Toronto, March 26, 2024
A Synergy Maritime managed, post-panamax containership has struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge while departing the port during the early hours on Tuesday, March 26th. The 9,900 TEU vessel Dali, which is on time charter to Maersk and operates between the U.S. East Coast and the Middle East/Asia, departed from the Port Breeze container terminal at around 12:45 a.m. local time and appears to have collided with the bridge at around 1:30 a.m..
Up to twenty people fell into the Patapsco river after a portion of the bridge collapsed, sending multiple vehicles into the water, as per the Baltimore City Fire Department communications chief. Emergency authorities from both city and state are responding to the crash, and the U.S. Coast Guard has been notified of the incident. Owners of the Singapore-flagged containership confirmed all crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries while no pollution has been reported from the ship. Find live updates of Francis Scott Key Bridge on CNN.
The bridge collapse will mean that, for the time being, it will not be possible to get to the main container terminals in the Baltimore area. Vessels destined to Baltimore may be diverted to other U.S. East Coast ports, or may anchor, until the situation is resolved. Additionally, this means that the cargo already gated into the Baltimore terminals would have to either wait an unknown period for the sea lane to reopen, or be gated back out (by road) and shifted to a different port.
For more information, please call David Lychek, Director – Ocean & Air Services at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1207.
