Ship Hits Baltimore Bridge: In a freak accident that occurred in darkness early on Tuesday, a 948-foot container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the US port of Baltimore. The impact led to the collapse of the bridge, sending cars and people plunging into the river below.
The company in charge of the ship has said that the entire 22-member crew of the cargo ship are Indians.
Grace Ocean Private Ltd owns the vessel and the ship’s movement was outbound from Baltimore to Colombo.
The Singapore-flagged container ship “Dali” collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore at approximately 1:30 am local time. According to the vessel information provided by the Synergy Marine Group, the crew was “All Indian, 22 in total.”
According to a statement issued by the ship management company Synergy Marine Group, “Owners and managers of the Singapore-flagged container ship “DALI” report that the vessel collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore, whilst under pilotage with two pilots onboard, at approximately 01:30 local time on March 26.”
It said “All crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries. There has also been no pollution.” Whilst the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the “DALI” has now mobilised its Qualified Individual Incident Response service.
The US Coast Guard and local officials have been notified and the owners and managers are fully cooperating with Federal and State government agencies under an approved plan.
“We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected. We can confirm that the container vessel ‘DALI’, operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group, is time chartered by Maersk and is carrying Maersk customers’ cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel,” Maersk said in a statement adding “We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed.”
It was unclear what caused the cargo ship to crash into the bridge in the major American city just outside of Washington.
It was also not clear how many people might be in the water.
“The preliminary investigation points to an accident,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a briefing, and there was no credible evidence of terrorism.
Eight people were on the bridge at the time of the collision and six remain unaccounted for, the state’s transportation secretary said hours after the collision, which closed one of the busiest ports in the United States.
The bridge was up to code and there were no known structural issues, Moore said.
US President Joe Biden was being briefed on the collision, said the White House.
(With Reuters and PTI inputs)
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