BALTIMORE — The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent “routine engine maintenance” in the port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
Divers recovered the bodies of two of six workers who plunged into the water. The others were presumed dead.
The bodies of the two men were located in the morning inside a red pickup submerged in about 25 feet of water near the bridge's middle span, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of Maryland State Police, said at an evening news conference.
He identified the men as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who was from Mexico and living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and living in Dundalk, Maryland.
The victims, part of a construction crew who were fixing potholes on the bridge, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Butler said.
All search efforts were exhausted and, based on sonar scans, authorities “firmly” believe the other vehicles with victims inside are encased in superstructures and concrete from the collapsed bridge, Butler said. Divers will return to search for remains once the waters are clear of debris.
The investigation picked up speed as the Baltimore region reeled a day after the sudden loss of a major transportation link that's part of the highway loop around the city. The disaster also closed the port that 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 do interviews with the captain and crew members, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference. Twenty-three people, including two pilots, were on the ship when it crashed, she said.
The ship was carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials, including corrosives, flammables and lithium ion batteries, Homendy said. She added some containers were breached and authorities would handle a sheen on the water from those materials.
The agency also is reviewing the voyage data recorder recovered by the Coast Guard and building a timeline of what led to the crash, which federal and state officials said appeared to be an accident.
The ship's crew issued a mayday call early Tuesday, saying they lost power and the vessel's steering system just minutes before striking one of the bridge's columns.
At least eight people went into the water. Two were rescued Tuesday.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday the divers faced dangerous conditions. “They are down there in darkness where they can literally see about a foot in front of them,” he said, adding they also had to navigate mangled metal.
One missing worker, a 38-year-old man from Honduras who came to the U.S. nearly two decades ago, was described by his brother as entrepreneurial and hardworking. He started last fall with the company that was performing maintenance on the bridge.
Capt. Michael Burns Jr. of the Maritime Center for Responsible Energy said bringing a ship into or out of ports with limited room to maneuver is "one of the most technically challenging and demanding things that we do."
There are "few things that are scarier than a loss of power in restricted waters," he said. And when a ship loses propulsion and steering, "then it's really at the mercy of the wind and the current."
Video showed the ship moving at what Maryland's governor said was about 9 mph toward the 1.6-mile bridge. Traffic was still moving across the span, and some vehicles appeared to escape with only seconds to spare. The crash caused the span to break and fall into the water within seconds.
The last-minute warning from the ship allowed police just enough time to stop traffic on the interstate highway. One officer parked sideways across the lanes and planned to drive onto the bridge to alert the construction crew once another officer arrived. He didn't get the chance as the powerless the vessel barreled into the bridge.
Attention also turned to the container ship Dali and its past.
Synergy Marine Group, which manages the ship, said the impact happened while it was under the control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help guide vessels safely in and out of ports.
The ship, which was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and Danish shipping giant Maersk said it chartered the vessel.
The vessel passed foreign port state inspections in June and September 2023. In the June 2023 inspection, a faulty monitor gauge for fuel pressure was rectified before the vessel departed the port, Singapore's port authority said in a statement Wednesday.
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 disruption of a vital shipping port, will affect not only thousands of dockworkers and commuters but also U.S. consumers who are likely to feel the impact of shipping delays.
The Port of Baltimore is a busy entry point along the East Coast for new vehicles made in Germany, Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom, along with coal and farm equipment. Ship traffic entering and leaving the port has been suspended indefinitely.
Speaking at a White House news conference, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Biden administration was focused on reopening the port and rebuilding the bridge, but he avoided putting a timeline on those efforts. He noted the original bridge took five years to complete.
Another priority is dealing with shipping issues, and Buttigieg planned to meet Thursday with supply chain officials.
The operators of the Dali cargo ship issued a mayday call that the vessel had lost power moments before the crash, but the ship still headed toward the span at “a very, very rapid speed," Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
The 985-foot-long vessel struck one of the 1.6-mile bridge’s supports, causing the span to break and fall into the water within seconds.
Six construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge were still missing Tuesday afternoon and presumed dead. Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said they were working in the middle of the span when it came apart.
An inspection of the Dali last June at a port in Chile identified a problem with the ship’s “propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” according to Equasis, a shipping information system. The deficiency involved gauges and thermometers, but the website’s online records didn’t elaborate.
The most recent inspection listed for the Dali was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard in New York in September. The “standard examination” didn’t identify any deficiencies, according to the Equasis data.
