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[VIDEO] Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse: Casualties feared after ship crash

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Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse: Casualties feared after ship crash

A view of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge

Search-and-rescue operation ongoing following the partial collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore after a ship collided with it.

Authorities say at least two people have been pulled from Patapsco River after the crash, with one seriously wounded. At least seven are feared to be in the water, while sonar has detected the presence of submerged vehicles.


View attachment ssstwitter.com_1711447263965.mp4

Source: Al Jazeera
 
Terrible

So vulnerable all these bridges.
 
All the crew is indian hindu

There's pictures of them celebrating holi


How's the outsourcing going westerners and decoupling from China?

Hire some indians and expect incompetence
 
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mazkhan said:
All the crew is indian hindu

There's pictures of them celebrating holi


How's the outsourcing going westerners and decoupling from China?

Hire indians and expect incompetence
Click to expand...

Poor if true . Throwing paint around causing this is criminal .
 
mazkhan said:
All the crew is indian hindu

There's pictures of them celebrating holi


How's the outsourcing going westerners and decoupling from China?

Hire indians and expect incompetence
Click to expand...
What nonsense! According to first reports the ship lost power and they immediately followed protocols - the crew issued mayday allowing the bridge to be closed & immediately dropped anchor. What a vile post!
 
mazkhan said:
All the crew is indian hindu

There's pictures of them celebrating holi


How's the outsourcing going westerners and decoupling from China?

Hire indians and expect incompetence
Click to expand...
Its going well for America , its not going well for China but don’t expect you to read news with the sort of bitter post that you just did, also holi is usually celebrated in the morning.
 
mazkhan said:
All the crew is indian hindu

There's pictures of them celebrating holi


How's the outsourcing going westerners and decoupling from China?

Hire indians and expect incompetence
Click to expand...

KingKhanWC said:
Poor if true . Throwing paint around causing this is criminal .
Click to expand...

Thankfully the holi celebrating Hindu Indian crew followed all protocols and saved lives

By the way a significant part of most cargo ship crew are Indian nationals. That is the main reason Indian navy is so active in anti-piracy activities.
 
JaDed said:
Its going well for America , its not going well for China but don’t expect you to read news with the sort of bitter post that you just did, also holi is usually celebrated in the morning.
Click to expand...
Yeah, according to that poster the crew was busy playing Holi at 2 am hence the crash!
 
Just thought these bridges would be strong, but they turned out to be sand ropes.
 
You don't normally associate this level of destruction of infrastructure with America.
 

Maryland governor says ‘heroes’ stopped cars from crossing bridge after ship’s mayday call​


A mayday call was issued before a container ship struck a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore — a decision Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said "saved lives" ahead of the bridge's collapse early on the morning of March 26.

The crew on the vessel were able to notify authorities of a power issue and that they had lost power on the ship, which alerted officials who were able to stop some vehicles from crossing the bridge before the ship collided with it, Moore said.

“Once notification came up that there was a mayday, literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge,” Moore said. “These people are heroes. They saved lives."

The ship was traveling at about eight knots, which Moore described as "a very rapid speed."

Emergency personnel had rescued two people. On Tuesday evening, Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, told NBC News in a phone interview that six of its workers were presumed dead.

Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld said a crew was working on repairing potholes on the bridge around the time of the collision, and that the repairs didn’t have to do with the structural integrity of the bridge.

The bridge was "fully up to code" at the time of the incident, Moore said, adding authorities were still investigating the cause of the impact and collapse. The incident appeared to be an accident and there were no signs of terrorism, Moore said.

"To hear the words that the Key Bridge has collapsed, it's shocking and heartbreaking," Moore said.

"For every single one of us who are Marylanders, the words that the Key Bridge is gone — it still shakes us because for over for 47 years, that's all we've known," he added.

Dramatic video of the incident showed smoke coming from the ship as it collided with a pillar supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which carries Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River south of Baltimore, and a livestream video showed vehicles crossing the bridge just before impact.

Baltimore executive says Key Bridge collapse is 'an absolute tragedy'

Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski called the collapse an "absolute tragedy" and "shock" on TODAY around 7:05 a.m., and said the bridge has been an active scene of activity for emergency responders and other city and state agencies since the bridge collapsed.

"Our primary efforts are around search and rescue right now," Olszewski said. "We have the sun coming up so we can start having our dive teams go in. We're not just doing the surface searches, but we are actively on this scene."

One person rescued was in good condition and refused treatment, while the second was seriously injured and is being treated in a local trauma center, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said during a press conference.

Underwater drones showed there were vehicles in the river, Wallace said, but authorities said Tuesday that they do not believe anyone was inside those vehicles.

"The best information we have is that the ship, for whatever reason, whether it's power, or other reason, lost control, ran into the supporting beam of the bridge, which unfortunately caused it to collapse," Olszewski said on TODAY.

There is an active investigation into the cause of the collapse, in addition to the active search and rescue for survivors, Olszewski said.

"We know those answers will come forward, but it's an absolute tragedy," he said. "Our efforts are focused on the search and rescue right now as we try to determine both next steps for traffic for commerce, but really right now our hearts go out to and our thoughts and prayers are with those individuals and families who were affected by this collapse."

When did the ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge?

The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement to NBC News it received a report that a "motor vessel made impact with the bridge" around 1:27 a.m. ET, and confirmed the ship was a vessel named Dali registered under a Singaporean flag.

Shipping company Maersk said in a statement to NBC News Dali was operated by another company, Synergy Group, which it had charted to transport its customers' cargo.

"We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected," a spokesperson for Maersk said.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon the NTSB was leading the investigation into the 985-foot vessel's collision with the bridge, and the Coast Guard would provide support.

"Before I go on, on behalf of the NTSB, I want to extend our deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by this significant event," Homendy said. "A search and rescue is still underway, so we are very hopeful. And again our thoughts are with the families and their loved ones."

Biden says he’s directing his team ‘to move heaven and Earth’ to reopen port, rebuild bridge

President Joe Biden addressed reporters before 1 p.m. ET about the morning’s “terrible incident” in Baltimore. Biden, who previously represented Delaware for 36 years in the Senate, began by saying he has been over the Key Bridge “many, many times” before.

He reaffirmed the information from officials earlier in the day that estimates eight people were impacted by the collapse and that six of those individuals are still missing: one person remains in critical condition and the other was not seriously injured and denied treatment. He said the search and rescue operation remains underway.

Biden said he will send “all the federal resources” to help.

“We’re going to rebuild that port together,” he added.

Biden also said ship traffic through the Port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice.

He explained that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is there now and that he has directed his team to “move heaven and Earth” so that the port can reopen and the bridge can be rebuilt. Biden also said he expects Congress to support his effort.

“It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge,” he said.

A reporter later asked about the federal government paying despite the ship appearing to be at fault and if the company behind the ship should be responsible.

“That could be, but we’re not going to wait for that to happen,” Biden answered.

“We’re going to pay for it to get the bridge rebuilt and open.”

He also said he plans to go to Baltimore “as quickly” as he can.



www.today.com

FBI opens criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse

Federal agents boarded the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge with search warrants, according to two senior law enforcement sources.
www.today.com www.today.com

To all those who are insinuating "hindus" and "Indians".
 
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The Bald Eagle said:
Just thought these bridges would be strong, but they turned out to be sand ropes.
Click to expand...
There are very few things that can withstand a collision with a container ship and live to tell the tale. Bridges are in fact, made a bit pliable as they have to withstand the vibrations from the thousands of heavy vehicles that cross them everyday. A brittle, hard structure would develop cracks and become vulnerable with time.
 
gani999 said:
There are very few things that can withstand a collision with a container ship and live to tell the tale. Bridges are in fact, made a bit pliable as they have to withstand the vibrations from the thousands of heavy vehicles that cross them everyday. A brittle, hard structure would develop cracks and become vulnerable with time.
Click to expand...
Well good explanation, looks like you have an engineering degree
 
The Bald Eagle said:
Just thought these bridges would be strong, but they turned out to be sand ropes.
Click to expand...
Someone did a calculations on a different site and mentioned that the energy due to such a cargo ship hitting a stationary object is more than multiple tons of TNT simultaneously exploding. It is huge amount of energy. So there is no possible way a bridge or any manmade object will stand against a container ship..
 
mazkhan said:
This same ship crashed in 2016 and hit the quayside in the port.
Click to expand...
You honestly think that the same ‘Hindu’ crew on a Singapore owned ship caused both the accidents 8 years apart? Were they playing Holi in the night 8 years back too?
 
mazkhan said:
All the crew is indian hindu

There's pictures of them celebrating holi


How's the outsourcing going westerners and decoupling from China?

Hire some indians and expect incompetence
Click to expand...
True, if you want competence you should go and hire pakistani nationals.

There's a reason why the pakistani economy is booming and self sufficient compared to India.

Also why the pakistani diaspora outperforms the indian ones when it comes to wealth and education
 

Baltimore bridge collapse: Biden promises to visit Maryland city - as authorities 'actively looking for survivors'​

President Biden has promised that he will visit Baltimore "as soon as possible" after a major bridge collapsed - with the city's governor saying the search for "survivors" continues as six people remain missing.

