Baltimore bridge collapse: 6 workers missing presumed dead

The six people who went missing are now presumed dead and the US Coast Guard has said the search for survivors has been suspended.

Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent for Maryland State Police, said on Monday evening that the search and rescue mission was transitioning to one of search and recovery.

Buttigieg says rebuilding bridge will not be easy

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said rebuilding the collapsed Baltimore bridge will not be quick or easy.

"This is no ordinary bridge. This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure," Buttigieg said at a news conference in Baltimore. "It has been part of the skyline for this region for longer than many of us have been alive."

Buttigieg thanked first responders, including those still in the water as he spoke, and offered comfort to those "who woke up today to the news that no one wants to receive." This is an excruciating day for several families," he said.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at the same news conference that he had spent time with the families of victims. "The strength of these families is absolutely remarkable," he said. 

NTSB investigators in Baltimore

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into Baltimore's Francis Scott Bridge collapse after a cargo ship struck one of its support pylons.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy and a team of experts were in Baltimore to investigate the incident

She said the investigators would, however, "allow some time for the search and recovery."

Homendy said the structure of the collapsed Baltimore bridge will be investigated. They will also look into reports that the ship lost power before it collided with the support beam.

"We have to verify through our investigation that that was part of the contributing cause here," she said, adding it is "too early to tell."

Carmakers make alternative plans

US automakers will re-route affected shipments after the bridge collapse in Baltimore, but the companies said the impact will be minimal.

"We expect the situation to have minimal impact to our operations. We are working to re-route any vehicle shipments to other ports," General Motors said in a statement.

"It's going to have an impact," Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told Bloomberg. "We'll have to divert parts to other ports... It will probably lengthen the supply chain a bit."

The Port of Baltimore is the busiest US port for car shipments, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.

Volkswagen Group of America said it was not impacted because its Baltimore facility is located on the easterly seaboard of the bridge collapse, while Nissan said it did not expect a significant impact at this time.

BMW said the car docks are located on the ocean side of the harbor and said its land-side truck traffic would be re-routed.

Mercedes said the incidents did not impact vehicle exports or the company's parts supply at its  Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant, and it was monitoring the situation.

Biden stresses economic importance of bridge, says government will cover 'entire cost' of repairs

US President Joe Biden emphasized the economic importance of the bridge and said that "the federal government will pay for the entire cost of repairs.

Asked by a reporter if the shipping company should be held responsible for the costs, he said: "That could be, but we are not going to wait for that to happen."

Biden said that 800,000 vehicles pass through the Port of Baltimore every year and that 15,000 jobs depend on the port.

"We're going to protect those jobs and those workers," he promised.

Finally, he said the US Army Engineer Corp would be leading the operation to clear the port and that he would be visiting himself in the near future.

Biden thanks first responders who 'inevitably saved lives'

US President Joe Biden has expressed his gratitude to the "the brave rescuers who rushed to the scene" and praised traffic controllers who, responding to the ship's mayday call, "closed the bridge to traffic before it was struck, inevitably saving lives."

To the people of Baltimore, he said: "We're with you and we're not leaving."

Maryland governor says ship issued mayday before crash

While the cause of the ship crashing into a major Baltimore bridge is under investigation, Governor of Maryland Wes Moore told a media briefing that the container ship lost power before colliding with the structure.

Moore said that the vessels operators had issued a mayday call in the moments before the collision.

It was moving at a "rapid" eight knots (9 miles per hour), alerted authorities that it had lost power allowing officials to limit traffic on the bridge before the crash.

"I'm thankful for the folks who — once the warning came up and once notification came up that there was a mayday — who literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge. These people are heroes, they saved lives last night," Moore said.

Bridge collapse likely to have severe economic consequences

Local officials say the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge is likely to cause substantial economic damage for as long as it continues to obstruct shipping operations at the country's ninth busiest harbor.

All maritime traffic — which in 2023 accounted for 52 million tons of cargo worth some $80 billion (€73.7 billion) according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore's office — has been halted.

"Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area, as well as the entire East Coast," state Senator Johnny Ray Salling said.

Highway signs as far south as Virginia warned drivers of delays associated with the closure of the bridge.

Baltimore is the deepest harbor in Chesapeake Bay, and handles high volumes of cars. According to state figures, the Port of Baltimore supports over 15,000 direct jobs and over 139,000 jobs connected to port work.