The ship was moving at 8 knots, which is roughly 9 mph.
Given the vessel’s massive weight, it struck the bridge support with significant force, said Roberto Leon, a Virginia Tech engineering professor.
“The only way the post can resist it is by bending,” Leon said. “But it cannot absorb anywhere near the energy that this humongous ship is bringing. So it’s going to break.”
Last June, federal inspectors rated the 47-year-old bridge in fair condition. But the structure did not appear to have 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 very little that the bridge could do,” Leon said.
Pictured: A container rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Sparrows Point, Md. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Two people were rescued, but officials said six people were still unaccounted for and presumed dead. All were believed to be part of a construction crew that was repairing potholes on the bridge.
The six missing people were part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, the state's transportation secretary.
Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two were Guatemalan citizens working on the bridge. It did not provide their names but said consular officials were in contact with local authorities and assisting the families.
A senior executive at the company that employed the workers also said, in the afternoon, that the workers were presumed dead given the water’s depth and how much time had passed.
Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it came down.
“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers."
Multiple vehicles also fell into the water, although authorities don't think anyone was inside them.
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 enabled authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span. Plus, the accident occurred at 1:30 a.m., long before the busy morning rush. The bridge carried an estimated 30,800 vehicles a day on average in 2019.
Pictured: Boats move near a container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Dundalk, Md. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The collapse will almost surely create a logistical nightmare for months, if not years, in the region, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub. The accident will also snarl cargo and commuter traffic.
The port is a major East Coast hub for shipping. The bridge spans the Patapsco River, which massive cargo ships use to reach the Chesapeake Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean.
The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic.
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.
The collapse, however, is not likely to have a big effect on worldwide trade because Baltimore is not a major port for container vessels, but the port’s facilities are more important when it comes to goods such as farm equipment and autos, said Judah Levine, head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.
Leon, the Virginia Tech professor, said lessons can be learned and improvements can be made following this disaster. For example, bridge cameras and sensors can be used to track when a cargo ship heads off course and communicate with traffic lights and gates at bridge entrances.
“I think that our mission now is to learn from this failure and learn at all levels,” Leon said.
Pictured: Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with one of the bridge’s support Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. (WJLA via AP)
From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collisions, with a total of 342 people killed, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.
Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States.
Among them were a 2002 incident in which a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, sending vehicles plunging into the water. Fourteen people died and 11 were injured.
And in 2001, a tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a section of the bridge to tumble 80 feet into the bay below. Eight people were killed.
Pictured: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
March 20, 2009: A vessel pushing eight barges rammed into the Popp's Ferry Bridge in Biloxi, Mississippi, resulting in a 150-foot section of the bridge collapsing into the bay.
INTERSTATE 40 BRIDGE: 14 DEAD
May 26, 2002: A barge hit the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, collapsing a 500-foot section of road and plunging vehicles into the water. Fourteen people died and 11 were injured.
QUEEN ISABELLA CAUSEWAY: 8 DEAD
Sept. 15, 2001: A tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a midsection of the bridge to tumble 80 feet into the bay below. Eight people died after motorists drove into the hole.
EADS BRIDGE: 50 INJURED
April 14, 1998: The Anne Holly tow traveling through the St. Louis Harbor rammed into the center span of the Eads Bridge. Eight barges broke away. Three of them hit a permanently moored gambling vessel below the bridge. Fifty people suffered minor injuries.
BIG BAYOU CANOT: 47 DEAD
Sept. 22, 1993: Barges being pushed by a towboat in dense fog hit and displaced the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Minutes later, an Amtrak train with 220 people aboard reached the displaced bridge and derailed, killing 47 people and injuring 103 people.
SEEBER BRIDGE: 1 DEAD
May 28, 1993: The towboat Chris, pushing the empty hopper barge DM3021, hit a support tier of the Judge William Seeber Bridge in New Orleans. Two spans and the two-column bent collapsed onto the barge. Two cars carrying three people fell with the four-lane bridge deck into a canal. One person died and two people were seriously injured.
SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE: 35 DEAD
May 9, 1980: The 609-foot freighter Summit Venture was navigating through the narrow, winding shipping channel of Florida’s Tampa Bay when a sudden, blinding squall knocked out the ship’s radar. The ship sheared off a support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dropping a 1,400-foot section of concrete roadway during the morning rush hour. Seven vehicles, including a bus with 26 aboard, fell 150 feet into the water. Thirty-five people died.
