It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Baltimore bridge crash: Sri Lanka unaware of ship carrying toxic wastes from US, say officials
The US National Transportation Safety Board is still ‘analysing the ship’s manifest to determine what was onboard’ in its other 4,644 containers
PTI Colombo Published 02.04.24 The Singapore-flagged container ship vessel Dali, which was mainly manned by an Indian crew, collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26.
Sri Lanka is not yet aware of the nature of hazardous materials on the cargo vessel that collided with a key Baltimore bridge last week as it was supposed to declare the contents of containers only 72 hours before the time of arrival into the Colombo Port, officials here said.
The Singapore-flagged container ship vessel Dali, which was mainly manned by an Indian crew, collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26. The 984-foot cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. The ship was carrying 764 tonnes of hazardous materials as reported by the US media.
According to the information available, there are 57 containers with such toxic materials that can be categorised under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. The waste included mostly corrosives, flammables, miscellaneous hazardous materials, and Class-9 hazardous materials, including explosives & lithium-ion batteries – in 56 containers. So says the US National Transportation Safety Board, still ‘analysing the ship’s manifest to determine what was onboard’ in its other 4,644 containers, Daily Mirror Online quoted the official as saying.
"Prior to Baltimore, Dali called at New York and Norfolk, Virginia, which has the world’s largest naval base. Colombo was to be its next scheduled call, going around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, taking 27 days, scheduled to land just after our New Year," the official said.
Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Keith Bernard said the ship should declare the contents of containers only 72 hours before the time of arrival at the Colombo Port.
“The ship is supposed to arrive here on April 21, 2024. It means they are supposed to inform us by April 17 or so. There is enough time. If there are containers with hazardous items as declared by them, we will isolate such containers in accordance with protocols. As a major transhipment hub, we have a procedure set in place to deal with such containers. Most likely, these containers are meant for transhipment,” he said.
Asked about the procedure if the containers are meant to be allowed into the country, he said the clearance of the Defence Ministry and others would be sought.
However, Deputy Director of the Central Environment Authority (CEA) Ajith Wijesundara said it is not yet clear whether the ship was carrying containers with hazardous wastes or toxic substances. According to the Basel Convention, he said such wastes would not be allowed into the country. He added that toxic substances are imported as raw materials and guidelines are applied.
The collapse of the bridge has effectively shut down operations at Baltimore’s port, affecting about 8,000 jobs and about USD 2 million in daily wages for those workers, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week.
Baltimore ship crew worried about ‘world’s perception’ days after Key Bridge collapse
Singapore-flagged ship Dali stuck under bridge with mostly Indian crew since last Tuesday
The 20 Indian and one Sri Lankan sailors were in good health, including a member who suffered minor injuries, according to officials
The “rattled” sailors had adequate food on board but were keeping quiet about their situation amid an ongoing investigation, said Joshua Messick, the executive director of the non-profit Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center.
“They’re not saying much at all to anyone who has been in touch with them,” Mr Messick told the BBC.
“They didn’t have WiFi until Saturday and they didn’t really know what the perception of the rest of the world was. They weren’t sure if they were being blamed, or demonised. They just didn’t know what to expect.
“They are also in a very sensitive situation. What they can say can reflect on the company. I would imagine that they’ve been advised to keep a low-profile for the time being,” he added.
There has been very little information provided by the authorities on the condition of the crew members or their backgrounds.
The sailors have been praised for raising a mayday alarm moments before the crash, which allowed the authorities to stop cars from entering the bridge from both sides, saving countless lives. However, they also became the target of racist jokes on the internet, featuring in cartoons stereotyping Indians.
Wreckage from collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on cargo ship Dali
(Getty Images)
Authorities in the US said there was no immediate plan to disembark the crew members as workers raced against time to clean up the bridge’s debris from the Patapsco River.The sailors would likely stay on board until the ongoing investigation was completed.
"The crew members were busy with their normal duties on the ship and assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Coast Guard investigators," a spokesperson for Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, the owner of the vessel, told news agency PTI.
"At this time, we do not know how long the investigation process will take and until that process is complete, the crew will remain on board."
The Synergy Group, which manages the vessel, said in a statement that the NTSB – an independent US government investigative agency – boarded the vessel on Wednesday and collected documents, voyage data recorder extracts, and began interviewing the sailors as part of their investigation.
The Port of Baltimore opened a temporary channel on Monday, freeing some tugs and barges that had been trapped by the bridge collapse.
One of last people to cross Baltimore bridge describes harrowing drive
A Maryland man said he considers himself “lucky” while reflecting on being one of the last drivers to go across the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore moments before it was struck by a cargo ship and sent crumbling into the Patapsco River.
Larry DeSantis was making his daily commute last Tuesday to his second job at Herman’s Bakery in the Baltimore area when he crossed the bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. He told The Baltimore Banner he remembered slowing down to look out for highway workers doing construction on the bridge and now realizes he witnessed some of the workers’ final moments before they presumably died in the collapse.
He did not notice a ship coming toward the bridge or the black smoke coming out of it and later told CNN the only indication of something being wrong was the lack of vehicles on the roadway, even at that time of day.
“I really didn’t even see the ship at all. I just focused on what was right in front of me,” he told CNN. “There was one other vehicle behind me. It was a tractor, but he didn’t have a trailer because I actually got in front of him right as we started to go over the bridge.”