The 1.6-mile long Francis Scott Key Bridge crashed into the Patapsco River after it was hit by a 289m-long cargo ship at 1.30am local time (5.30am UK time) on Tuesday.

"People of Baltimore, we're with you," the US president said this evening, as he added the search and rescue operation was a "top priority".

Wes Moore, governor of Baltimore, and Paul Wiedefeld, secretary of the Maryland Transport Authority, have said the six people missing are believed to be construction workers who were on the bridge fixing potholes.

Mr Moore has said teams are looking at the damage caused by the crash and "everyone has raised their hands to serve".

"This is very much still a search and rescue mission. We are still actively looking for survivors," he added.

Mr Moore said air, land and sea resources have been deployed to help in the search.

Eight people were initially unaccounted for, with two of them having been rescued from the water.

One of them is described as being in a "very serious condition" in hospital while the other was not injured.

Meanwhile, the US president said the federal government will cover the "full cost" of rebuilding the bridge. He said it may emerge a private company was responsible for the disaster, but his government is "not going to wait" to begin the rebuilding process.

Mr Biden told reporters at the White House: "It's my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge and I expect Congress to support my effort."

The US president continued: "Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time have we no other indication, no other reason to believe there's any intentional act here.

"Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel."

Mr Biden added that this meant local authorities were able to close the bridge before it was struck which "undoubtedly saved lives".

He continued: "Our prayers are with everyone involved in this terrible accident and all the families (affected), especially those waiting for news of their loved one right now. I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime."

Source: SKY
 
Mockingbird said:
You honestly think that the same ‘Hindu’ crew on a Singapore owned ship caused both the accidents 8 years apart? Were they playing Holi in the night 8 years back too?
Click to expand...


I never said they were doing holi at the time of collision

There's multiple pictures on twitter/online of the ship and crew and couple of those pictures had that picture of the crew celebrating holi I don't know when these pictures were taken or how old they are.

Either way an investigation will be carried out and hopefully cooperate manslaughter charges will be bought on the company , most likely bad maintenance and incompetence due to the history of the vessel it was detained in Belgium after damaging a quay in antwerp .
 
Mockingbird said:
What nonsense! According to first reports the ship lost power and they immediately followed protocols - the crew issued mayday allowing the bridge to be closed & immediately dropped anchor. What a vile post!
Click to expand...

In this day and age when every layman has a phone, issuing a mayday is the least you would expect. The ship must have lost control pretty last minute if the warning went out so late that a collision could not be averted.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
In this day and age when every layman has a phone, issuing a mayday is the least you would expect. The ship must have lost control pretty last minute if the warning went out so late that a collision could not be averted.
Click to expand...
Reports are there was an electrical problem - witnesses saw the ship lights go on and off. The ship lost propulsion thereafter.
 
Fears of disruption to global supply chains after Baltimore bridge crash

Fears have been raised of significant disruption to global supply chains after a container ship crashed into a bridge in the US city of Baltimore.

The ship, named the Dali, hit a support column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning, causing it to collapse.

The bridge spanned the entrance to the Port of Baltimore, the busiest port in the US for car exports and the ninth-busiest overall.

Six people are missing presumed dead.

The US Coast Guard has suspended its search and rescue operation and begun a recovery mission. The focus is now turning to the investigation into what went wrong, with a team of transportation safety experts hoping to board the stricken ship and recover its data recorder.

Officials have said that maritime traffic through the port - which last year amounted to more than 47 million tonnes of foreign cargo - will be suspended "until further notice".

Speaking to the BBC, Marco Forgione, director general at The Institute of Export and International Trade, which represents UK businesses involved in international trade, said the suspension would have a "significant ripple effect on global supply chains".

"Over 750,000 cars and vehicles transited through Baltimore in the last year," he told Radio 4's The World Tonight.

"Those are major US brands and UK and EU brands, from General Motors and Ford to [Jaguar Land Rover], Nissan, Fiat, and Audi.

"In addition, Baltimore is a significant exporter of liquified natural gas [LNG] and that has implications for the UK and the EU.

"Something around half a million tonnes of LNG leave Baltimore per month, so the implications of what's happened are significant and will cascade before we're able to get Baltimore back up and running again."

As well as maritime traffic, the Port of Baltimore is directly responsible for some 15,000 jobs and supports an estimated 140,000 more.

Following the accident, Danish shipping giant Maersk, whose cargo the Dali was carrying, said it would be "omitting Baltimore on all our services for the foreseeable future".

A number of rail and coal companies have also warned their customers of disruption to coal exports.

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said at a briefing there was "no question that this will be a major and protracted impact to supply chains".

"It's too soon to offer estimates on what it will take to clear the channel and reopen the port," he said.

President Biden told reporters that the US government would "move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible", but added that the process was going to "take some time."

The exact cause of the crash is still being established, but officials have said the ship suffered a "power issue" and issued a distress call before hitting the bridge.

Authorities closed the bridge to car traffic when they received the call, but a number of vehicles that were already on the bridge fell into the water when it collapsed.

A huge search and rescue effort ran through much of Tuesday, with two people pulled from the water, one of them in a serious condition.

The six people who remain missing were part of an overnight construction crew that was repairing potholes, authorities said.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, where the Dali was flagged, said the ship's certificates covering its structural integrity and the functionality of its equipment were valid at the time of the incident.

It also said the ship had passed two separate foreign port state inspections in June and September 2023.

Synergy Marine Group, which manages the Dali, said there were 22 people on the ship, including an all-Indian crew and two US harbour pilots, but no reports of any injuries.

It added that it was "fully co-operating" with federal agencies.

SOURCE: BBC
 
Statpadder Inc said:
True, if you want competence you should go and hire pakistani nationals.

There's a reason why the pakistani economy is booming and self sufficient compared to India.

Also why the pakistani diaspora outperforms the indian ones when it comes to wealth and education
Click to expand...
Well we have seen your Indian competence your companies given contracts for shipping and your country being given the lead for piracy and monitoring houthis has affected the global supply chains.

The other day your fishermen killed pakistanis by ramming their boat after illegally fishing in pakistan.

Going well isn't it

Just like the UK is on its knees when you have the nhs and care sector infiltrated by indian workforce, and govermemt ministers like Priti , cruella, sushi sunak and nom dom wife , alok sharma.
 
mazkhan said:
Well we have seen your Indian competence your companies given contracts for shipping and your country being given the lead for piracy and monitoring houthis has affected the global supply chains.

The other day your fishermen killed pakistanis by ramming their boat after illegally fishing in pakistan.

Going well isn't it

Just like the UK is on its knees when you have the nhs and care sector infiltrated by indian workforce, and govermemt ministers like Priti , cruella, sushi sunak and nom dom wife , alok sharma.
Click to expand...
That's why they should start giving these contract to pakistani companies, I am sure pak has a huge shipping industry.

I also wonder why doesn't the pakistani workforce join the uk healthcare sector, considering how well educated they are compared to the indians
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
In this day and age when every layman has a phone, issuing a mayday is the least you would expect. The ship must have lost control pretty last minute if the warning went out so late that a collision could not be averted.
Click to expand...

Mayday calls are not issued through cellular phones. They are the start of a chain of technical procedures in both the air and the sea.
 
Six construction workers were presumed dead on Wednesday after a massive cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to partially collapse into the Patapsco River.

The incident, which has wreaked havoc at one of the country’s busiest ports and sparked fears about supply chain disruption, has raised questions about the Singapore-flagged container ship involved.

Known as the Dali, the nearly 1,000-foot-long vessel was heading out of Baltimore Harbor and bound for Sri Lanka, when it hit a support pylon of the bridge at around 1:30 a.m. ET.

It appeared to be traveling at roughly 8 knots (about 9 mph) before the collision, according to LSEG shipping data. Video footage of the disaster appears to show the 1.6-mile structure crumpling into the icy water almost immediately after it was struck.

A search and rescue effort was suspended Tuesday evening.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday said the crew of the Dali was able to send a critical emergency alert that enabled authorities to clear the bridge of further car traffic ahead of impact.

“Between the mayday and the collapse that we … that we had officials that were able to … to begin to stop the flow of traffic, so more cars would not end up on the bridge, which saved lives in a very, very heroic way,” Moore said at a news conference.

Moore said the ship’s crew notified authorities of power issues prior to the collision and that a preliminary investigation pointed to an accident.

What do we know about the Dali?

The Dali was previously involved in a minor incident in Belgium’s Port of Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe.

The ship suffered “sufficient damages” in July 2016 when it struck the stone wall of the quay during unmooring maneuvers, according to shipping trafficking website Vesselfinder.

The accident, which did not cause any injuries, occurred during good weather and “was caused by the mistake of the Master and pilot on board.” The Dali remained afloat after the incident and was subsequently repaired.

Separately, an inspection of the Dali in San Antonio, Chile, in June last year found propulsion and auxiliary machinery deficiencies, NBC News reported Tuesday, citing data from the website Equasis, which provides information on ships.

However, Singapore’s port authority on Wednesday said that the container ship had passed overseas inspections and carried certificates to cover its structural integrity and functionality at the time of the Baltimore bridge incident.

The Dali underwent and passed two separate foreign port state inspections in June and September last year, the authority said. In the June inspection, the container ship was found to have had a faulty monitor gauge for fuel pressure, but this was fixed before the vessel departed the port.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore added that the Dali’s next classification and statutory surveys had been scheduled for June 2024.