Pictured: This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the overview of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Md., on May 6, 2023. A container ship lost power and rammed into the bridge Tuesday, March 26, 2024, causing the span to buckle into the river below. (Maxaar Technologies via AP)
The bridge that collapsed into a Maryland river after a ship strike Tuesday was iconic — erected almost five decades ago, named after the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and part of the very fabric of Baltimore.
Built near the spot where Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of a fort that inspired what would become America’s national anthem, the namesake bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River after being struck by a cargo ship that reported losing power just before the crash. Rescue crews were looking for the bodies of six people who remained unaccounted for Tuesday afternoon and were presumed dead.
“The words ‘the Key Bridge is gone,’ it's still sinking in,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. “For 47 years, that's all we've known. It's not just unprecedented; it's heartbreaking.”
Designed as an outer crossing of the Baltimore Harbor, the 1.6-mile bridge opened on March 23, 1977, as the final link in Interstate 695, known locally as the Baltimore Beltway.
The bridge was built within 100 yards of where Key witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on Sept. 12, 1814, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Key stood on the deck of an American ship in the Patapsco and watched Britain's 25-hour assault on the fort. The raising of the American flag afterward inspired him to write the poem “The Defense of Fort M’Henry," according to the National Parks Service. Set to music, it became the national anthem in 1931.
Anita Kassof, executive director of the Baltimore Museum of Industry, said the choice of Key as the bridge's namesake honors the city's toughness and perseverance in the face of tragedy.
“'The Star-Spangled Banner' is an anthem to American resiliency, and Baltimore is a very resilient city,” she said. “We've been through a lot and we've gotten through a lot, and we'll get through this, too.”
Pictured: A container ship passes under the Francis Scott Key bridge Feb. 26, 2005, as it steams up the Chesapeake Bay toward the Port of Baltimore. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner)
The operators of the Dali cargo ship issued a mayday call that the vessel had lost power moments before the crash, but the ship still headed toward the span at “a very, very rapid speed," Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
The 985-foot-long vessel struck one of the 1.6-mile bridge’s supports, causing the span to break and fall into the water within seconds.
Six construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge were still missing Tuesday afternoon and presumed dead. Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said they were working in the middle of the span when it came apart.
An inspection of the Dali last June at a port in Chile identified a problem with the ship’s “propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” according to Equasis, a shipping information system. The deficiency involved gauges and thermometers, but the website’s online records didn’t elaborate.
The most recent inspection listed for the Dali was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard in New York in September. The “standard examination” didn’t identify any deficiencies, according to the Equasis data.
The ship was moving at 8 knots, which is roughly 9 mph.
Given the vessel’s massive weight, it struck the bridge support with significant force, said Roberto Leon, a Virginia Tech engineering professor.
“The only way the post can resist it is by bending,” Leon said. “But it cannot absorb anywhere near the energy that this humongous ship is bringing. So it’s going to break.”
Last June, federal inspectors rated the 47-year-old bridge in fair condition. But the structure did not appear to have 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 very little that the bridge could do,” Leon said.
Pictured: A container rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Sparrows Point, Md. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Two people were rescued, but officials said six people were still unaccounted for and presumed dead. All were believed to be part of a construction crew that was repairing potholes on the bridge.
The six missing people were part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, the state's transportation secretary.
Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two were Guatemalan citizens working on the bridge. It did not provide their names but said consular officials were in contact with local authorities and assisting the families.
A senior executive at the company that employed the workers also said, in the afternoon, that the workers were presumed dead given the water’s depth and how much time had passed.
Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it came down.
“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers."
Multiple vehicles also fell into the water, although authorities don't think anyone was inside them.
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 enabled authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span. Plus, the accident occurred at 1:30 a.m., long before the busy morning rush. The bridge carried an estimated 30,800 vehicles a day on average in 2019.
Pictured: Boats move near a container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Dundalk, Md. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The collapse will almost surely create a logistical nightmare for months, if not years, in the region, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub. The accident will also snarl cargo and commuter traffic.
The port is a major East Coast hub for shipping. The bridge spans the Patapsco River, which massive cargo ships use to reach the Chesapeake Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean.
The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic.
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.
The collapse, however, is not likely to have a big effect on worldwide trade because Baltimore is not a major port for container vessels, but the port’s facilities are more important when it comes to goods such as farm equipment and autos, said Judah Levine, head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.
