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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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28 Mar 2024

Lawsuits Over Baltimore Bridge Collapse Likely

(Credit: USACE)

The owner, operator and charterer of the container ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday are likely to face lawsuits over its collapse and the people killed or injured, but legal experts say U.S. maritime law could limit the companies’ liability.U.S. laws pertaining to open-water navigation and shipping, which are created through court decisions and by acts of Congress, could restrict the kinds of lawsuits filed against the registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship…

27 Mar 2024

Pilot Called for Tugboat Help Before Baltimore Bridge Disaster

Source: US Army Corps of Engineers

The pilot of the container ship that knocked down a highway bridge into Baltimore Harbor had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes earlier, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship's "black box" data recorder.The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a traffic artery over the harbor built in 1976, lacked structural engineering redundancies common to newer spans, making it more…

27 Mar 2024

Divers Recover Two Bodies After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

Divers on Wednesday recovered the remains of two of the six workers missing since they were tossed into Baltimore Harbor from a highway bridge that collapsed into shipping lanes when a faltering cargo freighter rammed into the structure, officials said on Wednesday.The bodies were pulled from the mouth of the Patapsco River a day after the massive container ship lost power and its ability to maneuver before plowing into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, knocking…

27 Mar 2024

Authorities Warned of Ship Approach Moments Before Baltimore Bridge Collapse

(Photo: David Adams / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Federal investigators on Wednesday examined the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge while emergency teams searched for bodies and details emerged of the intense efforts to save lives in the minutes before the steel span collapsed."Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There's a ship approaching that just lost their steering," someone said on police radio minutes before the 1:30 a.m. crash on Tuesday.While voices were heard discussing next steps, including alerting any work crews to leave the bridge…

27 Mar 2024

New England Offshore Wind Auction Draws Multiple Bidders

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

Several offshore wind developers bid in a combined Connecticut-Massachusetts-Rhode Island offshore wind solicitation on Wednesday, including units of European energy firms Iberdrola and Orsted.The U.S. offshore wind industry is booming so far this year, with several projects in various stages of development and construction, after a disastrous 2023 of developers cancelling contracts and taking roughly $9.1 billion in write-offs and impairments on U.S. projects.So far, Avangrid…

27 Mar 2024

Insurers Brace for Multibillion Dollar Losses After Baltimore Ship Tragedy

(Photo: Baltimore County Police Department)

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse could cost insurers several billions of dollars in claims, sources say, but it is too early to calculate the likely full financial losses of the tragedy that has shuttered one of the busiest ports in the United States.Six peopleare still missing after a collision with a Singapore-flagged container ship destroyed the landmark bridge on Tuesday, forcing the closure of the Port of Baltimore.With little clarity on when the port would re-open, insurers and analysts are now assessing the likely losses borne by underwriters across several product lines in

27 Mar 2024

Baltimore Bridge Port Blockade Won't Trigger New Supply Chain Crisis, Experts Say

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

The catastrophic bridge collapse that closed the Port of Baltimore to ship traffic is unlikely to trigger a major new U.S. supply chain crisis or spike goods prices, due to ample and growing spare capacity at competing East Coast ports, economists and logistics experts say.With six people still missing after a container ship collision destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, it remained unclear how long the span's twisted superstructure would block the harbor's mouth.But port officials…

27 Mar 2024

Baltimore Rescuers Lose Hope for More Survivors from Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies

Rescuers have lost hope of finding more survivors of the Baltimore bridge collapse, the coast guard said, as efforts switched on Wednesday to looking for bodies of the missing and more answers to why a container ship smashed into the span.Search divers were expected to return near dawn to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of the bridge in Baltimore Harbor to search for six workers missing and now presumed dead.The disaster has forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S.

27 Mar 2024

Divers to Search Baltimore Harbor

Search divers were expected to return near dawn on Wednesday to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of a bridge knocked down in Baltimore Harbor by a faltering cargo ship, leaving six workers missing and presumed dead.The disaster also forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and created a traffic quagmire for Baltimore and the surrounding region.As the odds of their survival vanished, the search for the six workers was suspended on Tuesday evening…

26 Mar 2024

Six Presumed Dead After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland…

26 Mar 2024

Timeline: Within Minutes of Departure, Faltering Containership Crashes into Baltimore Bridge

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies

Here is a timeline of the collapse on Tuesday of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was hit by the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali. All times are EDT:01:04 a.m (0504 GMT). – Loaded with shipping containers, Dali departs from Baltimore's port, headed to Colombo, Sri Lanka.01:24 a.m. – Dali slowly approaches the Key Bridge, according to video captured by StreamTime Live.1:24:33 a.m. – Dali appears to suffer a total power failure as all its lights go out.1:25:31 a.m. – About a minute later, the ship's lights flicker back on.

