Baltimore bridge collapse: How the ship's Indian crew helped avert a bigger disaster

On Tuesday (26 March), a look at social media or the news and one would have glanced upon the scary video of a container ship smashing into a Baltimore bridge — named the Francis Scott Key bridge, causing it to collapse and blocking one of the busiest US commercial harbours.

A construction crew, who was repairing the bridge at the time of the incident, fell 185 feet into the river where water temperatures were 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius). As per a Reuters report, this is the upper limit of what a human could survive falling into the water. Officials have now declared six of the people to be missing and presumed dead.

What do we know about the collapse? Why did the bridge come down like a pack of cards? What do we know about the bridge that came tumbling down and the ship that crashed into it? Who was on board the cargo ship? How will the bridge collapse affect Baltimore?

We take a look at all these questions and get you the answers and much more.

What is known about the Francis Scott Key bridge?

The bridge that collapsed into the Maryland river after a ship crashed into it was iconic. It was erected almost five decades ago and named after the author of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ — the US national anthem.

The 2.6-km-long bridge, which opened on 23 March 1977, was built near the spot where Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of a fort that inspired what would become America’s national anthem.

The bridge was built within 91 metres of where Key witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on 12 September 1814, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The Francis Scott Key bridge was the second-longest continuous truss bridge in the world when it opened, and it remained the second longest in the United States and third in the world, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. It had a total length of 8,636 feet (2,632 metres). Moreover, the structure most recently handled about 11.3 million vehicles a year.

What happened on Tuesday?

It was on Tuesday that the tragedy struck the Francis Scott Key bridge when the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali, departing Baltimore with a full cargo en route to Sri Lanka, crashed into a concrete pier supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

The Dali had a crew of 22 members, including two pilots on board, said the ship’s manager, Synergy Marine Group said, adding that all of them were Indians . The ship measured 948 feet — as long as three football fields placed end to end — and was stacked high with containers. Interestingly, the same ship was involved in an incident in 2016 in Antwerp when it hit a quay as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal. A later inspection in June 2023 carried out in San Antonio in Chile found the vessel had “propulsion and auxiliary machinery” deficiencies, according to data on the public Equasis website, which provides information on ships.

Now, on Tuesday, according to reports, the Dali issued a Mayday call, moments before the crash, warning that it had lost power and propulsion. However, it is still not clear what caused this to happen.

It was 1.25 am ET that the ship begins to change course towards the bridge’s pillar, as per a CNN analysis. For the next two minutes, the ship’s lights continued to flicker, indicating something was wrong and it was at 1.27 am ET that the ship crashed into the pylon of the bridge, crumpling almost the entire structure into the water.

The crew on board the Dali ship dropped its anchors prior to the crash, which helped in slowing the out-of-control vessel, and saving lives.

Maryland governor Wes Moore added that it was because the Indian crew issued a mayday call, that alerted officials were able to stop vehicles from crossing the bridge. “Once notification came up that there was a mayday, literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge,” Moore said. “These people are heroes. They saved lives.”

It was later around 1.40 am ET that the Baltimore City Fire Department arrived at the spot and began their operations.

Are there any casualties?

At the time of the incident, a construction crew was working on the bridge, repairing potholes. When the ship struck the bridge, all eight of the crew fell into the water. However, at least two people were rescued — one was taken to the hospital and has been discharged, while the other is receiving treatment in the hospital.

Meanwhile, six others are presumed dead, with Maryland’s Wes Moore telling reporters that it’s a “really heart-breaking conclusion to a challenging day”.

Earlier, dive teams from various state and local agencies were brought in to help with the search-and-rescue operations, but it was later suspended with the Coast Guard announcing that it was “transitioning to a different phase”.

Why did the bridge collapse?

The one question that seems to be on everyone’s mind after the crash is shouldn’t the bridge have withstood the ship strike. Engineers believe that the design of the bridge — it was a metal truss-style one with a suspended deck — that contributed to the collapse.

Sanjay R Arwade, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst told NBC News, “Bridges are and should be designed to withstand ship impacts. That’s typical of the design process. But for all structures and all engineered systems, there is a possibility that an event will occur that is beyond what the structure was designed for. And this may be one of those situations.”

He added that while the bridge was said to be “fully up to code”, bridge design and technology have improved since 1977 when it was built, indicating that there could have been some gaps.

Dan Frangopol, a bridge engineering and risk professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania who is president of the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety, was also quoted as telling Washington Post that if a ship with the weight that the Dali had collided into the column of the bridge, the structure would fall down. “It’s not possible to redistribute the loads. It was not designed for these things.”

This was echoed by Benjamin W Schafer, a professor of civil and systems engineering at Johns Hopkins University, who said that no bridge pier could withstand being hit by a ship the size of the Dali.

However, there are some experts who argue that the incident on Tuesday in Baltimore could have been averted if the piers had been better able to block, deflect or withstand such a collision. They have questioned whether the bridge’s piers had adequate blocking devices, which are known as fenders.

In fact, Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said protective structures would be a part of the investigation into the collapse. “There’s some questions about the structure of the bridge — protective structure around the bridge or around the piers to make sure there isn’t a collapse,” she was quoted by a New York Times report.

“We are aware of what a structure should have. Part of our investigation will be how was this bridge constructed? It will look at the structure itself. Should there be any sort of safety improvements? All of that will be part of our investigation.”

Sherif El-Tawil, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at University of Michigan with expertise in bridges, also said something similar in a Washington Post report. He was of the opinion that if the bridge did have, what he dubs as protective barriers, it would have survived.

Why is the Indian crew being praised?

After the tragedy, the Maryland governor Wes Moore hailed the Indian crew on board the Dali, saying that it was their quick thinking that helped saved other lives. Later, even US president Joe Biden, who said that he will be visiting soon, hailed the crew.

The US president said that the crew notifying officials that they had lost control of the ship, prompted the shutdown of the bridge, a move that “undoubtedly” resulted in the saving of many lives.

Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel. As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before the bridge was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives,” stated Biden during his comments at the White House regarding the collapse.

What comes next?

Authorities have closed the port “until further notice” and traffic is being diverted away from the bridge. They are also monitoring for any fuel spill from the stricken Dali, though none has been confirmed yet.

The collapse is also expected to have a severe impact on the region. Traffic around Baltimore will be affected by the loss of the bridge, while shipping could also see long delays thanks to the debris now choking the waterway, reported AFP.

With inputs from agencies