Baltimore collapse cut deep in difficult ways
As someone who studies matters related to homeland security and critical infrastructure protection, my immediate reaction upon receiving a text from a nephew, a veteran of the U.S. Army living in Maryland, informing me of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was, “here we go again!”
After jumping on the computer, and discovering internet was out, my mind began to race.
Minutes later I was relieved to learn that the bridge’s destruction was not the act of a terrorist, but rather the result of a cargo ship that somehow went off awry. Specifically, a 948-foot Singapore-flagged container ship, named, the Dali, crashed into one of the bridge’s pillars sending large portions of twisted metal and several vehicles crashing into fifty feet of frigid water.
Why the Francis Scott Key Bridge matters
Named, in honor of the attorney, author and poet, Francis Scott Key, who wrote the “Star Spangled Banner” in 1814 after seeing the British put-down at the Battle of Baltimore and the British bombing of Fort Mchenry, the nearly two-mile bridge travels the Patapsco River, running from the city’s Inner Harbor, a major tourist attraction, out to the Chesapeake Bay.
At the time the bridge was erected in 1977, it was the longest truss bridge in the world. Consistently, one of the country’s top ports in terms of total cargo tonnage as well as value, as reported by the governor’s office, Baltimore has long been a major U.S. port.
As such, the East Coast relies heavily on the Francis Scott Key Bridge for shipping. For example, according to USA Today and the Maryland Port Administration, in 2022 alone, more than 750,000 vehicles were transported via the port, the most of any port in the U.S. It was also the second busiest port in the country for coal exports.
The impact of the Baltimore bridge collapse
This, calamity will undoubtedly prove to be a major logistical and economic disruption along the East Coast, if not various parts east of the Mississippi. Several multinational corporations have distribution facilities in an industrial area on the north end of the bridge including Under Armor, Amazon.com, Fedex, and BMW.
Some believe there will be no significant impact on East Coast operations, while others are not so sure.
Few can deny that catastrophes of varying kind can adversely impact stock prices in the hours, days and weeks following the event that can take months and sometimes years from which to recover. On the other hand, the price of goods and services often increase due to factors such as supply and demand, provided the calamity has increased their scarcity.
Fortunately, the accident occurred in the wee hours of the morning, long before the busy morning commute got underway. According to a Maryland state government report more than 30,000 vehicles use the Francis Scott Key Bridge every day, totaling more than 11 million annually.
As of this writing, a search and rescue mission, is underway. Two people have been pulled from the icy waters, but as of this writing others are still accounted for. While this catastrophe could have been much worse, that’s little consolation on a day like this.
Judson L. Jeffries is professor of African American and African Studies at Ohio State University and regular contributor to the Columbus Dispatch.