Who chartered the ship?

Danish shipping giant Maersk has confirmed it chartered the Dali, saying on Tuesday that it was “horrified” by what happened in Baltimore.

“Our thoughts are with all of those affected. We can confirm that the container vessel ‘DALI’, operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group, is time chartered by Maersk and is carrying Maersk customers’ cargo,” the company said in a statement.

“No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel. We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed.”

Since the Panama Canal was expanded in 2016, Baltimore’s 50-foot shipping channel and port handle some of the world’s largest cargo ships that arrive from Asia and elsewhere. The port handles goods including automotives, sugar, coal and machinery.

 
Varun said:
Mayday calls are not issued through cellular phones. They are the start of a chain of technical procedures in both the air and the sea.
Click to expand...

That's a shame. If someone had picked up a cell phone they could maybe have forewarned the authorities instead of waiting to go through the chain of technical procedures.
 
U.S. federal safety investigators recovered the black box from the freight ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge, the agency chief said on Wednesday as rescuers looked for the remains of six workers missing in the bridge collapse.

Reuters
 
The bodies of two victims of the Baltimore bridge collapse have been recovered from a red pick-up truck that was found in about 25 feet of water, authorities have said.

The bodies have been pulled from the Patapsco River a day after the 1.6-mile long Frances Scott Key Bridge crashed into the water when it was struck by a container vessel in the early hours of Tuesday morning.


SKY News
 

Baltimore bridge collapse calls attention to the growing Latino labor force and the risks they face​


Most of the workers killed or presumed dead following the Baltimore bridge collapse are originally from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico — illustrating the dangers Hispanic workers face as they continue to be overrepresented in the construction industry.

Eight construction workers were fixing potholes on the Francis Scott Key Bridge's roadway early Tuesday when an immense cargo ship experiencing technical issues after it lost power accidentally crashed into the bridge, causing it to collapse into the Patapsco River. Two workers who survived were rescued from the water, and search efforts for the remaining six were underway all day Wednesday.

“The hope we have is to be able to see the body," Fredy Suazo, the brother of Maynor Suazo, one of the missing construction workers presumed dead, told NBC News. "We want to see him, find him, know whether he is dead because we don’t know anything."

"My brother is the engine of the family. He was everything to us; he was the best," Suazo's sister Norma tearfully told Noticias Telemundo about her missing brother.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor considers construction as "a high hazard industry" in which workers are exposed to serious risks such as falling from rooftops, being struck by heavy construction equipment and being hurt or killed by unguarded machinery.

Latinos are more exposed to these dangers since they make up about a third of the nation's construction workers.

Guatemala's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday two of its nationals were among those presumed dead.

One of the missing Guatemalan workers was identified by his family as José López. His brother-in-law, Walter Guerra, said López’s young child hasn’t stopped asking about her father since Tuesday.

“To the girl, we only say he’s working, we’ve told her he’s working and that he’ll be back soon,” Guerra told Noticias Telemundo.

The body of the second Guatemalan worker was recovered from the water Wednesday evening. Authorities identified him as Dorlian Castillo Cabrera. That evening rescuers also recovered the body of Mexican worker identified as Alejandro Fernandez Fuentes.

According to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, another one of their nationals remains missing and one Mexican national who survived “is recovering satisfactorily from his injuries.”

Maynor Suazo, of Honduras, and Miguel Luna, of El Salvador, have been identified as missing by friends and family.

Jesús Campos, a construction worker at Brawner Builders, said he had worked alongside Suazo and Luna and described them to Telemundo 44 as "fathers and people who come to work to earn a living."

Suazo lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades and started working for the company several months ago, according to his brother Fredy.

He described Suazo, a father of two, as a smiley and pleasant man who "always fought for the well-being of the family.”

“You come to this country to accomplish your dreams and sometimes that dream doesn’t get fulfilled," Fredy said. "And for a tragedy like this to happen to us, can you imagine?”

With 1,056 fatalities, workers in the construction and extraction industries had the second most fatalities in 2022, followed by transportation and material moving workers, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released in December.

At least 423 of these workers died due to falls, slips or trips, according to BLS.

The majority of these deaths, at least 286, happened among Hispanic workers.

The fatality rate of construction and extraction workers increased from 12.3 deaths per 100,000 full-time employee workers in 2021 to 13.0 a year later.

A total of 316 of foreign-born Hispanic construction workers died of workplace injuries in 2022, according to BLS.

Other tragedies involving Hispanic construction workers have already taken place this year.

In another Maryland town about 10 miles west of Baltimore, at least three Latinos were among the six construction workers fatally struck by two drivers while in a construction zone doing roadwork in Woodlawn over the weekend.

Two months ago in Idaho, three construction workers, two of which were from Guatemala, were killed in a building collapse in the town of Boise.

The Baltimore bridge collapse tragedy has hit Latino and immigrant communities nationwide hard, said Bruna Sollod, senior political director of United We Dream, the nation’s largest immigrant youth-led organization.

Sollod said in a statement Wednesday that immigrant workers like the six men who remain missing in Baltimore “have been building and repairing the bridges that ensure we can move freely throughout the cities we call home and stay connected as neighbors and families.”

“Each and every single one of these men were a part of the very fabric that helps make Baltimore a thriving, vibrant, and safer community,” Sollod said, adding that they are “a reminder of the often unseen care immigrants pour into our cities and communities every day.”

In addition to being a construction worker, Luna was a member of CASA, one of the most prominent immigrant advocacy groups in the state of Maryland.

"He is a husband, a father of three, and has called Maryland his home for over 19 years," Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, said in a statement. "Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, left at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening for work and since, has not come home."

The organization is working with the affected families to provide them support, Torres added.

Moisés Díaz, another Brawner Builders construction worker who was friends with Suazo and Luna, said he used to work on the same shift in which his friends presumably died but switched shifts to make space in his schedule to attend church.

"They were great husbands, fathers, sons," Díaz told NBC News. "We are very worried."

Traffic into the Francis Scott Key Bridge was closed off after authorities received a distress call from the cargo ship after it had lost power — effectively preventing a larger or more deadly disaster.

The crash happened less than five minutes later.

Campos said he believes little could have been done to safely evacuate his co-workers.

"Everything happened in the blink of an eye and that wasn't possible," Campos told Telemundo 44 in Spanish.

www.nbcnews.com

Baltimore bridge collapse calls attention to growing Latino labor force, risks they face

About a third of the nation’s construction workers are Hispanic, with more of them exposed to life-threatening dangers such as falls and injuries from heavy machinery.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
The pilot of the cargo freighter that knocked down a highway bridge into Baltimore Harbor had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes earlier, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship's "black box" data recorder.

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a traffic artery over the harbor built in 1976, lacked structural engineering redundancies common to newer spans, making it more vulnerable to a catastrophic collapse.


Reuters
 
mazkhan said:
All the crew is indian hindu

There's pictures of them celebrating holi


How's the outsourcing going westerners and decoupling from China?

Hire some indians and expect incompetence
Click to expand...
Any proof that the crew is Indian?
 
Baltimore bridge collapse: Governor details plan to remove bridge and help affected

Maryland's governor has provided early details of his plan to clean up wreckage after a cargo ship hit a major bridge Baltimore, killing six.

To help, the Biden administration has approved $60m (£47m) in emergency funds that Maryland had requested.

Governor Wes Moore outlined how they intended to clear debris, remove the ship, extract bridge pieces and rebuild it.

"We have a very long road ahead of us," he said.

Speaking alongside lawmakers at a news conference on Thursday, Mr Moore outlined plans for each stage of the process, which he said will pose several challenges.

For one, the governor said, the cargo vessel that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge - called the Dali - is nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower.

He contrasted the situation to the 2021 incident in which it took five weeks to remove a cargo ship that had gotten stuck in the Suez Canal. The difference here, the governor said, is that the Key Bridge is on top of the vessel.

"We're talking 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel that's sitting on that ship," Mr Moore said.

He added that the rivers' waters were dark, and the debris in the water so dense, that divers could not see more than one or two feet in front of them.

"So most of the operation, they simply feel," he said. "These divers have been methodical, they've been disciplined, they've been courageous, diving in darkness with objects all around them."

The state has requested a host of resources to help with the clean-up process.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is covering the cost of clearing the channel and has 32 staff members and 38 US Navy contractors on the ground, said Maryland's Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

He added that a 1,000-ton (907-tonne) crane - the largest on the US eastern seaboard - would arrive around 0:00 EST (04:00 GMT) on Friday to help remove debris. A 400 ton crane would then come on Saturday to further aid in clearing the debris.

In the meantime, those involved in the clean-up process must figure out how to cut debris from the bridge into pieces so they can be lifted by the crane, said Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath of the US Coast Guard.

Authorities have also deployed 2,400 feet of water containment booms to protect against hazardous material from the boat, Mr Moore said.

The Dali was carrying thousands of cargo containers on board, including 56 that were holding hazardous materials, officials have said. That included items like lithium batteries and perfume, according to the governor.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said 764 tonnes of mostly corrosive and flammable materials were identified on the boat.

Mr Moore said the state is also planning to provide economic support to workers whose jobs have been affected by the crash - around 8,000 people, according to the state government.