26 Mar 2024

Automakers Reroute Shipments After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

© aerial-drone / Adobe Stock

U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford will reroute affected shipments after a bridge collapse in the U.S. shuttered the Port of Baltimore, but the companies said on Tuesday 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," GM said in a statement.The Port of Baltimore is the busiest U.S. port for car shipments, handling at least 750,000 vehicles in 2023, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

26 Mar 2024

Cargo Ship Lost Power Before Slamming Bridge in Baltimore

Collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore (Credit: Screenshot/StreamTime Live)

A massive cargo ship smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore early on Tuesday, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom was hospitalized, and searched for more in the Patapsco River after huge metal spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the icy water around 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT).The ship reported a power issue before impact…

26 Mar 2024

Ship That Hit Baltimore Bridge Also Involved in 2016 Antwerp Accident

Collapsed Key Bridge in Baltimore (Credit: Screeshot/StreamTime Live)

The ship that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early on Tuesday was also involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.The Antwerp port authorities said the container ship Dali hit a quay on July 11, 2016, as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal.The port authority could give no details about the cause of the accident, but said the ship had remained at the dock for repairs for some time after the incident."As a general rule, these accidents are investigated and ships are only allowed to leave after experts have determined it is saf

26 Mar 2024

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Could Disrupt Supply Chain -Xeneta

Collapsed Key Bridge in Baltimore (Credit: Screeshot/StreamTime Live)

The containership allision that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore could cause "significant disruption" to shipping supply chains, according to industry analyst Xeneta.The 10,000 TEU Singapore-flagged Dali was operating on a 2M alliance service between Baltimore and the Far East when it struck the bridge around 1:35 a.m. on Tuesday, sending cars and people plunging into the river below."The immediate focus is the rescue operation, but there will clearly…

26 Mar 2024

Baltimore Bridge Collision Sends Vehicles Tumbling Into Water

Collapsed Key Bridge in Baltimore  (Credit: Screenshot/StreamTime Live)

A container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the U.S. port of Baltimore in darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in a "very serious condition," and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.The ship "lost propulsion" as it was leaving port, and crew on board notified Maryland officials they had lost control of the vessel, ABC News reported, citing an unclassified U.S.

26 Mar 2024

LiveStream: Rescuers Search Water for Survivors After Ship Collides with Baltimore Bridge

(Credit: Screenshot/X)

A major bridge collapsed in the U.S. port of Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday after being struck by a container ship, plunging cars and as many as 20 people into the river below.Rescuers were searching for survivors in the Patapsco Riverafter huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.As many as 20 people could be in the river along with "numerous vehicles, and possibly a tractor-trailer or a vehicle as large as a tractor-trailer…

26 Mar 2024

Baltimore's Key Bridge Collapses After Ship Crash

(Credit: Screenshot/X)

The 1.6-mile (2.57 km) long Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday after a container ship hit it, and as many as seven people may be in the water, officials said.A live video posted on YouTube showed a ship hitting the bridge, after which several of its spans collapsed into the Patapsco River. Unverified videos posted on social media X also showed the impact and collapse. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.The Baltimore City Fire Department described the collapse as a mass-casualty incident…

25 Mar 2024

US Dredging: Plenty of Issues, New WRDA on the Way

(Photo: Janet Meredith / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.

26 Jan 2024

Freeport LNG Unit Faces Month-long Outage

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Freeport LNG said on Friday it expects one of three liquefaction units at its Texas plant will be out of service for about a month after it faced a technical issue during last week's Arctic freeze.This shutdown was the latest in a series of incidents at the plant since it exited an eight-month outage from June 2022 to February 2023 following a fire and explosion.Since April, at least one liquefaction train at the plant has shut or tripped - sometimes several times…

26 Jan 2024

Moran Tug Crew Honored for Rescue Efforts

Left to right: Captain Eddie Lucas; Deckhand Roman “Butch” Arabski; Mate Evan Kinkel; USCG Sector Commander Capt. David O’Connell; Engineer William “Liam” Flynn; Baxter B. Smoak, CDR, Chief, Prevention Department (Photo: Moran Towing)

The crew of Moran Towing's tug Lynne Moran has been honored for its courageous response and rescue of two stranded boaters near the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on the evening of October 25, 2023.The crew has received the U.S. Coast Guard Public Service Commendation, presented by Captain O’Connell, as well as the American Waterways Operators (AWO) Honor and Excellence in Rescue Operations (HERO) Award, presented by Brian Vahey, AWO’s Vice President, Atlantic Region.In collaboration with the U.S.

26 Jan 2024

New York Offshore Wind Power Auction Set for Big Turnout

© Photocreo Bednarek / Adobe Stock

Several offshore wind developers will likely bid in New York's fourth offshore wind solicitation by the Thursday deadline, including units of European energy firms Orsted, Equinor and BP.The development of the U.S. offshore wind industry took a major blow last year when companies working in several states said they could no longer complete projects profitably because of rocketing construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags. The problems also hit the wind industry in other countries.The development of the industry is key to meeting both U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S.

24 Jan 2024

New Jersey Approves Two Giant Offshore Wind Power Projects

© Global Image Archive / Adobe Stock

New Jersey's utility regulator on Wednesday approved two offshore wind power projects with a combined capacity of 3,742-megawatts (MW) whose backers include Invenergy and TotalEnergies.The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and U.S. President Joe Biden meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.But progress was slow last year after offshore developers canceled contracts to sell power in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey…