No Estimate on Reopening Port of Baltimore After Bridge Collapses Into Ship Channel
The Port of Baltimore suspended all vessel traffic into and out of the port “until further notice” due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was hit by a container ship in the early morning March 26.
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“At this time we do not know how long vessel traffic will be suspended,” the port said in a statement later in the day. “As soon as that is determined we will provide an update.”
President Joe Biden pledged the support of the federal government to reopen the port to shipping and rebuild the bridge. The Army Corps of Engineers is at the port to help lead the effort to clear the shipping channel and allow vessel traffic to resume, he told reporters.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at a press conference that he didn’t have an estimate on the timeline to reopen the port to shipping, “because right now our exclusive focus is on saving lives.”
Maersk acknowledged the vessel that struck the bridge and caused the collapse was operating under Maersk’s charter and was carrying Maersk customers’ cargo. With the port unreachable, it said it’s stopping all service to Baltimore “until it is deemed safe for passage,” and will discharge cargo already on the water in “nearby ports,” which could cause delays.
Traffic at the port had been trending up in recent years, with the port hitting a new high in 2023 of 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo, topping the previous record of 44.2 million tons in 2019. It also leads all ports in handling cars and light trucks.
Ford CFO John Lawler told Bloomberg TV that the closure of such a large port is “going to have an impact.” He said Ford will have to put in place “workarounds,” including “diverting parts to other ports along the East Coast or elsewhere in the country, and it will probably lengthen the supply chain a bit.”
A spokesperson said in an emailed statement that General Motors expects the closure to “have minimal impact to our operations," and the company is “working to re-route any vehicle shipments to other ports.”
Amazon, FedEx, Under Armor, Home Depot, Volkswagen, BMW and others have warehouses at the multi-modal Tradepoint Atlantic industrial park at the north end of the collapsed bridge. Tradepoint Atlantic called the situation “extremely challenging” in a statement.
The bridge, which carries part of the eastern section of Interstate 695, is also one of the few routes through Baltimore that trucks can use to transport hazardous materials. The Maryland Transportation Authority said on its website that vehicles transporting hazardous materials prohibited in Baltimore’s two tunnels should now use the longer western section of I-695.