In the early hours of March 26, the Dali ship, flying the Singapore flag and loaded with 5,000 containers, collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing the construction to collapse in a matter of seconds. The Dali was leaving for Colombo when the catastrophe occurred. Initial fears were confirmed: half a dozen people lost their lives in the accident.
The port of Baltimore had to be closed, stranding millions of tons of coal, hundreds of cars, and deliveries of lumber and gypsum. Some 40 ships were ready to set sail on Tuesday, and a large number of ships from the Atlantic cannot dock “until further notice,” as stated by the port authorities.
Financial markets reacted quickly to the bridge collapse, with shares in global shipping company Maersk plunging 2.6 percent in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
But, a Nordnet analyst told the Reuters news agency, in the long term, “This event is not a major catalyst for stock prices unless something unpleasant emerges, such as indications of gross negligence behind the accident.”
Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY, also remains calm. “I think the macroeconomic effects will remain limited,” he told Bloomberg News on Wednesday.
Baltimore bridge collapse reveals growing Latino workforce and the risks they experience daily https://t.co/OBToix7967
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Path towards normality
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned of a “significant and prolonged impact on supply chains” following the closure of the port of Baltimore. “It is too early to offer estimates on what it will cost to clear the canal and reopen the port,” he told reporters during a briefing Tuesday in Baltimore.
Bridge reconstruction costs estimated between $500 million and $1.2 billion (462 and 1,100 million euros), with a construction period of at least two years.
The Port of Baltimore is especially important for the import and export of automobiles and light trucks. About 850,000 vehicles are shipped there annually, employing about 15,000 workers. Additionally, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is a crucial artery of the East Coast, with about 30,000 vehicles crossing each day.
Supply chain concerns
European car manufacturers, including Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW, They maintain extensive infrastructure in the Baltimore region for vehicle shipping.
A spokesperson for German automaker BMW said in an email to Reuters that the company does not expect any immediate impact, other than short-term traffic delays. The company uses the port of Baltimore to import vehicles, but the auto terminal is located at the entrance to the port, across from the bridge, and is still accessible, the spokesperson added.
The American automobile giant Ford, however, will have to “divert parts to other ports,” which will affect your supply chain. Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told Reuters in a statement that “in cases where short-term solutions need to be found, our team has already secured transportation alternatives.”
German ports
Ulf Kaspera of the Federal Maritime Casualty Investigation Office in Hamburg sees no imminent danger of a similar accident occurring in Germany.
“The specific security measures that must be adopted depend on the port operators,” he told DW., pointing out that in Hamburg, for example, it is mandatory to tow and maneuver large ships in large areas of the port. The use of tugboats can “prevent these types of accidents,” he added.
Josef Hegger of the Institute for Structural Concrete at RWTH University Aachen said the Baltimore accident could have been avoided. The university professor is an expert in bridge construction, and told the German news agency dpa that a combination of various structural measures can achieve the highest level of safety. “The pillar must have a certain resistance so that it does not collapse at the slightest impact,” he said.
Keep reading:
– A bridge falls in Baltimore after the impact of a ship while vehicles were crossing at that time
– Baltimore authorities search for 6 people after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse
– The impressive images left by the collapse of the bridge in Baltimore