The recovery cost will not be cheap, according to analysts, but the state is eligible for more federal emergency relief funds in addition to the $60m it has already received, Mr Van Hollen said.

He said that money would help cover the "lion's share of reconstructing the bridge".

Mr Van Hollen said he would introduce legislation to cover the remainder of the recovery costs. President Joe Biden has previously said the federal government should foot the bill to rebuild the bridge.

During Thursday's news conference, Mr Moore and others stressed the importance of fixing the structure as soon as possible.

Its long-term closure could pose a threat to global supply chains, experts have said.

"That's our number one priority, is to reopen the port of Baltimore as fast as we can - and safely," Mr Gilreath said.

BBC
 

Cleaning up hazardous materials onboard the Dali could take weeks​


Cleaning up hazardous materials onboard the Dali container ship could take weeks, the president of ADCO Environmental Services has warned.

A cleanup operation is now underway to clear the debris from the Francis Scott Key bridge crash, officials announced on Thursday.

The first step will be dealing with the hazardous materials onboard the Dali ship.

Fifty-six containers of hazardous materials, including corrosive and flammable liquids and lithium-ion batteries, were discovered on board the Dali following Tuesday’s crash, according to NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy.

Ms Homendy said some of the containers were breached, causing contents to spill into the harbor. One of the hazardous materials was sheen, which is used in paint, that has leaked into the Patapsco River, she added.

Authorities have now begun the process of clearing up the debris, but James Bell, president of ADCO Environmental Services — a Chicago-based company that does hazardous material cleanups — told the Washington Post that the process could take “a few weeks.”

Source: Independent
 

Baltimore bridge: Massive US crane to haul wreckage after deadly collapse​


The largest crane on the eastern US seaboard is heading to Baltimore to launch a massive clean-up effort after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

Shipments in and out of one of the country's busiest ports are suspended while the span's wreckage sags over the cargo ship that crashed into it.

The search for the bodies of four workers remains on hold because of the dangers of diving amongst the wreckage.

Some $60m (£48m) in federal emergency funds will go towards recovery efforts.

The port is a main economic generator for the state of Maryland and a vital conduit for imports and exports of cars and light trucks.

Eight construction workers were repairing potholes on the Key Bridge early on Tuesday when the Dali container ship veered into one of its columns, sending most of the structure crashing into the water.

Two were rescued. The bodies of two others were recovered and the remaining four are presumed dead.

Sonar scans indicate the vehicles that fell into the water are encased in a "superstructure" of concrete and other debris, say state police.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said each stage of the recovery and salvage operation would be difficult.

"We're talking 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel that's sitting on that ship," Mr Moore told reporters on Thursday.

The Dali container vessel - which is nearly as long as the Eiffel tower - remains on the water. Its 22-person crew, all Indian nationals, are reportedly still aboard.

The recovery has been further complicated by the amount of the debris in the dark waters of the Patapsco river. Divers have been unable to see more than a foot or two in front of them.

"Much of the operation is simply feel," said the governor of the divers' work.

The effort will be paid for by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which has 32 staff and 38 US Navy contractors on the ground, officials said.

They will be joined by more than 1,100 engineering specialists and other experts to begin removing the debris.

The largest crane on the eastern US seaboard, which can lift 1,000 tons, is being erected on site on Friday. It will be followed by a 400-ton crane arriving on Saturday.

Those involved in the operation must figure out how to cut debris from the bridge into pieces so they can be lifted by the crane, officials said.

It must be done carefully to ensure none of the hazardous material held in shipping containers atop the Dali spills into the river.

Some of those containers stored sheen, which is used in paint. A few have already broken open, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have said.

Authorities have deployed floating booms in an effort to corral any leaks.

US President Joe Biden has pledged the federal government will bear the full cost of the rebuild.

It is unclear how long the recovery or rebuilding process will take, but experts estimate it could take a month for the Port of Baltimore to reopen and years to rebuild the bridge. The NTSB has said the investigation may take two years.

"We have a very long road ahead of us," the governor said on Thursday.

People in Baltimore are still reeling from the disaster.

The city's Major League Baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, marked the start of their season on Thursday with a moment of silence for the victims, who were from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

The wife of one of the construction workers who was pulled from the water said it is a miracle that he is alive as he does not know how to swim.

Julio Cervantes' spouse told NBC News that "all the men were on a break in their cars when the boat hit".

The wife said her nephew is still among the missing.

"We haven't been able to sleep, waiting for word if they're going to find a relative," she said.

www.bbc.com

Baltimore bridge: Massive US crane to haul wreckage after deadly collapse

A vast clean-up effort is under way after the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
The largest crane on the US eastern seaboard has been drafted in to help clear the wreckage of Baltimore's collapsed highway bridge.

The crane sits on a barge and can lift up to 1,000 tons, Maryland governor Wes Moore said on Friday.

It is one of at least two large cranes that will help clear the metal and concrete remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the cargo ship Dali that hit it earlier this week.

Mr Moore said the "best minds in the world" were working on the issue, but added: "We have a very long road ahead of us.

"This is about the nation's economy - the port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in America."

The cargo ship, almost as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall and carrying nearly 4,700 shipping containers, appears to have lost power before it struck a support pillar early on Tuesday.


news.sky.com

Largest crane on US eastern seaboard drafted in to help clear Baltimore bridge and ship wreckage

Two bodies have already been found since the cargo ship Dali crashed into one of the bridge's support pillars, but officials say they must clear more wreckage to find the other four.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 

Baltimore bridge collapse: Seven floating cranes and more than 30 vessels involved in major salvage operation​


A complex salvage operation is under way to remove the wreckage of the Baltimore bridge in a first step towards reopening the vital port and recovering the bodies of the four workers still missing, presumed dead.

Seven floating cranes, including the largest on the Atlantic seaboard, 10 tugs, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats, along with teams of engineers are involved in the mammoth task to clear the twisted metal and concrete remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge from Maryland's Patapsco River.

The structure collapsed into the water within seconds on Tuesday after being struck by the Dali, a 300m (985ft) cargo ship, which had lost power.

US Coast Guard rear admiral Shannon Gilreath said experts were trying to work out how to "break that bridge up into the right-sized pieces that we can lift".

Maryland governor Wes Moore said: "To go out there and see it up close, you realise just how daunting a task this is.

"With a salvage operation this complex - and frankly with a salvation operation this unprecedented - you need to plan for every single moment."

He said shipping containers aboard the cargo vessel had been ripped apart "like papier-mache" in the crash.

The wreckage has blocked ships from entering or leaving the busy port and also hampered the search for the missing workers.

The governor said: "We have to bring a sense of closure to these families."

Highlighting the mounting financial cost, he added: "What we're talking about today is not just about Maryland's economy, this is about the nation's economy.

"The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in this country."

Maryland's secretary of transportation Paul J Wiedefeld said his department was already planning for rebuilding of the bridge and "considering innovative design, engineering and building methods so that we can quickly deliver this project".

Meanwhile, the authorities have imposed a no-fly zone over the area with people told to keep drones away.

The victims of the disaster, members of a road crew fixing potholes on the bridge when it was destroyed, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, officials said.

At least eight people initially went into the water when the ship struck the bridge column, and two of them were rescued.

Divers subsequently recovered the bodies of two men from a pick-up truck in the river, but the extent of the debris and murky underwater conditions have complicated efforts to find the other four workers.

The White House has approved $60m (£48m) in immediate aid, and US President Joe Biden has said the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the road bridge, which was completed in 1977 and carried 30,000 vehicles a day.

The cargo ship, which was managed by Synergy Marine Group, was heading from Baltimore to Sri Lanka at the time of the crash.

It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd and was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk.

Synergy said in a statement: "We deeply regret this incident and the problems it has caused for the people of Baltimore and the region's economy that relies on this vitally important port."

The firm has said it will continue to co-operate with the investigation.

Of the 21 crew members on the ship, only one was slightly injured and needed stitches.

The huge 86,000-tonne vessel was carrying nearly 4,700 shipping containers.

news.sky.com

Baltimore bridge collapse: Seven floating cranes and more than 30 vessels involved in major salvage operation

The twisted metal and concrete remains of the structure hit by an 86,000-tonne cargo ship has blocked the busy Maryland port, threatening to have an impact on the US economy.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
After bridge collapse, Maryland governor urges Congress to pass funding for rebuild

With efforts underway to clean up thousands of tons of steel debris from the collapsed bridge in Baltimore's harbor, Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Sunday urged Republicans to work with Democrats to approve the federal funding needed for rebuilding the bridge and to get the port economy back on its feet.

The Biden administration released $60 million in initial emergency aid on Thursday to assist in cleaning up the bridge debris and reopening the port, which is the largest in the U.S. for "roll-on, roll-off" vehicle imports and exports of farm and construction equipment. The port has been closed since Tuesday, leaving in limbo the jobs of some 15,000 people who rely on its daily operations.

Federal officials have told Maryland lawmakers the final cost of rebuilding the bridge could soar to at least $2 billion, Roll Call reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.

Democratic President Joe Biden has pledged that the federal government will cover the cost, but that will depend on passage of legislation authorizing the funds by both the Republican-led House of Representatives and Democratic-led Senate. The divided Congress has been repeatedly riven by partisan battles over funding, with hardline Republicans often at odds even with members of their own party.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg expressed optimism on Sunday that Congress would approve the funds necessary for the cleanup and rebuild, noting that the divided legislative body had passed Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure package in 2021.

