Maryland Gov. Wes Moore promised that “the best minds in the world” were working on plans to clear the debris, remove the freighter that crashed into the bridge from the canal, recover the bodies of the four remaining workers presumed dead and investigate what went wrong.
“The government is working hand in hand with the industry to investigate the area, including the wreckage, and remove the ship,” added Moore, a Democrat whose administration also asked Thursday for $60 million in emergency federal funds to begin Tasks.
The initial financing was necessary, he said, to “lay the foundation for a rapid recovery.” President Joe Biden has promised that the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the bridge.
“This work will not take hours. This work will not take days. This work will not take weeks,” Moore stated. “We have a very long road ahead.”
U.S. Coast Guard officials said Wednesday night that the barges were headed to where the bridge crossed the Patapsco River, but it was unclear when they would arrive.
Rescue operation
The devastation at the site of the collapse, which occurred when an out-of-control cargo ship hit it early Tuesday, is extensive. Divers reached the bodies of two men inside a pickup truck near the middle span of the bridge on Wednesday, but officials said they will have to begin removing the twisted remains before anyone can reach the bodies of four other missing workers. Divers will resume the search once the debris is removed.
“We are now moving from a recovery mode to a salvage operation. Due to the superstructure surrounding what we believe to be the vehicles and the amount of concrete and debris, divers can no longer navigate or operate safely around that,” said Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of the Maryland State Police, at a news conference Wednesday.
“We have exhausted all search efforts in the areas around this wreckage and based on sonar scans, we strongly believe the vehicles are encased in the superstructure and concrete that we tragically saw collapse,” Butler said.
Butler asked for patience and warned that “there is no definitive schedule.”
Start of investigation
Officials from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) boarded the ship, the Dali, to retrieve information from its electronic devices and documents and interview the captain and other crew members. Investigators shared a preliminary timeline of events before the crash, which federal and state authorities say appeared to be an accident.
Of the 21 members of the ship’s crew, 20 are from India, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country, told reporters on Thursday. One was slightly injured and required stitches, but “they are all in good shape and health,” Jaiswal said.
The victims, who were part of a crew of construction workers repairing potholes in the bridge, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Butler said. At least eight people initially fell into the water when the boat hit the bridge column, and two of them were rescued Tuesday, according to authorities.
The crash caused the bridge to fall into the water within seconds. Authorities had just enough time to stop vehicle traffic, but they did not have the opportunity to alert the construction team.
The Dali, managed by Synergy Marine Group, was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. She is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Danish shipping giant Maersk indicated that she had chartered her.
In a statement issued Thursday morning, Synergy expressed its regret and solidarity with the families of the victims.
“We deeply regret this incident and the problems it has caused the people of Baltimore and the region’s economy, which depends on this vitally important port,” Synergy said, noting that they will continue to cooperate with authorities in the investigation.
Thousands of containers
The huge ship was carrying nearly 4,700 metal containers, 56 of them with hazardous materials inside. Thirteen of them were destroyed, according to authorities. However, industrial hygienists who evaluated the contents identified them as perfumes and soaps, according to the Key Bridge Joint Information Center.
“There was no immediate threat to the environment,” the center said.
Barriers have been placed in the area to control the spread of any liquid that leaks into the water, and state environmental officials also took samples of the water Thursday.
Supply chain affected
The sudden loss of a highway that carries 30,000 vehicles a day and the port’s disruption will affect not only thousands of port workers and travelers but also American consumers, who will likely feel the impact of shipping delays.
The governors of New York and New Jersey have offered to take over cargo shipments that have been disrupted. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement Thursday that their states’ ports can handle additional shipments in an attempt to minimize disruptions to the supply chain.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Biden administration was focused on reopening the port and rebuilding the bridge, but did not set a timeline for doing so.
Between 1960 and 2015, 35 major bridge collapses were recorded worldwide due to ship or barge collisions, according to the Global Water Transport Infrastructure Partnership.
Source: With information from AP
