In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a Singapore-flagged ship crashed into a bridge in Maryland. The vessel, known as the Dali, is listed at 984 feet long and was identified by ship tracking data. A YouTube livestream captured the moment when the ship struck what appeared to be a bridge support beam at 1:28 a.m., causing the bridge to collapse in less than 10 seconds.
The Dali approached a support beam of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at around 1:24 a.m. local time. The livestream showed that the ship’s lights went off minutes before impact before turning back on as it neared the bridge. Despite attempts to reach Grace Ocean, the Singapore-based owner of the vessel, and Synergy Marine Group, also based in Singapore for comment, they did not respond. The incident has resulted in a bridge closure due to collapse caused by a ship strike according to Maryland Transportation Authority representatives who did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Baltimore Police Department confirmed a partial bridge collapse with workers possibly in the water. This event highlights the potential dangers of maritime traffic near bridges and how maintaining safe distances can prevent accidents like this from occurring. It serves as an important reminder to all mariners to exercise caution and adhere to regulations when navigating through busy waterways near bridges or other structures that are critical for transportation and commerce on land and sea respectively.
