Baltimore bridge rescues called off; insurers face billions in losses: Live updates

BALTIMORE – Authorities on Thursday forged ahead with a salvage operation to remove the mangled bridge and wreckage from the Patapsco River before recovering the bodies of four construction workers and clearing the waterway so the Port of Baltimore, a critical East Coast shipping artery, can resume operations.

A crew repairing potholes on the bridge Tuesday morning were on break when a massive shipping vessel traveling about 9 mph lost power and smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in seconds. Eight workers were plunged into the frigid water. Two survived, and officials said the others were presumed dead by Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, rescuers found the bodies of two men trapped in a red pickup around the bridge's middle span, Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said at a news conference. The workers were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Butler said.

The piles of wreckage in the water, as well as the 984-foot-long cargo ship, forced authorities to shut down the Port of Baltimore, which handles more cars and farm equipment than any other port in the nation. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, speaking about the facility where $80 billion in foreign cargo transited last year, called it "a global crisis."

Developing:

∎ New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Thursday that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey can take on additional cargo that's being diverted from the Port of Baltimore. She said she and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy have asked port authority officials to "evaluate all resources to minimize disruptions." She added: "The tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge has touched every corner of the nation, including our supply chains. We are ready to help."

∎ Storms moving over the mid-Atlantic region and much of the Northeast could dump rain over Baltimore throughout Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Insurers could face losses up to $4 billion, experts say

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse could cost insurers billions of dollars in claims, analysts say, and one put the toll at as much as $4 billion, which would make the tragedy a record shipping insurance loss.

"Depending on the length of the blockage and the nature of the business interruption coverage for the Port of Baltimore, insured losses could total between $2 billion and $4 billion," said Marcos Alvarez, managing director for global insurance ratings at Morningstar DBRS. That would surpass the record insured losses of the Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner disaster in 2012, he said.

Mathilde Jakobsen, senior director, analytics at insurance ratings agency AM Best, also said the claims would likely run into "billions of dollars."

Moody's Ratings analyst Brandan Holmes said approximately 80 different reinsurers provided that cover to the ship's insurers.

Initial estimates of the cost of rebuilding the bridge, which is likely to be paid by the federal government, are at $600 million, economic software analysis company IMPLAN said. The closure of the port for just one month could see a total loss of $28 million for the state of Maryland, according to IMPLAN analysis.

– Reuters

Could tugboats have prevented the crash? Yes, some experts say

On Tuesday, a pair of tugboats helped the Dali unmoor itself from the main terminal at the Port of Baltimore and orient the ship toward open waters. But they broke away before the massive ship navigated under the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Had the tugboats accompanied the ship all the way under the bridge, some experts said, they might have been able to stop, slow or steer it away before it smashed into one of the span's support columns.

Such a scenario should be standard operating procedure in all ports, said Capt. Ashok Pandey, a master mariner and associate professor of maritime business at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. But he said the industry’s reliance on tugs has waned over the years as technological advancements gave many ships the ability to maneuver through channels independently.

“We went wrong by simply equipping ships with bow and stern thrusters that we use in lieu of tugs to maneuver in and out of the ports,” Pandey told USA TODAY. “When we are getting into ports like Baltimore, within a few miles of the bridge, that's too important an asset that we must think of protecting it by all means possible. And we can do that. We can easily do that.”

Kevin Calnan, assistant professor of marine transportation at California State University Maritime Academy, said tugboats “definitely” could have stopped the Dali from hitting the bridge. He said he has been in similar situations where the power went out and “having tugs there basically saved the day.”

More:Tugboats left before ship reached Baltimore bridge. They might have saved it.

– Emily Le Coz and Trevor Hughes

Orioles to honor victims of Baltimore bridge collapse on opening day

The Baltimore Orioles during opening day will honor the victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse as well as their families and first responders.

The club will hold a moment of silence and a replica of the flag that flew over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner will be lowered during the national anthem performance, according to a news release from the Major League Baseball organization.

The Orioles are going up against the Los Angeles Angels at Camden Yards stadium in downtown Baltimore. The game is set to begin shortly after 3 p.m. Pregame festivities will start at 2:30 p.­m.

The ship underwent routine engine maintenance at Baltimore port

The container ship, the Dali, underwent "routine engine maintenance" at the port before it set out on a weekslong journey to Sri Lanka, lost power and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said Wednesday.

Gilreath said the Coast Guard was not informed of any issues with the vessel or its engine. The National Transportation Safety Board has not stated a cause for the crash, citing ongoing investigations.

The 9-year-old container ship was involved in at least one prior accident before it crashed into the Baltimore bridge. In 2016, the Dali struck a loading pier made of stone while leaving port in Antwerp, causing damage to the ship’s stern, according to VesselFinder.com, a site that tracks ships across the world. An investigation found the ship’s master and pilot had made a mistake and were to blame. The ship required repair and a full inspection before being returned to service.

During an inspection in June, officials discovered a deficiency with the Dali's "propulsion and auxiliary machinery (gauges, thermometers, etc)," according to the Tokyo MOU, an intergovernmental maritime authority in the Asia-Pacific region.

On Tuesday, the Dali was carrying the cargo of Maersk, the major shipping company that chartered it. The ship is operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group and is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Pte.

Contributing: Reuters