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1 [1] (March 29, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveouu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: a Congressional Research Service informing the legislative debate since 1914 0 Updated March 29, 2024 Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) At about 1:30 a.m. on March 26, 2024, the MV Dali, a container ship departing the Port of Baltimore, struck a support tower of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD, causing the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River. The bridge is a segment of Interstate 695-Baltimore's beltway-and spans over the Patapsco shipping channel into the harbor. A pothole repair crew of eight was on the bridge at the time of the collision. Two have survived; one with injuries. Authorities were able to stop traffic over the bridge right before the vessel strike. There were 23 mariners aboard the ship and none sustained injury. A Unified Command and Joint Information Center have been established by the U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland state officials to coordinate response and disseminate information on the incident. Who Owns and Controls the Ship? The Dali is being chartered (leased) by Maersk, a Danish shipping firm that provides container shipping services worldwide in addition to other types of shipping. The ship is managed by the Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., both based in Singapore. The ship's crew are from India. It is flagged and homeported in Singapore and was classed (meaning certified as meeting construction and maintenance standards) by a Japanese firm, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (Class NK). The multitude of nationalities involved in operating and administering the ship is typical of the industry. The ship was built in 2015 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea (IMO identification number 9697428) with a MAN-manufactured engine. It is almost 950 feet in length and about 160 feet in breadth with a capacity to carry 10,000 TEUs of containers (a TEU is a 20-foot container). It could be considered an average-sized container ship today but would be considered a large ship compared with the fleet in the late 1970s when the bridge was built. The ship had sailed from Asia through the Panama Canal and had called at Norfolk and New York before its Baltimore port call. When it struck the bridge, the ship was departing Baltimore for Sri Lanka. H ow Do Ships Navigate Through H arbors! A preliminary report stated that the ship lost power as it was approaching the bridge, meaning the ship may have lost propulsion. Two Baltimore harbor pilots were aboard the ship; harbor pilots navigate ships in and out of harbors because they have expertise with local navigation conditions. Even when harbor pilots are at the helm, the captain of the ship and the shipping line (Maersk) remain responsible for the safety of the vessel. Tugs typically assist in moving ships into and out of their berths (docking and undocking) and rarely escort ships through harbors as an emergency safety measure. This ship released the tugs before reaching the bridge as is reportedly normal in the harbor. H o Will Port Traffic Be Affected? The Port of Baltimore was the 17th busiest port by total tonnage in the United States in 2021, the most recent year for which data are available. It was the 10th busiest by dry bulk tonnage and the 15th busiest container port in TEUs. According to the Maryland Port Administration, the port ranks first among the nation's ports for autos and light truck volume, roll on/roll off farm and construction machinery, and imported gypsum. It is also responsible for nearly $3.3 billion in personal wages and salaries, $2.6 billion in business revenue, and nearly $400 million in state and local tax revenue annually. Containers currently at the port awaiting export could be moved to other ports by truck or rail; one of the Port of Baltimore's two container terminals is served by on-dock rail access. Dry bulk-such as coal, the largest commodity by volume handled by the port-and roll on/roll off may be more difficult to move through other ports, as specialized facilities are needed for loading and unloading. The closest large ports to Baltimore are Wilmington, DE; Philadelphia, PA; and Camden, NJ, all of which may be accessed via the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal provided the vessels have a shallow enough draft. Another nearby port, not draft restricted, is the port of Norfolk near the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Currently, commercial vessels are unable to enter or exit the Port of Baltimore. Also, the U.S. Coast Guard shipyard at Hawkins Point on Curtis Bay is upriver from the bridge, and six vessels of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Ready Reserve Force (available to provide surge sealift capacity to the Department of Defense, if needed) were berthed in Baltimore as of January 2024 and presumably are currently unable to exit the port. How Will Road Traffic Be Affected? The Key Bridge first opened to traffic in 1977, spanning the Patapsco River connecting Interstate 695 on the southeastern side of Baltimore (see Figure 1). It had annual average daily traffic over 30,000 vehicles in 2023, including over 3,000 trucks per day. It was less heavily used than the Fort McHenry and Baltimore Harbor Tunnels running under the Patapsco River further north. Highway traffic could be rerouted through the Baltimore Harbor or Fort McHenry Tunnels or on Interstate 695 to the north of Baltimore City. Some larger vehicles, including all double-trailers, and most shipments of hazardous materials

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