Remarks by President Biden on the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge

Remarks by President Biden on the Collapse of
the Francis Scott Key Bridge

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, folks. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was waiting to talk to the last member of the delegation in the region.

Good afternoon. Before I leave for North Carolina, which I’m going to do in a few minutes, I want to speak briefly about the terrible incident and accident that happened in Baltimore this morning.

At about 1:30, a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which I’ve been over many, many times commuting from the state of Delaware either on a train or by car. I’ve been to Baltimore Harbor many times. And the bridge collapsed, sending several people and vehicles into the water — into the river.

And multiple U.S. Coast Guard units, which are stationed very nearby, thank God, were immediately deployed, along with local emergency personnel. And the Coast Guard is leading the response at the port, where representatives from the Federal Highway Administration, the FBI, the Department of Transportation, the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as Maryland officials and Baltimore Police and Fire — they’re all working together to coordinate an emergency response.

Officials at the scene estimate eight people were unaccounted for still — not still, were unaccounted for. That number might change. Two have been rescued — one without injury, one in critical condition. And the search-and-rescue operation is continuing for all those remaining as we speak.

I spoke with Governor Moore this morning as well as the Mayor of Baltimore, the County Executive, United two — both United States senators and the congressman. And my Secretary of Transportation is on the scene.

I told them we’re going to send all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency, and I mean all the federal resources. And we’re going to rebuild that port together.

Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time, we have no other indication — no other reason to believe there was any intentional act here.

Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel, as you all know and have reported. As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before the bridge was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives.

And our prayers are with everyone involved in this terrible accident and all the families, especially those waiting for the news of their loved one right now. I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime. You just don’t know. It’s just terrible.

We’re incredibly grateful for the brave rescuers who immediately rushed to the scene.

And to the people of Baltimore, I want to say: We’re with you. We’re going to stay with you as long as takes. And like the governor said, you’re Maryland tough, you’re Baltimore strong, and we’re going to get through this together. And I promise: We’re not leaving.

Here’s what’s happening now. The search-and-rescue operation is our top priority. Ship traffic in the Port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice. And we’ll need to clear that channel before the ship traffic can resume. The Army Corps of Engineers is on the spot and is going to help lead this effort to clear the channel.

The Port of Baltimore is one of the nation’s largest shipping hubs. And I’ve been there a number of times as a senator and as a vice president. It handled a record amount of cargo last year. It’s also the top port in America for both imports and exports of automobiles and light trucks. Around 850,000 vehicles go through that port every single year, and we’re going to get it up and running again as soon as possible.

Fifteen thousand jobs depend on that port. And we’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers.

The bridge is also critical to — for travel, not just for Baltimore but for the Northeast Corridor. Over 30,000 vehicles cross the Francis Scott Key Bridge on a daily basis. It’s virtually th- — well, it’s one of the most important elements for the economy in the Northeast and the quality of life.

My Transportation Secretary is there now. As I told Governor Moore, I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as hu- — humanly possible. And we’re going to work hand in hand with the support of Maryland — to support Maryland, whatever they ask for. And we’re going to work with our partners in Congress to make sure the state gets the support it needs.

It’s my intention that federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect to — the Congress to support my effort.

This is going to take some time. And the people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.

You know, we’re not leaving until this job gets done — not leaving until then.

So, I just want to say God bless everybody who — everyone harmed this morning and their families. And may God bless the first responders, who — many of whom risking their lives.

And I’m going to — the reason I’m not going to take a lot of questions — there’s remaining issues that are open that we got to determine what’s going to happen in terms of — of the rescue mission and the like. But I’ll — I’m —

Q Do — do you plan to go to Baltimore, sir? And if so, how quickly?

THE PRESIDENT: I do and as quickly as I can. That’s what we’re working on —

Q You said the federal government is also going to pay for the repairs. I’m just curious — this was a ship that appears to be at fault. Is there any reason to believe that the company behind the ship should be held responsible?

And then, also, you mentioned —

THE PRESIDENT: That could be, but we’re not going to wait if that happened. We’re going to pay for it to get the bridge rebuilt and open.

Q What did you make of Israel’s decision not to attend this meeting this week?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I don’t want to get into that now.

Q Regarding Rafah.

THE PRESIDENT: We’ll have plenty of time to talk about Rafah.

Q You mentioned the port —

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you.

Q Can I ask about cars?

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

12:51 P.M. EDT
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On March 26, 2024, at 1:28 a.m. EDT (05:28 UTC), the main spans and the three nearest northeast approach spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Patapsco River between Baltimore and Dundalk, Maryland, United States, collapsed after the container ship Dali struck one of its piers.

Two people were rescued from the river; one had no injuries, while the other was transported to a hospital in critical condition. Six members of a construction crew working on the roadway were reported missing; two bodies were recovered, and the other four are presumed dead.

Much of the Port of Baltimore remains closed to shipping as a result of the collapse. Maryland Governor Wes Moore called the event a "global crisis" and stated that over 8,000 jobs were impacted. Experts estimate that the closure of the waterway is causing losses of $15 million per day.

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March 26, 2024, At 12:44 a.m: Dali left the Port of Baltimore EDT (04:44 UTC) on March 26, 2024, bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The ship's crew of 22 were Indian nationals, and the ship was being piloted by two local American harbor pilots.

At 1:24 a.m., the ship suffered a "complete blackout" and began to drift out of the shipping channel; a backup generator supported electrical systems but did not provide power to the propulsion system.