"If there's anything left in this country that is more bipartisan than infrastructure, it should be emergency response. This is both, and I hope that Congress will be willing if and when we turn to them," Buttigieg told CBS's "Face the Nation."

Biden was expected to visit the bridge collapse site this week.

An enormous crane began cutting up portions of the collapsed bridge to prepare them for removal on Saturday, which officials said was the first step of what will be a long and complicated cleanup. A spokesperson for the governor's office said on Sunday that a 200-ton (180-metric ton) piece of the bridge had been removed and officials were working to determine the best strategy for pulling the ship off the wreckage.

The wreckage in the water, as well as hazardous weather conditions, have made it impossible for divers to continue searching for the four remaining bodies of the deceased construction workers in recent days, Moore said.

Moore and other officials have declined to give an estimated timeline for the reopening of the port and the rebuilding of the bridge.


Reuters
 
A temporary alternative route for ships is to be opened in the US city of Baltimore following the collapse of a major bridge, officials have announced

Six people died after the Dali cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge last Tuesday, causing shipments to be suspended in and out of one of the country's busiest ports.

Meanwhile, efforts are under way to remove debris from the water.

A 200-tonne piece of the bridge was removed on Sunday.

Those involved in the clean-up have been cutting debris from the bridge into smaller pieces that can be removed and taken to a disposal site.

Cranes have been erected on the site to help lift debris from the bridge. That includes the Chesapeake 1000, the largest crane on the eastern US seaboard.

According to a statement from the Key Bridge Response, a taskforce set up in the wake of the incident, port officials are preparing to open the temporary channel to the north-east side of the main channel near the collapsed bridge, for "commercially essential vessels".

This will be part of a "phased approach to opening the main channel."

Capt David O'Connell, who has been helping to coordinate the response, said the alternative route "will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore".

"By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic," he added.

Currently, a 2,000-yard (1,828-metre) safety zone exists around the wreckage, preventing all vessels and people from entering the area without permission from port officials.

The Port of Baltimore is a key economic generator for the state of Maryland and a vital artery for imports and exports of US and global trade.

Experts say it could take a month before it reopens, and years to rebuild the bridge. It is thought an investigation into last week's incident may take years.

The US government last week approved $60 (£47m) in initial emergency funds requested by Maryland.

US President Joe Biden said he expects Congress to support funding to pay for the bridge's reconstruction. He is due to visit Baltimore this week.

The Dali container vessel - which is nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower - remains on the water. Its 22-person crew, all Indian nationals, are reportedly still aboard and unharmed.

Little is known about them, and it remains unclear when they will be rescued from the stranded ship.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore earlier said each stage of the recovery and salvage operation would be difficult, as there were "3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of steel... sitting on that ship".

The recovery has been further complicated by the amount of debris in the dark waters of the Patapsco River. Divers have been unable to see more than a foot or two in front of them.

Eight construction workers were repairing potholes on the Key Bridge when the Dali cargo ship veered into one of its columns, forcing most of the structure into the water.

Two were rescued and the bodies of two others have been recovered. The search for the remaining four - who are presumed dead - has been put on hold due to the challenges posed by the bridge debris.

Isabel Franco, the wife of Jose Mynor Lopez, who is still missing, told CBS News that the 35-year-old had a "good heart" and always "worried" about his family.

www.bbc.com

Baltimore bridge: Alternative route to open for shipping

The alternative channel is being set up for use by "essential" commercial vessels.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Allan Post, the deputy superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy in Galveston said "''Two local pilots were at the helm of the cargo ship Dali on Tuesday when it lost power and, minutes later, crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse and kill six construction workers.

"Each ship engaged in foreign trade coming to Maryland ports is required to take on a local ship handling specialist, known as the Pilot, to navigate the vessel safely into port," says the website of the Association of Maryland Pilots.

The expert pilots who navigate massive ships in and out of Baltimore's port must often maneuver with just 2 feet (0.6 meter) of clearance from the channel floor and memorize charts, currents and every other possible maritime variable. The highly specialized role — in which a pilot temporarily takes control of a ship from its regular captain ( in other words Indian crew captain was not in charge even if they were supposedly playing Holi in the background as per some posters ;) ).

The maritime experts say, there was likely nothing the pilots could have done to stop the 95,000-ton ship from ploughing into the bridge.The Maryland pilot who guided the ship received years of training to become a pilot, has a state license which requires knowledge of the local waters and has more than a decade of experience. An apprentice pilot was on board observing the pilot, but Diamond said he was new to the pilot training program, having started on Feb. 1, and was not involved in any of the decisions during the three minutes before the crash. Pilots are local knowledge experts, and they give commands to the bridge team for rudder and engine settings, and for what course to steer.

U.S. pilots are typically graduates of maritime academies and have spent many years at sea before they join a lengthy apprentice program to learn every aspect of a local area, including memorizing charts, he said.

The NTSB timeline indicated the pilots had less than five minutes from when they first lost power to when the ship struck the pillar.
They had very little time from the start of the incident until the time they were upon the bridge," Post said. “I believe the pilots did what they could with the abilities that they had onboard the ship at the time to avoid the collision.”
 
A temporary route for ships has opened near the collapsed Baltimore bridge, as part of what officials call an "enormous" recovery effort.

Six people died after the Dali cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge last week. Four bodies remain lost in the wreckage.

Shipments have also been suspended at the port, one of the busiest in the US.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said: "We need to do more work clearing the channel in order to move forward."

At a press conference on Monday, he emphasised the urgency of moving the debris - which he said was a prerequisite for rebuilding the bridge - and outlined the hazards of the operation.

"Every time someone goes in the water, they're taking a risk," he said, after describing water "so murky" that divers could barely see beyond a foot in front them.

"Every time we move a piece of the structure, the situation could become even more dangerous. We have to move fast but we cannot be careless."

Governor Moore said that after a 10-hour operation, Unified Command was able to cut and lift a 200-tonne span of the bridge "almost the size of the Statue of Liberty".

"It's a small piece of what we're talking about," he said. "The scale of this project, to be clear, it is enormous, and even the small lifts are huge."

What will happen to the 21 sailors stranded on the Dali?
Those involved in the clean-up have been cutting debris from the bridge into smaller pieces that can be removed and taken to a disposal site.

Cranes have been erected on the site to help lift debris from the bridge. That includes the Chesapeake 1000, the largest crane on the eastern US seaboard.

The temporarily channel that opened on Monday would help officials get more vessels into the water around the site of the collapse, Governor Moore said.

The taskforce set up in the wake of the disaster said the temporary route was for "commercially essential vessels", and had been opened as part of a "phased approach to opening the main channel".

Currently, a 2,000-yard (1,828-metre) safety zone exists around the wreckage, preventing all vessels and people from entering the area without permission from port officials.

Roughly 80-90% of the bridge wreckage is currently underwater, according to officials.

US President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the site on Friday, the White House has announced.

"As the president said within hours of the collapse, this administration will be with the people of Baltimore every step of the way," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday.

The Port of Baltimore is a key economic generator for the state of Maryland and a vital artery for imports and exports of US and global trade.

Experts say it could take a month before it reopens, and years to rebuild the bridge. It is thought an investigation into last week's incident may take years.

The US government last week approved $60 (£47m) in initial emergency funds requested by Maryland. Mr Biden has said he hopes the government will entirely fund the bridge's reconstruction.

But that proposal was met with almost immediate backlash from conservative Republicans who aim to curb government spending.

"The very thought of having the Federal Government pay for the Baltimore bridge is TOTALLY ABSURD!!" South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman told The Hill by text message.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an MSNBC interview on Wednesday that she expected insurance payments to cover some of the costs to rebuild the bridge.

The Dali container vessel - which is nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower - remains on the water. Its crew, all Indian nationals, are reportedly still aboard and unharmed.

Little is known about them, and it remains unclear when they will be allowed off the stranded ship.

The recovery has been further complicated by the amount of debris in the dark waters of the Patapsco River. Divers have been unable to see more than a foot or two in front of them.

Eight construction workers were repairing potholes on the Key Bridge when the Dali cargo ship veered into one of its columns, forcing most of the structure into the water.

Two were rescued and the bodies of two others have been recovered. The search for the remaining four - who are presumed dead - has been put on hold due to the challenges posed by the bridge debris.

Isabel Franco, the wife of Jose Mynor Lopez, who is still missing, told CBS News that the 35-year-old had a "good heart" and always "worried" about his family.

Four vehicles are also unaccounted for. Sonar scanning is ongoing for vehicles, human remains and debris that could potentially dislodge underwater.

Source: BBC
 
Dali ship owners deny all responsibility for deadly Baltimore bridge collapse and call for $43.6m payout cap

The owners of the Dali container ship involved in the deadly collapse of a Baltimore bridge last week, after it crashed into the structure, have denied responsibility and are seeking to limit their legal liability.

Grace Ocean Private Limited, the ship’s owner, and the manager Synergy Marine Pte said in a federal court filing on Monday that they denied any fault or neglect of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that claimed the lives of six construction workers.

