Following the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, many have wondered how the devastating ship crash would impact ports up and down the East Coast.
The Herald reached out to Massachusetts Port Authority on Monday about whether Massport is seeing more, less, or delayed cargo due to the catastrophic bridge crash.
The largest port in Massachusetts has space right now, but a Massport spokesperson reported that ports closer to Baltimore would probably receive more ships and cargo due to the bridge collapse.
“Boston could certainly take more ships and cargo, but it is more likely that other major ports like Norfolk, VA and NY/ NJ will take the majority of the ships and cargo diverted away from Baltimore,” the Massport spokesperson said in a statement.
Baltimore is one of the largest ports along the East Coast and can handle much larger ships than Boston’s port.
“Shipping companies will try to do what’s most efficient and cost effective,” the Massport spokesperson added. “We won’t know for a while how long before ships will be able to access the Port of Baltimore.”
The Associated Press reported on Monday that the U.S. Coast Guard has opened a temporary, alternate channel for vessels involved in the clearing of debris at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. It’s part of a phased approach to opening the main channel leading to the port.
Authorities believe that eight workers fell off the bridge during the collapse. Two workers survived, two bodies were found in a submerged pickup, and four more men are presumed dead. Weather conditions and the tangled debris underwater have made it too dangerous for divers to search for their bodies.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at a Monday news conference that his top priority is recovering the four bodies, followed by reopening shipping channels to the port. He said he understands the urgency but that the risks are significant. He said crews have described the mangled steel of the fallen bridge as “chaotic wreckage.”
President Joe Biden will visit the collapse site Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Monday. He will meet with state and local officials and get an “on-the-ground look” at federal response efforts, Jean-Pierre said.
Moore said he expects the president will leave with a better understanding of the task at hand.
“He’s going to see the fact that we have a ship that is almost the size of the Eiffel Tower, that weighs about as much as the Washington Monument, that’s in the middle of the Patapsco River,” Moore said. “He’s going to see a bridge that has been in existence since I was alive — I don’t know what that skyline looks like without the Key bridge — and he is going to come and he’s going to see it sitting on top of a ship.”
The Small Business Administration has opened two centers in the area to help companies get loans to assist them with losses caused by the disruption of the bridge collapse.
Yvette Jeffery, a spokesperson for the agency’s disaster recovery office, said affected businesses can receive loans for as much as $2 million. She said the effects could range from supply-chain challenges to decreased foot traffic in communities that depended heavily on the bridge.
The bridge fell as the crew of the cargo ship Dali lost power and control March 26. They called in a mayday, which allowed just enough time for police to stop vehicles from driving onto the bridge, but not enough time to get a crew of eight workers off the structure.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