Leon, the Virginia Tech professor, said lessons can be learned and improvements can be made following this disaster. For example, bridge cameras and sensors can be used to track when a cargo ship heads off course and communicate with traffic lights and gates at bridge entrances.
“I think that our mission now is to learn from this failure and learn at all levels,” Leon said.
Pictured: Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with one of the bridge’s support Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. (WJLA via AP)
TEL
From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collisions, with a total of 342 people killed, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.
Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States.
Among them were a 2002 incident in which a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, sending vehicles plunging into the water. Fourteen people died and 11 were injured.
And in 2001, a tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a section of the bridge to tumble 80 feet into the bay below. Eight people were killed.
Pictured: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
POPP'S FERRY BRIDGE
March 20, 2009: A vessel pushing eight barges rammed into the Popp's Ferry Bridge in Biloxi, Mississippi, resulting in a 150-foot section of the bridge collapsing into the bay.
INTERSTATE 40 BRIDGE: 14 DEAD
May 26, 2002: A barge hit the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, collapsing a 500-foot section of road and plunging vehicles into the water. Fourteen people died and 11 were injured.
QUEEN ISABELLA CAUSEWAY: 8 DEAD
Sept. 15, 2001: A tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a midsection of the bridge to tumble 80 feet into the bay below. Eight people died after motorists drove into the hole.
EADS BRIDGE: 50 INJURED
April 14, 1998: The Anne Holly tow traveling through the St. Louis Harbor rammed into the center span of the Eads Bridge. Eight barges broke away. Three of them hit a permanently moored gambling vessel below the bridge. Fifty people suffered minor injuries.
BIG BAYOU CANOT: 47 DEAD
Sept. 22, 1993: Barges being pushed by a towboat in dense fog hit and displaced the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Minutes later, an Amtrak train with 220 people aboard reached the displaced bridge and derailed, killing 47 people and injuring 103 people.
SEEBER BRIDGE: 1 DEAD
May 28, 1993: The towboat Chris, pushing the empty hopper barge DM3021, hit a support tier of the Judge William Seeber Bridge in New Orleans. Two spans and the two-column bent collapsed onto the barge. Two cars carrying three people fell with the four-lane bridge deck into a canal. One person died and two people were seriously injured.
SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE: 35 DEAD
May 9, 1980: The 609-foot freighter Summit Venture was navigating through the narrow, winding shipping channel of Florida’s Tampa Bay when a sudden, blinding squall knocked out the ship’s radar. The ship sheared off a support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dropping a 1,400-foot section of concrete roadway during the morning rush hour. Seven vehicles, including a bus with 26 aboard, fell 150 feet into the water. Thirty-five people died.
Pictured: This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the overview of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Md., on May 6, 2023. A container ship lost power and rammed into the bridge Tuesday, March 26, 2024, causing the span to buckle into the river below. (Maxaar Technologies via AP)
The bridge that collapsed into a Maryland river after a ship strike Tuesday was iconic — erected almost five decades ago, named after the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and part of the very fabric of Baltimore.
Built near the spot where Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of a fort that inspired what would become America’s national anthem, the namesake bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River after being struck by a cargo ship that reported losing power just before the crash. Rescue crews were looking for the bodies of six people who remained unaccounted for Tuesday afternoon and were presumed dead.
“The words ‘the Key Bridge is gone,’ it's still sinking in,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. “For 47 years, that's all we've known. It's not just unprecedented; it's heartbreaking.”
Designed as an outer crossing of the Baltimore Harbor, the 1.6-mile bridge opened on March 23, 1977, as the final link in Interstate 695, known locally as the Baltimore Beltway.
The bridge was built within 100 yards of where Key witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on Sept. 12, 1814, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Key stood on the deck of an American ship in the Patapsco and watched Britain's 25-hour assault on the fort. The raising of the American flag afterward inspired him to write the poem “The Defense of Fort M’Henry," according to the National Parks Service. Set to music, it became the national anthem in 1931.
Anita Kassof, executive director of the Baltimore Museum of Industry, said the choice of Key as the bridge's namesake honors the city's toughness and perseverance in the face of tragedy.
“'The Star-Spangled Banner' is an anthem to American resiliency, and Baltimore is a very resilient city,” she said. “We've been through a lot and we've gotten through a lot, and we'll get through this, too.”
Pictured: A container ship passes under the Francis Scott Key bridge Feb. 26, 2005, as it steams up the Chesapeake Bay toward the Port of Baltimore. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner)
Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Peter Gautier listens Wednesday as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse at the White House in Washington.