment of alleged impact between a container ship and the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is seen in this screenshot of a livestream of the Port of Baltimore. Source: YouTube / StreamTime Live

What do we know about the ship?

The Dali was leaving Baltimore en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
All 22 crew, including two pilots on board, have been accounted for and there were no injuries, the ship’s manager, Synergy Marine Group said, opens new tab.
The registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, LSEG data show. The ship is 289 metres long and was stacked high with containers.

It can hold up to 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit, or TEU, a measure of cargo capacity. It was carrying 4,679 TEU.

Baltimore bridge incident

Photo taken from the X feed @HarforCoFireEMS Harford County, MD Volunteer Fire & EMS showing a portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, US, collapsed after a large boat collided with it. Source: AAP / Harford County, MD Volunteer Fire & EMS/PA/Alamy

What do we know about the bridge that collapsed?

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was one of three ways to cross the Baltimore Harbor and handled 31,000 cars per day or 11.3 million vehicles a year.
The steel structure is four lanes wide and sits 56 metres above the river.

It opened in 1977 and crosses the Patapsco River, where US national anthem author Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star Spangled Banner” in 1814 after witnessing the British defeat at the Battle of Baltimore and the British bombing of Fort McHenry.

How will the bridge collapse affect Baltimore Port?

Traffic was suspended at the port after the collision. It is one of the smallest container ports on the Northeastern seaboard, handling about a tenth of the volume that passes through the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The flow of containers to Baltimore can likely be redistributed to bigger ports, said container shipping expert Lars Jensen. However, there could be major disruptions in shipping cars, coal and sugar.

It is the busiest US port for car shipments, handling at least 750,000 vehicles in 2023, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

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