The US Coast Guard has announced that the cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent routine engine maintenance before colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Divers recovered the bodies of two of six workers who plunged into the water when the bridge collapsed. The others were presumed dead, and search efforts have been exhausted.
Investigators began collecting evidence from the vessel a day after it struck the bridge. The bodies of the two men were located in the morning inside a red pickup submerged in about 25 feet (7.6 meters) of water near the bridge’s middle span. They were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge, which were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. All search efforts have been exhausted, and authorities “firmly” believe the other vehicles with victims are encased in material from the collapsed bridge. Divers are to resume searching once the debris is cleared.
The Baltimore region has reeled from the sudden loss of a major transportation link that’s part of the highway loop around the city. The disaster also closed the port, which is vital to the city’s shipping industry. National Transportation Safety Board officials boarded the ship to recover information from its electronics and paperwork and to interview the captain and other crew members. The vessel was also carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials including corrosives, flammables, and lithium ion batteries.
Marcel Muise, NTSB investigator in charge, laid out a preliminary timeline assembled from the voyage data recorder comprising audio from the bridge and VHF radio ahead of the crash, which federal and state officials have said appeared to be an accident. The Dali, which is managed by Synergy Marine Gropup, was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered it.
The ship passed foreign port state inspections in June and September 2023. In the June inspection, a faulty monitor gauge for fuel pressure was rectified before departure, Singapore’s port authority said. The ship was traveling under a Singapore flag, and officials there said they will conduct their own investigation in addition to supporting U.S. authorities.
The sudden loss of a highway that carries 30,000 vehicles a day and the port disruption will affect not only thousands of dockworkers and commuters but also U.S. consumers who are likely to feel the impact of shipping delays. Windward Maritime, a maritime risk-management company, said its data shows a large increase in ships that are waiting for a port to go to, with some anchored outside Baltimore or nearby Annapolis.
At the White House, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Biden administration was focused on reopening the port and rebuilding the bridge, which was completed in 1977. He did not put a timeline on those efforts, while noting that the original bridge took five years to construct. Buttigieg also planned to meet Thursday with supply chain officials.
Barges, including some with cranes, were on their way to help remove the wreckage, Gilreath said. Homendy said the NTSB investigation could take 12 to 24 months, but the agency may issue urgent safety recommendations sooner. A preliminary report should come in two to four weeks.
(AP)
