“There is no doubt that this will have a significant and long-term impact on supply chains,” Buttigieg told a press conference. “It is too early to provide estimates on what it will take to clear the canal and reopen the port.”
He added that the road to recovery and rebuilding following the bridge collapse “will not be quick” and will certainly be costly.
Declare a state of emergency
Earlier Tuesday, the governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency on Tuesday following the collapse of a bridge in Baltimore, sweeping cars and about 20 people into the water.
Governor Wes Moore said on the X platform, “I have declared a state of emergency in Maryland, and we are working with a multi-agency team to quickly dispatch federal resources from the Biden administration.”
Ambulance crews are searching for at least seven people in the water at the site of the accident, using drones, helicopters and divers.
Surveillance camera recordings showed a container carrier colliding with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse into the river along with a large part of its metal structure.
Lights appear to be coming from vehicles on the bridge before it breaks off and parts of it fall into the water around 1:30 local time (5:30 GMT).
This four-lane bridge spanned 2.6 kilometers southwest of Baltimore, the major industrial and coastal city in Maryland, about 60 kilometers southeast of Washington.
It is a major north-south transportation and economic hub on the East Coast of the United States. It bears the name of Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words of the American national anthem.
Police cordoned off the site and suspended maritime navigation in Baltimore Harbor “until further notice,” according to authorities.
The large Danish shipping group, Maersk, announced that it had chartered the ship operated by the Synergy Group, offering condolences to those affected in a statement.
What happened in points:
- A massive cargo ship collided with the bridge while sailing from Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday morning, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the US East Coast.
- Rescue personnel have recovered two survivors, one of whom is still in hospital, and are continuing their search for more victims in the Patapsco River after the 2.57-kilometre Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the water at about 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT).
- The ship reported a power problem before the collision, which enabled officials to stop traffic on the bridge before the collapse.
- “They (officials) are heroes after they were able to prevent cars from getting on the bridge. They saved lives last night,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said in a press conference. The bridge was compatible with its programming instructions and no known problems appeared in its structure.
- Officials said there is no evidence that the incident occurred as a result of a crime.
- Eight people were on the bridge at the time of the collision and six were still missing, state transportation official Paul Wiedefeld said, hours after the accident closed one of the busiest ports in the United States.
- The Ports of Singapore Authority said that Synergy Marine, which operates the 288.95-metre-long Dali, reported that the ship had experienced a temporary loss of propulsion and dropped its mooring equipment into the water as an emergency procedure before colliding with the bridge.
- The director of Synergy said that the Singapore-flagged ship Dali, owned by Grace Ocean, collided with one of the bridge pillars. None of the 22 crew members were missing.
- Ship movement in the Port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice. It is the busiest American port for car shipments, as it handled, according to port data, more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022.
- US President Joe Biden said that the primary focus remains on the search and rescue operation. He pledged to visit Baltimore as soon as possible, and said he wanted the federal government to pay for rebuilding the bridge.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge is the main road linking New York and Washington for those who want to avoid downtown Baltimore. It is one of three ways to cross the Port of Baltimore, and 31,000 cars pass over it daily, or 11.3 million vehicles annually.
