📌 Baltimore Bridge Collapse – Current Affairs Note (2024)
Date of Incident: 26 March 2024
Location: Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Cause: Collision by MV Dali, a Singapore-flagged container ship
🚢 Ship Details:
Name: MV Dali
Flag: Singapore
Operator: Synergy Marine Group (under Maersk charter)
Size: ~300 meters long
Tonnage: ~95,000 DWT
What Happened:
The vessel lost power (blackout) shortly after leaving Port of Baltimore.
It collided with a main pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Within seconds, the entire bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River.
⚠️Impact:
Casualties:
o 6 construction workers (doing overnight road work) were killed.
Traffic disruption:
o The bridge was a major transportation artery for Baltimore.
o Massive disruption to commuters and port traffic.
Economic impact:
o Estimated damage: $1.7 billion+
o Temporary closure of Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest US ports.
o
🚢 MSC ELSA 3 Incident – Merchant Ship Sinking (India, 2025)
📅 Date of Incident:
Ship developed a list on May 24, 2025
Sank on May 25, 2025
Location: ~35 nautical miles off Kochi, Kerala, India
Vessel Details:
Name: MSC Elsa 3
Flag: Liberia
Owned by: Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)
Type: Container ship
Length: ~184 meters
Gross Tonnage: ~24,000 GT
Cargo: 643 containers, including hazardous materials
💥 What Happened?
The vessel developed a severe list (tilt) of 26 degrees
Cause: Likely ballast system failure and wrong ballast operations
Eventually sank, after water flooded a cargo hold
All 24 crew members rescued before sinking
⚠️Cargo Concerns:
Containers included:
o Calcium carbide (reacts dangerously with water)
o Furnace oil, diesel, sulphur, organic waste, and general goods
SUIZ CANAL INCIDENT
🚢 Suez Canal Blockage Incident – EVER GIVEN (2021)
📅 Date of Incident:
March 23 to March 29, 2021
📍 Location:
Suez Canal, Egypt — a vital waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea,
handling around 12% of global trade.
Ship Involved:
Name: Ever Given
Type: Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV)
Operator: Evergreen Marine (Taiwan)
Flagged in: Panama
Length: 400 meters
Cargo: ~20,000 containers
⚠️What Happened?
The ship ran aground sideways, blocking the canal completely.
Suspected cause:
o High winds
o Sandstorm
o Possible human error
Canal was blocked for 6 days, creating a global trade bottleneck.
💥 Global Impact:
400+ ships stuck at both ends of the canal
Delayed shipping of:
o Oil, consumer goods, electronics, food
Estimated $9.6 billion/day loss to global trade
Highlighted global dependence on just-in-time supply chains
Resolution:
Efforts involved:
o 14 tugboats
Refloated on March 29, 2021
Ship and crew were held by Egypt for compensation
⚖️Legal Outcome:
Egypt claimed $900 million in damages
Ship was released after a settlement in July 2021