Danish shipping giant Maersk’s share price plummets over 3% as Dali that was carrying 4,600 20ft containers smashes into Baltimore bridge crushing freight and sending dozens to the bottom of river: Firm says it is ‘omitting’ port for foreseeable future
Danish shipping giant Maersk has dropped Baltimore from all its services following Tuesday’s horror bridge collapse, which caused the company to suffer over a three percent share price drop.
Hours after the cargo ship struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge overnight, sparking massive rescue efforts, the company said it will stop servicing the Port of Baltimore ‘for the foreseeable future.’
‘Due to the damage to the bridge and resulting debris, it will not be possible to reach the Helen Delich Bentley port of Baltimore for the time being,’ the company said in a statement. ‘In line with this, we are omitting Baltimore on all our services for the foreseeable future, until it is deemed safe for passage through this area.’
When markets opened at 9am, the company’s share price plummeted a staggering 6.8 percent, before eventually steadying at a 3.8 percent drop.
Rescue workers are continuing to scour the waters by the Port of Baltimore for survivors, as Maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency.
At least six construction workers are being searched for as of Tuesday morning, while five vehicles have been identified under the Patapsco River in freezing temperatures.
The Maersk-owned shipping container seen on Tuesday morning, hours after it collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore
Danish shipping giant Maersk suffered a dramatic 6.8 percent share price drop as a result of the crash, before it steadied at a 3.8 percent drop
Astonishing footage shows the moment the vessel plowed into the bridge, sending the colossal steel structure crashing into the Patapsco River, shortly before 1.30am Eastern
Maersk owned the ship, which was operated by Singaporean company Synergy Group. The company declined to comment on the share price drop when contacted by DailyMail.com.
The 948-foot-long DALI vessel collided with the 1.2-mile bridge shortly after 1:26am as it departed the Port of Baltimore.
As of Tuesday morning, authorities have marked three passenger vehicles in the river, alongside a cement truck and another vehicle, using side-scan sonar technology.
Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN that up to eight dive teams were in the water performing search and rescue operations.
He said it is unclear if the fifth car is a passenger vehicle, and the number of people killed or injured remains unclear.
Maersk’s cargo ship appeared to suffer some form of mechanical failure before it struck the bridge, as footage showed its lights turned off and on in the moments before.
Observers said that black smoke was seen emanating from the ship in the moments beforehand, suggesting the crew may have attempted to reverse its engines.
It later emerged that the ship was being commanded by specialist pilots who were trained to avoid obstacles at ports, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld told a Tuesday morning press conference.
He said none of the 22 crewmembers were injured, and it was being steered by pilots that help navigate through the port then depart as it enters open waters.
Rescue personnel gather on the shore of the Patapsco River after a container ship ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing its collapse
Officials said they are searching for at least six individuals in the frigid waters. As of early Tuesday morning, two people had been saved
Officials were quick to rule out the catastrophe as intentional or an act of terrorism, and an early Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) report found the container ship ‘lost propulsion’ as it was leaving port.
‘The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and an allision with the bridge was possible,’ the report said. ‘The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.’
It was also found that the Dali ship had been cited for two ‘deficiencies’ during inspections, according to a CNN review of records from the Electronic Quality Shipping Information System (Equasis).
Through 27 inspections since 2015, a June 2023 inspection in San Antonio, Chile, found a deficiency in the ‘propulsion and auxiliary machinery’ – with propulsion faults also noted in the early CISA report.
The Dali was also involved in a 2016 incident at the Port of Antwerp. A review in November of that year in Antwerp, Belgium found another ‘deficiency’ in its ‘structural conditions.’
No deficiencies were found when the vessel was last inspected on September 9, 2023 by the US Coast Guard in New York.
The ship, a 948-foot-long DALI operated by Singaporean company Synergy Group, collided with the 1.2-mile bridge shortly as it departed the Port of Baltimore
The bridge spans 9,000 feet across the Patapsco River and is 180 feet above the water
Visibility around the port was clear at the time of the accident
All activity out of the Port of Baltimore, one of the most important trade hubs in North America, has ground to a halt.
The ship had departed the Seagirt Marine Terminal at around 12:30am Tuesday, before turning southeast towards the bridge around half an hour later.
The Dali was intended to sail underneath the bridge, however it struck a support beam, which caused the bridge to collapse within seconds of impact.
As of early Tuesday, two people had been pulled from the water. One was uninjured, and the other was rushed to hospital in ‘very serious condition.’
After declaring a state of emergency, Governor Moore praised the reaction of workers on the bridge who halted traffic after a mayday call was made from the ship.
‘These people are heroes,’ he said.
Moore maintained that there is ‘no credible evidence’ to suggest the crash was the result of a terrorist attack.
‘The preliminary evidence points to an accident,’ he said.
He also stressed that the collapse doesn’t appear to be caused by any kind of structural issues, and the bridge was fully up to code. ‘(Our) exclusive focus is on saving lives, search and rescue,’ he said.
