How important is the Baltimore port? American trucking at the Key Bridge, Maryland, said William Washington, a long-term employee at a cement plant

William Washington, who works at a plant that makes cement board right on the southern end of the bridge, said his work depended on a constant delivery of supplies. It is not clear what the scale of the disruption to the plant will be, but it will not be business as usual for some time.

Wes Moore, the Governor of Maryland, stated that the Key bridge was up to code and had no structural issues.

“Nearly 4,900 trucks travel the bridge each day, with $28 billion in goods crossing every year,” said Sean McNally, a spokesman for the American Trucking Associations, in an email.

Despite this tragedy, Dai thinks that the port of Baltimore is well-positioned to take on more business as the shipping industry looks towards the east coast of the U.S.

Disruption at the port will cause consequences, experts say, and can sometimes lead to ripple effects. But it isn’t easy to project an economic toll yet, partly because we still don’t know how long the port will be closed.

Tinglong Dai, the Bernard T. Ferrari Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, knows the bridge well. He can see it from his office window in Baltimore.

It’s an important bridge, he says. It is part of a busy highway and has symbolic resonance. He predicts the economic impacts of the disaster will be limited.

Some manufacturers got lucky. Volkswagen and BMW both use a terminal by the entrance to Baltimore’s harbor, in a part of the port that is not blocked off, and expect no impact beyond short-term traffic snarls for trucks today.

And it’s not just about getting a car off a ship. Installation of accessories, as well as checking of vehicles, are things done by facilities at ports. You need trucks and drivers if you want to get them from the port to the dealerships.

The shutdown will cause delays for auto imports and exports, as companies try to find alternatives to the Baltimore port, according to Dai.

The timing isn’t good. Attacks in the Red Sea and drought in the Panama Canal have already complicated global shipping. The disruptions that have been added by a disaster that shuts down an American port are only going to get worse.

The head of supply chain research at S&P Global Market Intelligence states that Baltimore’s port handles around 3% of imports along the east and Gulf coast.

He said in a research note that the bridge reconstruction and cargo delays are likely to be extensive. Some freight could go to nearby ports in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

“Fifteen thousand jobs depend on that port, and we’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers,” he said in remarks Tuesday.

The port has received investments to handle larger ships and more containers as well as cut its carbon emissions.

Around 40 ships, with 34 cargo vessels, are located in Baltimore, among which 10 are anchored in nearby waters according to MarineTraffic.

Other materials transported in large volumes through the city’s port include coal, coffee and sugar. In terms of volume and value, it was the ninth busiest port in the nation last year.

What we know and don’t know about Baltimore’s Key bridge collapse: Norwegian Cruise Line, a bridge wrecked by a ship, will resume operations

Cruises that travel in and out of Baltimore will be disrupted by the bridge collapsing. Norwegian Cruise Line last year began a new fall and winter schedule calling at the Port of Baltimore.

Eight construction workers who were repairing the bridge fell into the river after the crash. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said there were two people who were rescued, but one of them was in a critical condition.

The remaining six people are still unaccounted for. The six people are presumed to have died due to the time that has passed since the collapse and the temperature of the water, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. They will resume recovery efforts Wednesday morning.

The ship, named the Dali and measuring nearly 1,000 feet, lost power as it began moving toward the bridge at about 8 knots, or 9.2 miles per hour. The mayday on board gave authorities enough time to stop the traffic.

The ship has undergone 27 previous evaluations. In 2016, it sustained significant damage to its hull after hitting a dock while leaving a port in Antwerp, Belgium. Last year, the ship was found to have a problem with “propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” according to Equasis, a maritime safety site.

Authorities have not yet given information about the captain and how the ship ended up moving toward the bridge. State officials and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Source: What we know and don’t know about Baltimore’s Key bridge collapse

Baltimore’s Key Bridge was built in the ’70s, but had a deep and patriotic history, witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry

The economic impact is also unknown. About $80 billion worth of cargo goes through the Port of Baltimore each year, including about 850,000 cars and trucks. The state says the port provides 15000 jobs, $3.3 billion in personal income, 2.6 billion in business revenue and $400 million in tax revenue.

The structure was built between 1972 and 1977, opening to the public on March 23 of that year. But its history goes much deeper than that, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Scholars believe it stood within 100 yards of the site where its namesake, Francis Scott Key, witnessed the failed British bombardment of Fort McHenry in September 1814.

The British abandoned their land assault on Baltimore after the bombardment in the War of 1812. The two sides later reached a peace agreement.

The fort was heavily fortified and British warships bombarded it with thousands of exploding mortar shells, cannonballs and rockets. The Americans raised their 30-by-42-foot garrison flag the next morning.

He wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” after seeing the flag rise, because he was so impressed by what he saw.

Just southeast of the bridge are the ruins of Fort Carroll, a 3.4-acre, hexagonal island created in 1848 under the supervision of then-Brevet-Colonel Robert E. Lee to house a fort aimed at protecting Baltimore from naval attacks (since Fort McHenry was the only other military defensive structure between Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay up until that point).

Construction of the fort itself was never completed, though the Preservation Alliance of Baltimore County says it featured impressive architecture like curved granite stairs and brick archways, and was originally home to 350 cannon ports, a blacksmith shop and a carpentry shop.

Source: Baltimore’s Key Bridge was built in the ’70s, but has a deep and patriotic history

Baltimore’s Key Bridge Was Built in the ’70s, but had a Deep and Patriotic History, [Npr.org/newsprint]

Torrential rains flooded the island in 1864 and rendered it vulnerable, and it was used in the decades that followed to store mines, hold seamen and as a pistol range.

A Baltimore attorney purchased the island for $10,000 in 1958, but it was never developed and is now deserted. The island has become an accidental bird sanctuary because it is so overgrown.

There are three toll bridges in Baltimore’s Harbor but only one is not a tunnel. It was constructed to alleviate traffic and provide a route for vehicles carrying hazardous materials, which are not allowed in the tunnels.

The project cost an estimated $110 million and took five years to complete. When the bridge opened in 1977, it became the final link in Interstate 695, known locally as the Baltimore Beltway.

The council stated that a vessel sailing at 12 knots lost control and drifted into the main pier at a speed of 6 knots. A concrete structure was destroyed.

Source: Baltimore’s Key Bridge was built in the ’70s, but has a deep and patriotic history

The Search for the Six Workers Who Fall into the Water at the Baltimore Bridge during the 1981-93 Firefight, Part II – The Case Study

The focus of the search Tuesday was to find the six construction workers who fell into the water when the bridge collapsed. They said discussions about how to rebuild would come later.

President Biden said in remarks that he wants the federal government to fund the reconstruction of the bridge, which would require support from Congress.

“This is going to take some time,” he said. We will support the people of Baltimore until the port reopens and the bridge is rebuilt.