Baltimore Takes it On the Chin—Again

A cargo ship ran into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early this morning causing its collapse. Rescue, recovery, and investigative missions are ongoing. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

A normal month in Baltimore, my family’s home for the past 21 years, is difficult enough—high crime, high poverty, high taxes, old schools, old infrastructure, and questionable governance. In a city full of decent, hard-working souls these chronic urban problems hit some residents much harder than others.

Then a massive cargo ship catastrophically careens off course and takes out the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the middle of the night sending multiple people plunging into the ice cold Patapsco River (6 construction workers who fell in are still missing and presumed dead), but shutting down the Port of Baltimore for an indefinite period of time, and likely crippling regional traffic flow and commerce for months or years.

Everyone not immediately involved in the disaster woke up to the news with two thoughts in their minds: (1) “Oh my god, those poor people on the bridge must have been petrified,” and (2) “How the %^#! did a cargo ship take out our bridge?”

Investigations are ongoing to determine what exactly happened on the vessel, and who or what is responsible for the disaster, but reports currently indicate that the cargo ship (under the command of Baltimore harbor pilots) suffered a power outage, lost propulsion, and issued a mayday right before smashing into the bridge. The structure itself was up to code and the mayday allowed workers to save many lives by stopping traffic onto the bridge before it fell, according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

Unfortunately, beyond the loss of lives, all port activity will now grind to a halt since this is the only way in and out of the area. As The Baltimore Banner reports:

Before shipping can resume into and out of the port, crews will need to pull debris out of the water and clear the 50-foot-deep channel that ships use, said William P. Doyle, a former director of the port who now heads the Dredging and Marine Construction Association of America.

”You’re going to have to pick out the trusses and parts of the bridge that are in the water,” Doyle said. “The channel is going to be closed. That means any of the larger vessels that are in the Inner Harbor Port of Baltimore—inside of the Key Bridge—are going to remain there until further notice. All the other ships coming up the Chesapeake Bay are going to have to go on anchorage or divert to another port.” …

For 13 straight years, the port has led the nation in importing and exporting cars and light trucks.

The port supports about 15,300 direct jobs, according to the state, and another 140,000 jobs are linked to activity at the port. Just last month, state officials noted multiple records set in tonnage and value of cargo, which they said was a continuing rebound from pandemic-induced economic woes and supply chain issues.

The port also supports a cruising industry, with Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean ferrying 444,000 passengers on trips last year.

Regional traffic in Baltimore, already a mess, will also become a first order nightmare in the near future. A major highway reconstruction project on the west side of the I-695 loop—the Baltimore Beltway—commenced this past Monday. Given the bridge collapse on the southeast side of the loop, this stretch of highway will presumably handle even more car traffic than normal plus more north-south truck traffic that isn’t allowed to go through either the Baltimore Harbor or Fort McHenry tunnels. It took five years to build the Key Bridge back in the 1970s, and the timetable for any potential repair or replacement of the span “will take a very, very long time,” as noted by Maryland State Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, who represents the area near the bridge.

The blow to Baltimore’s psyche and economy from this tragedy is hard to calculate at this point. The only thing city residents can do for now is to offer their support and assistance to those families impacted, thank the rescue workers and other first responders and cleanup crews for doing their best jobs in a chaotic situation, and hope there’s clarity and accountability for what exactly occurred on the cargo ship to cause this disaster.