Baltimore bridge crash causes supply chain concerns

According to the data being tracked, the Dali container is moving in the direction of the bridge.

Worries have been expressed about a potential impact on worldwide supply chains following a collision between a bridge and a container ship in the American area of Baltimore.

In the wee hours of Tuesday, the Dali vessel collided with one of the support pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in the column's destruction.

The structure stretched over the opening of the Port of Baltimore which is recognized as the most active harbor for exporting vehicles in the United States and the ninth most active for importing foreign goods.

It is believed that six individuals are missing and have likely passed away.

Authorities announced that the flow of ships passing through the port, which totaled over 47 million tons of goods from foreign countries last year, will be put on hold until an undetermined future time.

According to Marco Forgione, who is the Director General at the Institute of Export and International Trade, the suspension could cause a major impact on supply chains across the world. The BBC reported his statement about this ripple effect.

Radio 4's The World Tonight was informed that over 750,000 cars and automobiles traveled through Baltimore within the past year.

Some popular car brands hailing from the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union are General Motors, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Fiat, and Audi.

Baltimore is the most active American harbor for transporting cars and also holds the record for being the biggest port in the United States that manages the transportation of farming and construction equipment.

Furthermore, it is the runner-up in terms of US coal exports port size.

During a briefing, Pete Buttigieg - who serves as the United States Secretary of Transportation - expressed that supply chains will without a doubt be significantly and lengthily impacted.

He mentioned that it is premature to provide forecasts regarding how much effort will be necessary to clear the waterway and resume operations at the harbor.

Nonetheless, Baltimore is among the tinier ports that cater to containers in the northeast region of the United States. According to an authority in container shipping named Lars Jensen, it managed to carry around 265,000 containers during the last quarter of 2020.

On the other hand, during the same time frame, nearly 2 million containers were handled by the Port of New York and New Jersey, while Norfolk Port in Virginia managed 850,000 containers.

According to Mr. Jensen, it is possible to transfer the shipment of containers to larger ports from Baltimore.

At first, people were worried about the impact of the bridge collapse on the export of liquified natural gas (LNG). However, the Cove Point LNG terminal - located on Chesapeake Bay - has reported that its operations have not been affected. This terminal usually ships 500,000 tonnes of LNG every month to various markets, including the United Kingdom and the European Union.

When talking to journalists, Biden, the President of the United States, stated that the US government would do everything within its power to reopen the port and reconstruct the bridge as soon as is realistically feasible. Nonetheless, he also emphasized that the undertaking would require a significant amount of time before completion.

In addition to the shipping on the water, the Port of Baltimore is accountable for approximately 15,000 job positions and promotes around 140,000 additional employments.

After the mishap, the Danish company Maersk, which had entrusted the Dali with its shipment, declared that it won't be making any stops at Baltimore for an indefinite period of time.

Several rail and coal organizations have additionally cautioned their clients about potential disturbances in coal shipments.

The operation carried out by the United States Coast Guard for search and rescue has been halted temporarily and they have initiated a mission to retrieve the people who are missing.

Now, attention is shifting towards the inquiry into the cause of the incident. Experts in transportation safety are working on a plan to access the damaged vessel and retrieve its data recording device.

Authorities are still determining the precise reason for the accident, but they have disclosed that the vessel faced a "power problem" and sent out a call for help prior to colliding with the bridge.

The Dali was labelled under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. According to this authority, the ship had certificates that proved its structure and equipment were in proper condition during the time of the accident.

Additionally, the report mentioned that the vessel successfully underwent two distinct evaluations from foreign port authorities during June and September of 2023.

Synergy Marine Group, the company in charge of the vessel called Dali, stated that there were a total of 22 individuals onboard, consisting of an Indian crew and two American harbor pilots. No injuries have been reported thus far.

The statement revealed that they were completely working together with government organizations.