Salvage operation to begin in Baltimore bridge tragedy; pilot's efforts failed to avert disaster: Updates

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Baltimore bridge collapse for Thursday, March 28. For the latest news, view our live updates file on the bridge collapse for Friday, March 29.

BALTIMORE – Authorities on Thursday forged ahead with a salvage operation to remove the mangled bridge from the Patapsco River and clear the waterway so the Port of Baltimore, a critical East Coast shipping artery, can resume operations.

Experts say the operation will be vital to reopening the busy port and that it may take weeks to clear away tons of twisted wreckage, much of which lies underwater. The damage inflicted on the port is likely to lead to a multibillion-dollar insurance loss, the chairperson of commercial insurance market Lloyd's of London said Thursday.

A crew repairing potholes on the bridge Tuesday morning were on break when a massive shipping vessel traveling at 8 mph lost power and smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in seconds. Eight workers were plunged into the frigid water. Two survived, and officials have said the others are presumed dead. Four remain missing.

On Wednesday, rescuers found the bodies of two men trapped in a red pickup around the bridge's middle span, Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said at a news conference. The workers were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Butler said.

The piles of wreckage in the water, and the presence of the 984-foot-long cargo ship known as the Dali, forced authorities to shut down the Port of Baltimore, which handles more cars and farm equipment than any other port in the nation. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, speaking about the facility where $80 billion in foreign cargo transited last year, called it "a global crisis."

Developments:

∎ Moore said the White House approved in a matter of hours the initial $60 million he requested Thursday morning to begin the recovery from the bridge's collapse. He also said the search for the missing workers has been hampered by murky water and dense debris that limit divers to no more than a foot or two of visibility.

∎ José López, of Guatemala, is one of the four missing workers in the bridge collapse, multiple news outlets reported. The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said two Guatemalans are among the missing. On Wednesday, Maryland officials said they found the bodies of Guatemalan national Dorian Castillo Cabrera, 26, alongside Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Mexico, trapped inside a red truck about 25 feet underwater.

∎ Moore offered condolences to the families of the bridge collapse victims Thursday and addressed the close collaboration between local, state and federal officials to clear the wreckage and open the port. "The best minds in the world are coming together to collect the information that we need to move forward with speed and safety," he said. "We have a very long road ahead of us."

∎ New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey can take on additional cargo that's being diverted from the Port of Baltimore. Hochul said she and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy have asked port authority officials to "evaluate all resources to minimize disruptions." She added: "The tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge has touched every corner of the nation, including our supply chains. We are ready to help."

∎ Storms moving over the mid-Atlantic region and much of the Northeast could dump rain over Baltimore throughout Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Alarms, calls for assistance from ship could not prevent tragedy

Details gathered from the Dali's voyage data recorder present a picture of the last moments before the ship crashed into the bridge as the pilot tried to alert authorities to the disaster that was about to ensue.

The VDR was recovered by the Coast Guard on Tuesday morning and provided to National Transportation Safety Board officials when they arrived later that day, NTSB investigator Marcel Muise said in a news conference Wednesday night. The agency also said there were two pilots and 21 crew members on the ship, where they remain during the investigation.

Muise said several alarms were heard on the recording at just before 1:25 a.m., followed about a minute later by steering commands and rudder orders.

At 1:26:39 a.m., the pilot on duty made a radio call for assistance to tug boats in the area, and 45 seconds later ordered the port anchor dropped.

At 1:27:25 a.m., the pilot said on a radio call the Dali had lost power and was nearing the bridge. Around that same time the officer on duty for the Maryland Transportation Authority told officers who were at both ends of the bridge for the road repairs to close traffic, which likely saved lives.

At 1:29:33 a.m., as the powerless Dali was drifting at 8 mph, the VDR recorded "sounds consistent with the collision of the bridge,'' Muise said. Six seconds later, the pilot reported to the Coast Guard that the bridge was down.

'No immediate threat' from leaked hazardous material, official says

According to a revised news release from Unified Command, 14 of the 56 containers with hazardous materials aboard the Dali were destroyed when the part of the bridge collapsed onto the cargo ship's bow Tuesday morning.

But there’s “no immediate threat to the environment” from the materials in the containers, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kimberly Reaves told USA TODAY on Thursday. “There is no known fuel leaking.”

The 56 containers held 764 tons of materials classified as hazardous, according to Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Although some of those materials entered the water, testing showed no threat, Reaves said. Testing by an industrial hygienist showed the contents in the water were perfume, soaps and an unspecified resin-like material, she said. “We’ve been doing air monitoring, which shows no organic volatile compounds have entered the water,” Reaves said.

Crews placed 2,400 feet of containment boom around the vessel to stop a "sheen" on the water from spreading, she said. It would also collect “any kind of debris or hazmat (materials) or oil.” They've also placed 2,400 feet of sorbent boom at the site, according to an afternoon statement from the joint command team overseeing the incident.

“The Coast Guard is working with the Unified Command to address the safety of the public and the environment,” Reaves said, adding that the salvage process was in the planning stages.

− Dinah Voyles Pulver

'Risk was too much' to continue search, expert says

The officials who made the call to focus on a salvage operation at the site of the Baltimore bridge collapse were faced with a very difficult decision – risk the lives of search crews in what experts have said are dangerous conditions or suspend the recovery attempt for the bodies of the four workers still missing in the wreckage.