The companies are asking for exoneration from liability, but if they are held responsible in lawsuits, the companies are asking for a cap on any payout.

The joint filing, submitted in a Maryland District Court, seeks to cap the companies’ liability at roughly $43.6m.
“The [bridge collapse] was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care on the part of [ship owner & operator], the Vessel, or any persons or entities for whose acts [ship owner & operator] may be responsible,” the filing stated.

“Alternatively, if any such faults caused or contributed to the [bridge collapse], or to any loss or damage arising out of the [bridge collapse], which is denied, such faults were occasioned and occurred without [ship owner & operator] privity or knowledge.”

The owner and operator of the Dali vessel submitted the filing under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, a piece of legislation that enables ship owners to limit their liability for certain claims to the value of the vessel and its cargo at the end of its journey.

The filing estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90m and was owed over $1.1m in income from the freight. They also estimate that repair costs will be at least $28m and at least $19.5m in salvaging the ship.

A sum of $60m in emergency aid has already been approved by President Joe Biden’s administration last week, to begin the process of removing debris from the water.

In a news release, the US Department of Transportation referred to the funds as a “downpayment toward initial costs”.



The Independent
 

Baltimore bridge: No contaminants found in river after collapse​


There is no sign of contamination of Baltimore's Patapsco River after a ship hit a major bridge and brought the structure crashing down, officials say.

The ship was carrying hundreds of tonnes of hazardous materials when it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Six people died in the disaster.

Residents had voiced concern about water safety after last week's incident, which is being investigated.

The vessel remains trapped under the bridge and the cleanup is ongoing.

Concerns stemmed from the fact that 56 containers with 764 tonnes of hazardous materials were on board the Dali at the time it struck the bridge, according to officials.

Some of the containers were damaged.

But no contaminants have been found in the water, Maryland officials say, after samples were taken both up- and down-river.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he had been contacted by locals concerned about the risks to both people and wildlife.

"Folks have been tagging on social media videos about not being able to eat crabs this summer and it's going to be all of these things in the water," the mayor said, as quoted by CBS News.

"You heard it from the governor, you heard it from our MDE (Maryland Department of the Environment) folks, there is no contamination in the water."

Eight construction workers were repairing potholes on the bridge when container ship Dali veered into one of its columns on 26 March, collapsing most of the structure.

Two of them were rescued and the bodies of two others have been recovered. The search for the remaining four - who are presumed dead - has been put on hold due to the challenges posed by debris.

Those involved in the complex clean-up mission have been cutting debris from the bridge into smaller pieces that can be removed and taken to a disposal site.

Shipments are suspended are the port, which is one of the busiest in the US, although a temporary route for "commercially essential" vessels has now opened near the collapsed bridge.

The Port of Baltimore is a key economic generator for the state of Maryland and a vital artery for imports and exports of US and global trade.

Experts say it could take a month before it reopens, and years to rebuild the bridge. It is thought an investigation into last week's incident may take years.

The Dali container vessel - which is nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower - remains on the water. Its 21 member crew, Indian nationals and one Sri Lankan, are still aboard.

It remains unclear when they will be allowed off the stranded ship.

www.bbc.com

Baltimore bridge: No contaminants found in river after collapse

Tests have shown the water is safe despite concerns over hazardous materials on the Dali cargo ship.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 

FBI opens criminal investigation into Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: Sources​


The FBI is investigating whether there was any criminal wrongdoing in the crash that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The probe will look at whether the crew left port with the knowledge something could be wrong with the ship, according to a source.

abcnews.go.com

FBI opens criminal investigation into Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: Sources

The FBI is investigating whether there was any criminal wrongdoing in the crash that brought down the Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, according to two sources.
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com
 

Baltimore bridge collapse survivor escaped through car's manual window, lawyer says​


One of the survivors of the Baltimore bridge disaster managed to escape because he was able to roll down his car's manual window, a lawyer has said.

Julio Cervantes was on the 1.6-mile-long structure when it crashed into the Patapsco River after being struck by the Dali, a huge container ship that lost control and struck one of the bridge's supports last month.

Mr Cervantes, along with another man, was rescued on the same day but six other road workers were killed.

Lawyer Chris Stewart said the workers were sitting in their vehicles during a break from repairing potholes on the bridge and had "zero warning" the Dali was heading towards them.

As his car plummeted into the water, Mr Cervantes survived after escaping through his vehicle's manual window, Mr Stewart told a news conference, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Mr Cervantes's wife previously told Sky News's US partner network NBC News it "was a miracle he survived" given his inability to swim.

Despite being injured, Mr Cervantes hung on to debris in the water until he was rescued.

Mr Stewart said Mr Cervantes lost family members in the bridge collapse and eventually will share the "epic tale" of his survival.

Mr Cervantes was taken to hospital after he was rescued with a chest wound and released on the same day.

Of the six dead, four bodies have been recovered.

It emerged after the disaster that personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel.

This meant local authorities could halt traffic on to the bridge before it was hit, with US President Joe Biden saying this "undoubtedly saved lives".

The FBI has opened a criminal probe into the bridge collapse which will be at least partly focused on the Dali and if its crew left the port knowing it had serious problems with its systems.

Safety investigators have recovered the ship's black box, which provides data including its position, speed, heading, radar, and bridge audio and radio communications.

The remains of the bridge still lie across the cargo ship, blocking the shipping lane.

news.sky.com

Baltimore bridge collapse survivor escaped through car's manual window, lawyer says

The Francis Scott Key Bridge plunged into the Patapsco River in Baltimore after a cargo ship collided with it last month, leaving six dead.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
Crews turn sights to removing debris from ship’s deck in Baltimore bridge collapse cleanup

Salvage crews at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are turning their focus to the thousands of tons of debris sitting atop the Dali, a massive cargo ship that veered off course and caused the deadly catastrophe last month.

An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel and concrete landed on the ship’s deck after it crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns and toppled the span, officials said at a news conference Friday. Crews will have to remove all that before refloating the stationary ship and guiding it back into the Port of Baltimore.

Officials displayed overhead photos of the ship with an entire section of fallen roadway crushing its bow.

So far, cranes have lifted about 120 containers from the Dali, with another 20 to go before workers can build a staging area and begin removing pieces of the mangled steel and crumbling concrete. The ship was laden with about 4,000 containers and headed for Sri Lanka when it lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore.


apnews.com

Crews turn sights to removing debris from ship's deck in Baltimore bridge collapse cleanup

Salvage crews at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are turning their focus to the thousands of tons of debris sitting atop the massive cargo ship that veered off course last month.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
Baltimore files lawsuit against ship owner, operator after bridge collapse

The mayor and city council of Baltimore have filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the ship that collided with a pylon on the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, causing its collapse and killing six people working on it at the time.

The lawsuit, filed in Maryland federal court on Monday, seeks unspecified damages from the registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship, Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, and its manager Synergy Marine Group. It accuses the companies of negligence in operating the ship, the Dali, saying the loss of the bridge has caused the city’s economic engine to "grind to a halt.”

The lawsuit claims the operators of the ship left port on March 26 despite an inconsistent power supply on the ship, which the city says was a criminally negligent decision. It cites economic damages caused by the loss of the bridge, including the cleanup on the river and the closure of the port of Baltimore.

Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean and Synergy, said the U.S. Coast Guard and federal regulators are still conducting their investigations into the cause and said it would be inappropriate to comment.

Grace Ocean and Synergy filed a petition on April 1 in Maryland federal court to limit their liability from the crash. If the court grants it, the companies’ liability could be limited to the present value of the ship, which they estimated to be $42.5 million, according to the petition.


Reuters
 
Baltimore sues owner and manager of 'unseaworthy' Dali over bridge collapse

Baltimore has sued the operators of the container ship that hit and destroyed one of the US city's main bridges last month, killing six people.

The city says the Dali was "clearly unseaworthy" and accuses its owners and manager of negligence.

The ship's Singapore-based owner and manager have already asked a court to limit their liability.

The region is reeling from the closure of its busiest maritime transit port after the span collapsed on 26 March.

"None of this should have happened," attorneys representing the Baltimore mayor and city council argued in a federal lawsuit.

The city is asking the US District Court of Maryland for a jury trial to hold the defendants fully liable.

Naming the Dali's owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, and its manager, Synergy Marine Private Limited, the suit alleges the Francis Scott Key Bridge's collapse was a direct result of their "gross negligence, and recklessness, and as a result of the unseaworthiness of the Vessel".


www.bbc.com

Baltimore sues owner and manager of 'unseaworthy' Dali over bridge collapse

The city lawsuit says the vessel had "an inconsistent power supply" before it slammed into the span last month.
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Had a hunch right from the start that indian incompetency was involved.


And now you have it the city Council have filed a lawsuit .
 

Lloyd's insurers expect moderate Baltimore bridge claims​


Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) insurers Hiscox (HSX.L), and Lancashire (LRE.L), do not expect large insurance claims from the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March that caused widespread disruption, they said on Thursday.

Some estimates for the total insured losses from the bridge collapse run into billions of dollars, given the loss of lives, bridge repair costs and traffic re-routing.

Hiscox does not have direct exposure to the business interruption policy of the port, which is the busiest in the United States for auto shipments, or the property policy covering the bridge, the insurer said in its first-quarter trading statement.

