Baltimore bridge collapse may cost billions, dramatically disrupt supply chains

FreightWaves

April 1, 2024

Noi Mahoney

The collapse of Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge Tuesday after it was struck by a cargo ship continues to block access to the Port of Baltimore and could disrupt shipping flows across the U.S.

The Singapore-flagged MV Dali container ship collided with the bridge around 1:35 a.m. on Tuesday. At least six people remain unaccounted for, CNN reports. With rescue and recovery operations ongoing, it’s unclear how long debris from the bridge will block the Patapsco River, which leads to the Port of Baltimore.

For the shipping community, the accident will affect maritime lanes as carriers must seek alternative ports of call while the collapsed bridge continues to block the river, experts said.

The Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. are two of the Port of Baltimore’s largest shipping lines. Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment from FreightWaves.

Paul Brashier, vice president of drayage and intermodal at ITS Logistics, said the priority right now is to ensure clients are making plans for containers that were originally routed to Baltimore.

“These shipments will be discharged to other ports on the Eastern Seaboard,” Brashier said. “This also means that we must prepare trucking and transload capacity to be able to transport the impacted freight to the appropriate initial location.”

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