Here’s what we know about the disaster so far:
WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED?
The Dali freighter’s operators issued a distress call that the ship had lost power just before the crash, but that the ship was still moving toward the span at “very, very high speed,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
The 300-meter-long ship struck one of the 2.6-kilometer-long bridge supports, causing the span to break and fall into the water within seconds.
Six construction workers who were patching holes in the bridge were still missing and presumed dead Tuesday afternoon. Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said they were working in the middle of the span when it fell apart.
An inspection of the Dali last June at a port in Chile revealed a problem with the ship’s “propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” according to Equasis, a shipping information system. The shortage involved meters and thermometers, but the website’s online data provided no details.
The most recent inspection for the Dali was conducted in September by the U.S. Coast Guard in New York. The “standard investigation” revealed no shortcomings according to the Equasis data.
The ship was traveling at a speed of 8 knots, which is approximately 15 km per hour.
Given the ship’s enormous weight, it hit the bridge’s support with significant force, said Roberto Leon, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech.
“The only way the pole can resist this is to bend,” Leon said. ‘But it can’t absorb nearly the energy that this gigantic ship brings. So it breaks down.”
Last June, federal inspectors rated the 47-year-old bridge in fair condition. But the structure appeared to have no pier protection to withstand the crash, experts said.
“If a bridge pier without adequate protection is hit by a ship of this size, there is little the bridge can do,” Leon said.
HOW MANY PEOPLE MISSING?
Two people were rescued, but officials said six people were still missing as of late morning. It was believed they were all part of a construction crew that was repairing holes in the bridge.
Several vehicles also fell into the water, although authorities do not believe anyone was inside.
The ship is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., which said all crew members, including the two pilots, were accounted for and there were no reports of injuries.
The ship’s warning allowed authorities to restrict vehicular traffic on the span. Moreover, the accident happened at 1:30 am, long before the busy morning rush hour. In 2019, the bridge carried an estimated average of 30,800 vehicles per day.
WHAT IMPACT COULD THIS HAVE?
The collapse will almost certainly create a logistical nightmare in the region for months, if not years, halting ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub. The accident will also hamper freight and commuter traffic.
The port is an important shipping hub on the east coast. The bridge spans the Patapsco River, which huge freighters use to reach the Chesapeake Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean.
According to Marine Traffic records, the Dali was en route from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, flying the flag of Singapore.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he plans to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can” and that he expects the federal government to pick up the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge.
However, the collapse is not likely to have a major effect on global trade because Baltimore is not a major port for container ships, but the port’s facilities are more important when it comes to goods such as agricultural equipment and cars, Judah Levine said. head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.
Leon, the Virginia Tech professor, said lessons can be learned and improvements made after this disaster. For example, bridge cameras and sensors can be used to track when a freighter goes off course and communicate with traffic lights and gates at bridge entrances.
“I think our mission is to learn from this failure and learn at all levels,” Leon said.
HOW OFTEN DOES THIS HAPPEN?
According to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure, 35 major bridges collapsed worldwide due to collisions with ships or barges between 1960 and 2015, killing a total of 342 people.
Eighteen of those collapses occurred in the United States.
Among them was a 2002 incident in which a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, sending vehicles plunging into the water. Fourteen people were killed and 11 were injured.
And in 2001, a tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing part of the bridge to collapse 80 feet into the bay. Eight people were killed.