Hiscox said it was one of the reinsurers on the International Group of P&I Clubs' ship reinsurance policy, but said it expected its net loss to be "moderate", without giving further explanation.

Lancashire said in its first-quarter trading statement that "our potential exposure will be within our expectations for an event of this type".

French insurer AXA (AXAF.PA) has also said it does not expect "material" losses from the bridge collapse. AXA's commercial insurance unit AXA XL is lead underwriter on the International Group $3.1 billion reinsurance policy.

Grace Ocean Private Limited, the owner of the Dali container ship that hit the bridge, and its manager Synergy Marine Pte petitioned to limit their liability to a maximum of $43.6 million in an April 1 filing.

The mayor and city council of Baltimore last week filed a lawsuit against the two firms, accusing them of negligence in operating the ship, and saying the loss of the bridge has caused the city’s economic engine to "grind to a halt".

Chubb (CB.BN) which had insured the bridge is getting ready to pay $350 million to the state of Maryland, a spokesperson for WTW (WTW.O) , the broker for the bridge's insurance policy, said on Thursday. Chubb declined to comment.

 
Body of last missing construction worker recovered from Baltimore bridge collapse site

The body of the last missing construction worker killed in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered, officials announced Tuesday as demolition crews prepared to use explosives in the ongoing cleanup effort.

Officials said the crew of the Dali will remain on board the grounded container ship while crews conduct a controlled demolition to break down the largest remaining span of the fallen bridge.

The steel span landed on the ship’s bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns on March 26. Since then, the ship has been stuck amid the wreckage, and Baltimore’s busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic.

Six construction workers were killed in the collapse. The body of Jose Mynor Lopez, 37, was recovered Tuesday, officials said in a statement that evening. All the victims were Latino immigrants who were working an overnight shift filling potholes on the bridge. Police officers were able to stop traffic moments before the collapse, but they didn’t have enough time to alert the workers.


apnews.com

Body of last missing construction worker recovered from Baltimore bridge collapse site

Officials say the body of the last missing construction worker killed in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered.
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Baltimore bridge to be blown apart to free stricken ship

A series of controlled explosions are to be used on Monday to separate the stricken Dali cargo ship from the remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

Crews plan to use explosives to break down bridge sections still covering the Dali, which crashed in March.

The planned demolition was postponed on Sunday due to lightning storms.

The container ship crash killed six people and sent around 4,000 tonnes of debris into the Patapsco river.

The 948 ft (289 m) ship has remained at the scene since the accident and is covered in scrap from the bridge.

Authorities hope to detonate one of the spans covering the ship, which is estimated to be 500 feet (152 meters) long and weigh 600 tonnes, BBC's news partner CBS reported.

The port has been closed since the accident.



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Baltimore bridge to be blown apart to free stricken ship

Crews to set off a series of controlled explosions to remove spans trapping Dali in Patapsco river.
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Ship that hit Maryland bridge had lost power several times, investigators say

The cargo ship Dali lost electrical power several times before it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six people and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the U.S, Northeast, federal investigators said on Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a preliminary report that about 10 hours before leaving Baltimore the Dali experienced a blackout during in-port maintenance and shortly before the crash.

The board said the cargo ship had other outages including about four minutes before the crash when electrical breakers unexpectedly tripped causing a loss of power to all shipboard lighting and most equipment when it was 0.6 mile (1 km) from the bridge.

The Dali crew restored power, but another blackout occurred 0.2 mile (about 320 meters) from the bridge, which stopped all three steering pumps. The crew was unable to move the rudder to steer.



Reuters
 

Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse​


As a controlled explosion rocked the Dali on Monday, nearly two dozen sailors remained on board, below deck in the massive ship's hull.

The simultaneous blasts sent pieces of Baltimore's once iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge into the dark waters of Maryland's Patapsco River, seven weeks after its collapse left six people on the bridge dead and the Dali marooned.

Authorities - and the crew - hope that the demolition will mark the beginning of the end of a long process that has left the 21 men on board trapped and cut off from the world, thousands of miles from their homes.

But for now, it remains unclear when they will be able to return home.

The Dali - a 948ft (289m) container ship - was at the start of a 27-day journey from Baltimore to Sri Lanka when it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending thousands of tonnes of steel and cement into the Patapsco. It left the ship stranded under a massive expanse of shredded metal.

A preliminary NTSB report found that two electrical blackouts disabled equipment ahead of the incident, and noted that the ship lost power twice in the 10 hours leading up to the crash.

The crew, made up of 20 Indians and a Sri Lankan national, has been unable to disembark because of visa restrictions, a lack of required shore passes and parallel ongoing investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FBI.

On Monday, the crew remained on board even as authorities used small explosive charges to deliberately "cut" an expanse of the bridge lying on the ship's bow.

Ahead of the controlled demolition, US Coast Guard Admiral Shannon Gilreath said that the crew would remain below deck with a fire crew at the ready.

"They're part of the ship. They are necessary to keep the ship staffed and operational," Adm Gilreath said. "They're the best responders on board the ship themselves."

While the ship is likely to be re-floated this week, it remains unclear when it will be able to make the 2 nautical mile (3.7km) journey to port.

Among those who have been in touch with the crew is Joshua Messick, executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center, a non-profit organisation that works to protect the rights of mariners.

According to Mr Messick, the crew has been left largely without communication with the outside world for "a couple of weeks" after their mobile phones were confiscated by the FBI as part of the investigation.

"They can't do any online banking. They can't pay their bills at home. They don't have any of their data or anyone's contact information, so they're really isolated right now," Mr Messick said. "They just can't reach out to the folks they need to, or even look at pictures of their children before they go to sleep. It's really a sad situation."

The plight of the sailors also attracted the attention of the two unions representing them, the Singapore Maritime Officers' Union and the Singapore Organisation of Seamen.

In a joint statement on 11 May, the unions said that "morale has understandably dipped", driven by "unfounded fear of personal criminal liability" and emotional distress.

The statement also called for the "swift return" of the crews' phones, noting that losing communication with family members is "causing significant hardship for crew members with young children at home."

Dave Heindel, the president of the Seafarers International Union, said that "however long the investigation takes, the crew's rights and welfare should not be infringed upon".

"We call on the authorities to be mindful that seafarers utilise mobile devices to conduct personal business for bill payments, and, more important, transfer money to their home country to sustain families," he said. "Crew members are becoming demoralised without the basic tools we all take for granted."

Andrew Middleton, who runs Apostleship of Sea - a programme that ministers to ships coming through Baltimore - told the BBC he visited the sailors two weeks ago and found them in "good spirits" despite constant worries.

"Once we broke the ice and got everyone to say their name and what part of India they were from, and talk about if they were married or had children, we got the ball rolling," he said. "They were willing to kind of poke fun at one another a little bit.... we did our best to get them laughing and joking, hopefully to take their mind off things for even a few minutes."

For the time being, the crew has been given SIM cards and temporary mobile phones without data included, according to Mr Messick.

They also received care packages from various community groups and private individuals, which in recent weeks have included batches of Indian snacks and handmade quilts.

The BBC has reached out to the ''unified command'' overseeing the government's response to Dali and the bridge collapse for clarity on when the sailors might be able to leave the ship and, eventually, be repatriated.

Synergy Marine, the Dali's Singapore-based management company, did not respond to several queries from the BBC.

Mr Messick said he expects to be able to board the ship to provide "emotional support" as soon as it is moved out of the shipping channel.

After that, he believes that small groups of sailors - perhaps five at a time - will be eligible for shore passes, albeit with heavy restrictions on their movements.

They will, for example, likely be required to have an escort for the duration of their time on shore.

"I'm trying to find out what the crew wants to do. I don't want to take them to a baseball game if they are going to be bored," he said. "So I've reached out to a local cricket club to see if they can organise a match."

Some crew members, such as the ship's captain, expressed an interest in being "somewhere contemplative, in nature", Mr Messick said.

"We're just trying to help them breathe a bit," he said. "They've been stuck on board this whole time. They need to enjoy a little more of the freedom that we enjoy every day."

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Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse

Morale is low for the Dali's crew members, who are stranded on board by the ongoing investigation into the tragedy.
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Workers in Baltimore were preparing to clear a crashed cargo ship nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower from the channel it is blocking, officials said on Sunday, almost two months after the vessel downed the Francis Scott Key bridge, paralyzing a major eastern U.S. port.

The unified command organizations overseeing the response said work would begin early on Monday to move the cargo ship Dali to a local marine terminal.


Reuters
 

Container ship set to be removed 8 weeks after Francis Scott Key Bridge crash​


The enormous container ship that collided with and collapsed Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March was set to be moved from the site and taken to shore on Monday in a complex procedure.

The M/V Dali crashed with the bridge in the early hours on March 26, causing a catastrophic failure of the structure which led to the deaths of six constructions workers and disrupted shipping across the East Coast, and has remained in the Patapsco River for the last eight weeks.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Sunday that the ship would be removed “within days.”

It was unclear at 5.30 a.m. whether the refloat operation had begun. A representative for Unified Command, which includes Maryland state departments, the U.S. Coast Guard and Army, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the operation.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Sunday that the ship would be removed "within days."

The Unified Command, a collection of local and federal agencies that is managing the operation, said in a statement that the ship would be prepared at 2 a.m. ET to be refloated at high tide at 5:24 a.m.

