Cargo Ship Collision Causes Major Bridge Collapse in Baltimore

According to the firm, all 22 of the crew members of the cargo ship that crashed into a major bridge in Baltimore early on Tuesday, sending it splintering and collapsing into the icy river below, are Native Americans.

At 1:30 a.m. local time, the container ship Dali, flying the flag of Singapore, struck one of the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

As per the vessel details furnished by Synergy Marine Group, the crew consisted of 22 Indian members altogether. The Dali can accommodate 4,679 TEU on board and 10,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) in its capacity.

The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd, and it was traveling from Baltimore to Colombo in an outward direction.

Synergy Marine Group released a statement on March 26. "The owners and managers of the Singapore-flagged container ship reported that the vessel collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore, while under pilotage with two pilots onboard," the statement read.

"Every member of the crew, including the two pilots, has been verified as safe, and no injuries have been reported." Furthermore, contamination has not occurred.

Six construction workers who had been patching potholes on the Francis Scott Key Bridge were still missing by Tuesday morning, despite the efforts of divers and other emergency personnel using boats and helicopters to look for them. They had saved two more.

The incident's precise cause is still unknown, but the Dali has already activated its Qualified Individual Incident Response service.

The owners and managers are completely collaborating with federal and state government agencies under an established plan, and the US Coast Guard and local officials have been contacted.

Maersk released a statement saying, "We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected."

"We can confirm that Maersk has time hired the container vessel 'Dali,' which is being used to carry goods for Maersk clients. The vessel is owned and operated by Synergy Group. The statement stated that there were no Maersk employees or crew members on board the ship.

It further stated, "We will do everything in our power to keep our customers informed as we closely monitor the investigations being carried out by authorities and Synergy."

While emergency officials were on the site, Maryland Governor Wes Moore stated that his administration was in close contact with US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, and the Baltimore Fire Department.

With the statement, "We are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden administration," Moore proclaimed a state of emergency in Maryland.

"As we continue to assess and respond to this tragedy, we will stay in close contact with federal, state, and local entities that are carrying out rescue efforts," he stated.

The cause of the cargo ship's collision with the bridge in the large American metropolis outside of Washington was not immediately known. Furthermore, it was unclear how many people may be in the water.

Accident in Antwerp

at 2016, there was another mishap involving the Dali at the Belgian port of Antwerp. On July 11, 2016, the Dali struck a quay while attempting to leave the North Sea container terminal, according to the port authorities in Antwerp.

The ship had been at the dock for repairs for some time after the incident, but the port authority was unable to provide information regarding the cause of the mishap.

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