At 1:26 a.m., a mayday call was made from the ship, notifying the Maryland Department of Transportation that control of the vessel had been lost and that a collision with the bridge was possible, citing loss of propulsion. One of the pilots requested that traffic be stopped from crossing the bridge immediately. The ship's lights went out and came on again some moments later; the lights then went off again and powered back on immediately before impact as renewed smoke was emitted from its funnel.

At 1:27:53 a.m.

At the pilot's request, Maryland Transportation Authority Police dispatch requested officers to stop traffic in both directions

Northbound traffic was stopped at the south side after 20 seconds.

At 1:28:45 a.m., the ship struck a support column of the bridge, beneath its metal truss and at the south-west end of its largest span, at roughly 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h). AIS data showed the ship traveling at a speed of 8.7 knots (10.0 mph; 16.1 km/h) at 1:25 a.m. before departing the channel and slowing to 6.8 knots (7.8 mph; 12.6 km/h) by the time of the collision two minutes later.

Southbound traffic was stopped at the north side by 1:28:58 a.m., around the time of the collapse. Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority reported that the ship dropped its anchors before hitting the bridge, as part of its emergency procedures.

Within seconds of the collision, the bridge broke apart in several places, leaving sections protruding from the water and the roadway's approaches cut off. The main span fell onto the ship's bow and a section of it came to rest there. The bridge strike and partial collapse were recorded on video.

Multiple vehicles were on the bridge at the time it collapsed, though initially no one was believed to be inside them. Paul Wiedefeld, the Maryland Secretary of Transportation, said that workers were repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the collapse, but they were later reported to be in their cars on a break at the time of the collapse. A resident living near the bridge recalled being awakened by deep rumbling that shook his residence for several seconds following the collapse, which he said "felt like an earthquake".

At 1:30 a.m. Emergency teams began receiving 911 calls.

At 1:35 a.m.The Baltimore Police Department was alerted to the collapse.

Large-scale rescue and recovery efforts were initiated. The United States Coast Guard deployed boats and a helicopter as part of rescue efforts. Public safety divers were also dispatched to search for people who fell into the river.

A total of 50 divers divided into eight teams were deployed in rescue efforts.

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On March 27, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced an investigation into a hazmat spill resulting from breached containers on board Dali. Fifty-six of these containers, carrying approximately 764 tons of materials—including primarily corrosive and flammable substances as well as lithium batteries—were reported to have been compromised.

The collision of Dali with the southwest main truss pier destroyed it, bringing down the entire truss span. As the bridge was a continuous truss bridge which relied on its overall structure to maintain integrity, it was fracture critical, meaning it had no redundancy against removal of support of any particular part of it. Therefore, when the south and central spans (on each side of the impacted pier) collapsed, the northern component (the third span) followed. Each failure sequence took seconds, and within 30 seconds the entirety of the central span had fallen into the river. The bridge was determined to be fully compliant with the building code when it collapsed. The bridge had both dolphin and fender protection against ship impact, but these protections were insufficient.

Thirteen of Dali's 4,700 shipping containers were damaged following the collision, while two containers fell into the water, neither of which carried hazardous substances. Dali sustained hull damage above the water line and the ship was impaled by remnants of the bridge superstructure, which press it against the channel floor. The ship remained watertight, and although the shipping company initially claimed there was no water pollution directly from the ship following the incident, authorities installed 2,400 feet (730 m) of water containment booms around the ship after a sheen was detected in the waterway, which was believed to have been produced by 21 US gallons (17 imp gal; 79 L) of oil that leaked from a bow thruster on the ship. On March 27, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced an investigation into a hazmat spill resulting from breached containers on board Dali. Fifty-six of these containers, carrying approximately 764 tons of materials—including primarily corrosive and flammable substances as well as lithium batteries—were reported to have been compromised.

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The Francis Scott Key Bridge was a steel arch-shaped continuous truss bridge. It opened in 1977, and it ran northeast from Hawkins Point, Baltimore to Sollers Point in Dundalk, crossing the Patapsco River, a vital shipping route giving access to the Port of Baltimore and one of the busiest in the United States. The port handled more than 444,000 passengers, 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo valued at $80 billion in 2023, and was the leading U.S. port for automobiles and light trucks for the preceding 13 consecutive years (with more than 847,000 vehicles in 2023). It also employed 15,000 people and indirectly supported 140,000 others.

The bridge was the second longest continuous truss bridge in the United States and third longest in the world. The 1.6-mile-long (2.6 km) bridge carried four lanes of Interstate 695 which is a beltway around Baltimore. Two lanes of traffic in each direction were used by approximately 34,000 vehicles each day. A cargo ship collision in 1980 left the Key Bridge undamaged.

MV Dali is a Singapore-flagged container ship, operated by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. Danish shipping company Maersk has chartered Dali since its delivery in early 2015. It was built in 2015 with a length of 980 feet (300 m), a 157-foot (48 m) beam, and a 40-foot (12.2 m) draft. Dali passed two port inspections in 2023, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The first inspection was completed in June at San Antonio, Chile, where a monitor gauge for fuel pressure was repaired. A second inspection in September by the Coast Guard in New York did not identify any issues.

Dali had previously traveled from Panama to the U.S., arriving in New York on March 19, 2024. From there the ship sailed to the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, Virginia, before departing for Baltimore on March 22, arriving on March 23.

The main shipping channel under the bridge was estimated to be 50 feet (15 m) deep, while National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) charts show the depth at the bridge supports to be approximately 30 feet (9.1 m).