The workers had been on a break and were sitting in their trucks on the bridge when the Dali cargo ship smashed into it and came toppling down. Maryland state police head Butler said the trucks are “encased in the superstructure and concrete” in the water.

Stephen Frailey, a partner with the West Coast-based Pacific Maritime Group − which helps with marine salvage and wreckage removal − said he was surprised and saddened to hear the search had been called off so soon.

“We all have to trust in the on-scene experts and this decision had to be difficult for them,” Frailey said. “I believe the murky conditions, currents and tangle of debris must present enough of a hazard that they weighed the continued search effort against potential risk of injury or death to searchers and the risk was too much in this case.”

− Jeanine Santucci

Bridge collapse galvanizes Baltimore community

Baltimoreans, including pastors and business owners, have stepped up to offer their support, while residents have donated thousands of dollars in what they described as an outpouring of empathy, sadness and solidarity with the impacted families.

Ako Walker, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Patrick, has been tasked with accompanying the family members of the collapse victims during the public grieving process, trying to find the delicate balance between providing comfort and knowing when to give them space while also fielding interview requests from scores of media outlets that have descended upon the city.

"These families need a lot, a lot of support on all levels, spiritual, physical and emotional," he said. "The community here will try its best to be of assistance."

 Latino Racial Justice Circle set a goal of raising $18,000 in donations to support families of the victims, organizer Katherine Jakuta said on the fundraiser’s website. Within nine hours, the nonprofit had raised more than $98,000.

– N'dea Yancey-Bragg

Insurers could face losses up to $4 billion, experts say

The bridge collapse could cost insurers billions of dollars in claims, analysts say, and one put the toll at as much as $4 billion, which would make the tragedy a record shipping insurance loss.

"Depending on the length of the blockage and the nature of the business-interruption coverage for the Port of Baltimore, insured losses could total between $2 billion and $4 billion," said Marcos Alvarez, managing director for global insurance ratings at Morningstar DBRS. That would surpass the record insured losses of the Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner disaster in 2012, he said.

Initial estimates of the cost of rebuilding the bridge, which is likely to be paid by the federal government, are at $600 million, economic software analysis company IMPLAN said. The closure of the port for just one month could see a total loss of $28 million for Maryland, according to IMPLAN analysis.

– Reuters

Could tugboats have prevented the crash? Yes, experts say

A pair of tugboats helped the Dali unmoor itself from the main terminal at the Port of Baltimore and orient the ship toward open waters early Tuesday. But they broke away before the massive ship navigated under the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Had the tugboats accompanied the ship all the way under the bridge, some experts said, they might have been able to stop, slow or steer it away before it smashed into one of the span's support columns.

Such a scenario should be standard operating procedure in all ports, said Capt. Ashok Pandey, a master mariner and associate professor of maritime business at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. But he said the industry’s reliance on tugs has waned over the years as technological advancements gave many ships the ability to maneuver through channels independently.

“We went wrong by simply equipping ships with bow and stern thrusters that we use in lieu of tugs to maneuver in and out of the ports,” Pandey told USA TODAY. “When we are getting into ports like Baltimore, within a few miles of the bridge, that's too important an asset that we must think of protecting it by all means possible. And we can do that. We can easily do that.”

Kevin Calnan, assistant professor of marine transportation at California State University Maritime Academy, said tugboats “definitely” could have stopped the Dali from hitting the bridge. He said he has been in similar situations where the power went out and “having tugs there basically saved the day.”

More: Tugboats left before ship reached Baltimore bridge. They might have saved it.

– Emily Le Coz and Trevor Hughes

Orioles to honor victims of Baltimore bridge collapse on opening day

The Baltimore Orioles planned to honor the victims of the bridge collapse, their families and first responders before Thursday afternoon's season opener at home.

The Orioles scheduled a moment of silence and planned to lower during the national anthem a replica of the flag that flew over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner, the baseball team said in news release.

The ship underwent routine engine maintenance at Baltimore port

The container ship, the Dali, underwent "routine engine maintenance" at the port before it set out on a weekslong journey to Sri Lanka, lost power and crashed into the bridge, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said, adding that the Coast Guard was not informed of any issues with the vessel or its engine. The National Transportation Safety Board has not stated a cause for the crash, citing ongoing investigations.

The 9-year-old container ship was involved in at least one prior accident before it crashed into the Baltimore bridge. In 2016, the Dali struck a loading pier made of stone while leaving port in Antwerp, Belgium, causing damage to the ship’s stern, according to VesselFinder.com, a site that tracks ships across the world. An investigation found the ship’s master and pilot had made a mistake and were to blame. The ship required repair and a full inspection before being returned to service.

During an inspection in June, officials discovered a deficiency with the Dali's "propulsion and auxiliary machinery (gauges, thermometers, etc)," according to the Tokyo MOU, an intergovernmental maritime authority in the Asia-Pacific region.

On Tuesday, the Dali was carrying the cargo of Maersk, the major shipping company that chartered it. The ship is operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group and is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Pte.

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Baltimore bridge updates: Salvage set to begin amid 'global crisis'