Baltimore Bridge
The Baltimore Key bridge is a 2.4 km long bridge. The bridge collapsed , pushing down eight construction workers into the water. The search still continues for four of the eight workers, while the bodies of the two workers were found on March 27th, while the remaining two were reduced on the day of the collapse itself.
The investigating experts are still in search for the reason behind the crash. They are trying to recover the data as it will prove beneficial to understand how the did the ship malfunctioned that day. As reported by BBC, the experts believe that there are multiple reasons , some of which are- the fuel used could be of low quality or there could be power outage.
The Impact of the Collapse of the Key Bridge
Since Baltimore happens to be an important bridge , the collapse of the bridge will cause a huge impact on the supply chain. The businesses are trying to stop the disruption in the supply chain, which might lead to affecting the economy.
Baltimore is the 17th largest in the United States, it is very significant for the movement of tofu, coal, auto, construction equipment and cars. It provides nearly 15,000 job opportunities and also deals with around 52 million tons of cargo internationally.
The Baltimore Port is at the top second position in the United States for dealing in coal exports,as per 2023. However it does not deal largely with the supply of thermal coal.
As mentioned in a news article of NDTV,at the Baltimore Port, the vessel traffic has been suspended. This might lead to some negative effect on the economy, however it won’t be unbearable.
Most of the ships that were heading towards the port of Baltimore were diverted to the other ports of the country , before going overseas.Although the collapse has caused havoc and made it difficult for the ships too as it is affecting other ports as well now.
What did the officials say
The Baltimore Key Bridge was ready in 1977. The vessels during that time were smaller as compared to vessels of the present times, which are humongous in design and size.
Norma Jean Mattei, who was once the President of the American Society of Engineers said that there is a major difference in the size of vessels that passed from under the Baltimore Bridge during that time to the ones that cross now.
As per David Knight who is from the Institution of Civil Engineers said, that after the collapse of the Key Bridge, it is a reminder for owners of bridges across different countries to strategize a method and way to make sure that such incidents do not occur again in the future.
The Dali had a power loss
As mentioned in a news article of NBC Washington, a historian from Campbell University, Sal Mercogliano said that there was a power outage at the specific time and this became the problem. Sal Mercogliano rechecked with video and found that the ship became dark just before crashing into the bridge. According to him the first sign of threat was the ship becoming dark.
The ship going dark is a sign that there is no control on the steering and that the whole system on that vessel has gone to offline mode. The darkness and silence both are major alarming alerts.
