Baltimore bridge crash

Washington Post - The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday cut off access to much of the city’s port — causing a suspension of vessel traffic that will disrupt a key trade lane and threaten to further tangle already-stressed supply chains.The Port of Baltimore was the 17th largest in the nation by total tons in 2021 and an important artery for the movement of autos, construction machinery and coal. It handled 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth nearly $81 billion in 2023, according to Maryland data, and creates more than 15,000 jobs.On Tuesday, the Port of Baltimore said that vessel traffic would be suspended in and out of the port until further notice, but trucks would still be processed in its terminals.“Baltimore’s not one of the biggest ports in the United States, but it’s a good moderate-sized port,” said Campbell University maritime historian Sal Mercogliano. It has five public and 12 private terminals to handle port traffic.

Newsweek -  The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after it was hit by a cargo vessel in the early hours of Tuesday has paused shipping at the city's main port, potentially leading to losses of $9 million a day, a supply chain expert told Newsweek.

NPR - NPR's Andrew Limbong is in Baltimore, where he tells Up First that the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. Singaporean officials are on their way to the U.S. to assist. Limbong reports that it may be some time before we get answers. The six missing people were Hispanic construction workers filling potholes at the time of the crash. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the crew's mayday signal prevented more deaths. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore says a "momentary loss of propulsion" could have caused the crash. Experts say an electrical failure may have been a contributing factor. The collapse has disrupted a major East Coast transit route and shut down a large section of the Baltimore port. The auto industry will feel one of the worst adverse economic consequences of the incident. .... See photos from Baltimore as the recovery effort continues.

PBS -  From 1960 to 2015, there have been 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision, with a total of 342 people killed, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure. Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States.