"The refloat and transit sequence is deliberately designed to ensure all response personnel around the M/V Dali maintain control of the vessel, from refloat, transit to, and berthing at a local marine terminal," the command said.

Engineers had planned to examine the ship, release some of the anchors and mooring lines still attached to it, and de-ballast, or remove, some or all of the 1.25 million gallons of water that was pumped onto the ship to compensate for the weight removed by precision cutting on May 13.

When it is freed and on the open water, up to five tugboats are to escort the Dali the 2-and-a-half miles to a local port — all at a speed of around 1 mph.

The route was checked and confirmed to be clear by a survey vessel earlier this week, the Unified Command said.

A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report last week found that the almost 1,000-foot long Dali, which was sailing for Sri Lanka under a Singaporean flag, lost power twice in three minutes before the crash.

The Dali's 22 crew members were unharmed in the crash but have had to remain on board ever since the crash — including during a controlled explosion.

U.S. regulations state that any ship must have a minimum staff manning it all times.

Government officials, investigators and union staff have been on board to see the crew. The Singapore Maritime Officers' Union said in a statement earlier this month that its officials had visited the mariners and found they expressed an "unfounded fear of personal criminal liability" and emotional distress.

The FBI has launched a criminal investigation into the crash.

Baltimore is a top 20 U.S. port, and disruption caused by the crash has affected supply chains across the East Coast.

www.nbcnews.com

Container ship removed 8 weeks after Francis Scott Key Bridge crash in Baltimore

The Dali struck the bridge on March 26, killing six construction workers, and it has remained in the Patapsco River since then.
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FearlessRoar said:

Container ship set to be removed 8 weeks after Francis Scott Key Bridge crash​


The enormous container ship that collided with and collapsed Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March was set to be moved from the site and taken to shore on Monday in a complex procedure.

The M/V Dali crashed with the bridge in the early hours on March 26, causing a catastrophic failure of the structure which led to the deaths of six constructions workers and disrupted shipping across the East Coast, and has remained in the Patapsco River for the last eight weeks.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Sunday that the ship would be removed “within days.”

It was unclear at 5.30 a.m. whether the refloat operation had begun. A representative for Unified Command, which includes Maryland state departments, the U.S. Coast Guard and Army, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the operation.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Sunday that the ship would be removed "within days."

The Unified Command, a collection of local and federal agencies that is managing the operation, said in a statement that the ship would be prepared at 2 a.m. ET to be refloated at high tide at 5:24 a.m.

"The refloat and transit sequence is deliberately designed to ensure all response personnel around the M/V Dali maintain control of the vessel, from refloat, transit to, and berthing at a local marine terminal," the command said.

Engineers had planned to examine the ship, release some of the anchors and mooring lines still attached to it, and de-ballast, or remove, some or all of the 1.25 million gallons of water that was pumped onto the ship to compensate for the weight removed by precision cutting on May 13.

When it is freed and on the open water, up to five tugboats are to escort the Dali the 2-and-a-half miles to a local port — all at a speed of around 1 mph.

The route was checked and confirmed to be clear by a survey vessel earlier this week, the Unified Command said.

A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report last week found that the almost 1,000-foot long Dali, which was sailing for Sri Lanka under a Singaporean flag, lost power twice in three minutes before the crash.

The Dali's 22 crew members were unharmed in the crash but have had to remain on board ever since the crash — including during a controlled explosion.

U.S. regulations state that any ship must have a minimum staff manning it all times.

Government officials, investigators and union staff have been on board to see the crew. The Singapore Maritime Officers' Union said in a statement earlier this month that its officials had visited the mariners and found they expressed an "unfounded fear of personal criminal liability" and emotional distress.

The FBI has launched a criminal investigation into the crash.

Baltimore is a top 20 U.S. port, and disruption caused by the crash has affected supply chains across the East Coast.

www.nbcnews.com

Container ship removed 8 weeks after Francis Scott Key Bridge crash in Baltimore

The Dali struck the bridge on March 26, killing six construction workers, and it has remained in the Patapsco River since then.
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Click to expand...

The ship that slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was re-floated on Monday after being stuck for nearly eight weeks.

The Dali was moved by tugboats "under favourable environmental conditions", according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

BBC
 
Baltimore bridge collapse: NTSB investigation focuses on Dali electrical problems; 10 crew released

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published an update in its ongoing investigation of the shipping accident that caused the collapse of a major interstate highway bridge on the US East Coast.

In its second preliminary report, the NTSB said its investigators have removed a terminal block and two sections of associated ’control wiring’ from the 9,962-TEU box ship Dali’s electrical system after witnessing "an interruption in the control circuit for HR1’s undervoltage release" while on board the vessel.

"We continue to examine the removed components at the NTSB Materials Laboratory. We will continue to evaluate the design and operation of the vessel’s electrical power distribution system, and investigate all aspects of the accident to determine the probable cause and identify potential safety recommendations," the NTSB report said.

A terminal block is an insulated block that connects two or more wires together, and an undervoltage release is a device that opens a breaker when voltage in an electrical system or component falls below what the NTSB called ’predetermined thresholds’.

The first preliminary report by the NTSB into the destruction of Baltimore’s Key Bridge confirmed Dali had suffered two blackouts on board within 10 hours of its departure from the port of Baltimore.

The initial NTSB report said the first blackout on board Dali during the ship’s port stay in Baltimore occured during maintenance on a scrubber system, and the second blackout was linked to low fuel pressure in a backup generator.

Subsequent blackouts while the Synergy Group-managed, Maersk-chartered container ship transited out of the port of Baltimore caused the vessel to strike Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key highway bridge, resulting in the bridge’s collapse.

The NTSB has yet to directly link the electrical problems on board the vessel during its port stay to the outages that caused the ship to lose power in transit.

The initial NTSB report followed its description of the causes of in-port power outages by saying that Dali’s first blackout after it left the port of Baltimore on 26 March, and as it approached the Key Bridge, was caused when a pair of circuit breakers on the step-down transformers unexpectedly opened, or ’tripped’.

Notably, the low-voltage system on board powers the lighting as well as the vessel’s steering gear pumps and the main engine’s water pump cooling system.

"NTSB investigators have completed in-person interviews of the vessel’s crew. Onboard examination of engineering systems and testing of electrical systems have been completed. Documentation of the damage to the vessel structure is ongoing," the NTSB said.

At least some of the 20-member crew of the vessel who have been stuck on board since the incident on 26 March, unable to leave, have this week been repatriated or are preparing to leave.

A spokesman for ship manager Synergy Marine, Darrell Wilson, confirmed that "eight of the crew are home and two other crew members will be leaving in the next couple of days" after a US judge approved a deal, reportedly agreed between the US Department of Justice, the US Coast Guard and an attorney for Dali’s owners, Grace Ocean, and manager, Synergy Marine.


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Baltimore bridge collapse: NTSB investigation focuses on Dali electrical problems; 10 crew released

Investigators have removed electrical components from the box ship that destroyed the Key Bridge in Baltimore, and lawyers have struck a deal to see some of the ship’s crew released
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Baltimore bridge survivor describes horror of collapse​


The sole survivor of the Baltimore bridge disaster has told how he watched friends and relatives fall from the structure and die as he fought for his own life.

"I relive it all the time, the minutes before the fall and when I'm falling," Julio Cervantes Suarez told NBC News in his first interview since the 100,000-ton cargo ship, the Dali, crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on 26 March.

Mr Cervantes Suarez, 37, was one of seven maintenance workers fixing potholes at the time of impact. The force threw the van he was in off the structure and into the the Patapsco river around 180ft (50m) below.

He said he prepared for death.

"I thanked God for the family he gave me. I asked him to take care of my wife and kids. And I asked for forgiveness," he said in an interview in Spanish.

He struggled in vain to open the doors as water rose to his neck, then managed to force a window open - squeezing out just before the vehicle sank.

Unable to swim, he clung to a piece of wreckage and waited for rescue.

"That's when I realised what happened. I looked at the bridge and it was no longer there," he said.

Mr Cervantes Suarez said he saw co-workers - some of whom were family - as "the water covered them".

"I started to call out to each by name," he said. "But no one answered me."

The first to fall was his nephew, Carlos Daniel Hernández, who was in a car when the Dali smashed into the bridge.

Mr Cervantes Suarez said he had told the 24-year-old, whom he considered a son, to take a break in the vehicle.

"If I had told him to come with me, maybe it would have been different," he said. "Maybe he would be here with us."

The other victims were:

José Mynor López, 37
Maynor Suazo Sandoval, 38
Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26
José Lopez, 35
Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, 35.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after the Dali lost power, veered off course and smashed into the structure.
Rescuers searched the waters for days to recover the bodies of all the victims.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

A lawyer for Mr Cervantes Saurez and other victims told NBC that he was considering legal action against the Dali's Singapore-based owner, Grace Ocean.

Mr Cervantes Saurez said he wanted those responsible to "pay" for the damage, but said he knew that it would not bring back his loved ones and co-workers.

"I know that money is not going to buy a hug from a father or a son," he said.

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Baltimore bridge survivor describes horror of collapse

Julio Cervantes Suarez says he watched friends and relatives die after plunging off bridge hit by cargo ship.
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