Baltimore’s Bridge Collapse: Force Majeure Event (or Not)?

At 1:29 AM on 26 March 2024, the 300-meter container vessel Dali lost power as it was departing from Baltimore (Maryland) harbor.  The vessel was reportedly traveling at 8 knots and without power lost steerage. It directly hit a main concrete column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (Key Bridge) which caused the highway span of 366 meters with a vertical clearance of 56 meters to immediately and completely collapse. An estimated 4,000 tons of debris fell onto the bow of the Dali with thousands of additional tons into the Fort McHenry Channel which is the only waterway that ships can enter and exit the Port of Baltimore. The depth of the channel is 15.2 meters and this incident has effectively closed the Port of Baltimore to major shipping. The forecasted reopening of the channel is at the end of May 2024. There is no estimate as yet on the time to replace the bridge that required five years to build. There are six cargo ships currently in the Port plus five gigantic Navy reserve transport and troop-carrying vessels. In addition there are two cruise ships that cannot return. Most tragically six highway workers who were on the bridge lost their lives.

The Port of Baltimore is a major US East Coast port that is the ninth largest for foreign cargo in USD value. It is first in the United States for volumes of autos, light trucks, roll/on roll/off heavy farm and construction equipment, sugar and gypsum. In 2023, 19 million short tons of coal was exported from the Port.  On an annual basis, 1.1 million TEUs (20-foot) containers are handled plus nearly 12 million tons of general cargo. The Port of Baltimore has railroad spurs directly into it that cannot be utilized.