DeSantis was off the bridge by around 1:27 a.m., and at 1:29 a.m., a 984-foot cargo ship, named the Dali, crashed into bridge, causing it to collapse. Officials said the Dali was attempting to leave Baltimore Harbor on its way to Sri Lanka when it lost power.
The ship was able to issue a last-minute mayday call to allow police to stop traffic moments before the crash, but the eight individuals working on the bridge were not able to get off and fell into the water. Two of the workers were rescued and survived, and divers found two bodies in a submerged truck. The four others are presumed dead.
“I mean, they were doing their job, and they lost their lives. It’s hard; I drove right by them; I saw all of them, just a minute before they probably died,” he said.
DeSantis told The Baltimore Banner, which broke the story, he did not hear the noise from the crash because he had a radio channel playing.
“I didn’t even know anything was going on, but it was just really eerie when I got off of the bridge and there was nothing [behind me],” DeSantis said. “Because with Amazon there, I’ll see 20 Amazon trucks every morning. I don’t care what day of the week it is. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.”
Minutes later, he received a call from a co-worker to make sure he was OK and later from a Maryland Transportation Authority Police detective.
“I think about it; I might not be here now if I had been just a little bit later,” he said. “Just a minute would’ve changed everything. It’s scary, you know.”
DeSantis said he has gone to work each day since the collapse, though his commute now takes closer to an hour than 20 minutes, like before.
“I’ve been very tired this week because of the amount of hours I’ve been working, but it makes you think a lot, it really does,” he told CNN. “I just can’t believe it happened. I consider myself very lucky.”
A lifelong resident of the Baltimore area, DeSantis said it is “hard to believe” the landmark bridge is gone and only remembers one other time in his life when the skyline did not have the bridge — when it was being built.
The bridge collapse has closed the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub along the East Coast that supports more than 15,000 direct jobs and more than 139,000 indirect jobs, Axios reported last week.
The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday it is expected to open an auxiliary channel for commercially essential vessels near the site of the wreckage.
“This will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore,” Coast Guard Capt. David O’Connell, the federal on-scene coordinator for the joint command response, said in a statement. “By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore.”
Crews began removing the first piece of wreckage from the water over the weekend, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
Moore, along with other state and federal officials said the port’s closure will not only impact Maryland’s local economy but will also have ripple effects on a national level. No definitive timeline has been determined for when the port could reopen as the salvage and rebuilding process is expected to be extensive.
ST Explains: Baltimore bridge collapse
What does it mean for a ship to be S’pore-flagged, and why is S’pore involved in the probe?
The Dali container ship crashed into one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26.
SINGAPORE - A container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26 was sailing under the Singapore flag, spawning questions about what this means, why Singapore’s authorities are involved in the investigation and the parties that could be held liable.
The Straits Times looks at what it means for a ship to be registered in Singapore and why investigators here have been sent to the United States to aid in the probe.
1. What does it mean when a ship is Singapore-flagged?
Under international maritime law, all merchant ships participating in international trade need to be registered in a country of the shipowner’s choosing, called the flag state. Each ship is bound by the laws of the flag state that it is registered in.
The Singapore Registry of Ships, which was established in 1966, is responsible for overseeing Singapore-flagged ships and ensuring that these vessels and their owners meet local and international regulations covering areas such as crew safety and environmental protection.
Singapore’s ship registry, which was the fifth-largest in the world in 2023 according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, comes under the purview of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
The moment the ship crashed into the bridge. STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS 2. How many vessels fly the Singapore flag, and what is needed for a ship to get on the registry?
As at January, there were about 4,000 vessels being administered under the Singapore Registry of Ships, representing a total internal ship capacity of more than 100 million gross tons.
Except for certain vessels like fishing boats, all types of ships, including offshore vessels such as oil rigs, can be registered with the Singapore ship registry so long as they comply with the relevant international standards.
According to MPA’s website, vessels that are less than 17 years old and meet these requirements are normally accepted for registration.
MPA has said that the Singapore flag has become a flag of choice for many shipowners and operators due to the quality of the ship registry here.
Other advantages of flying the Singapore flag that have been cited within the shipping industry include the ease of incorporating a Singapore company, as well as tax exemptions and various incentive schemes. 3. Who can be registered as owners of Singapore-flagged ships?
Only Singapore citizens, permanent residents or companies incorporated in Singapore may be registered as owners of Singapore-flagged ships. These companies can be locally or foreign-owned.
For a company to be registered as the owner of a Singapore-flagged ship, it must have a minimum paid-up capital of $50,000. But this requirement may be waived depending on the number of ships being registered and their aggregated tonnage.
The owner of every Singapore ship must appoint a manager whose residence is in Singapore, according to MPA. The ship manager may be an officer of the owning company or of a management company, and he is responsible for all matters related to ship registration and crew manning, as well as safety at sea.
In the case of the Dali container ship – which rammed into one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, in the United States, resulting in six people presumed dead – the shipowner is Singapore-based firm Grace Ocean.
The ship’s appointed manager is Synergy Marine Group, a Singapore-headquartered company, which hired and manages the crew aboard the Dali.
Synergy, which manages 668 vessels, oversees various aspects of operations for shipowners, such as docking procedures and risk management.
4. Why is MPA involved in the probe, and what are its responsibilities in terms of maritime safety?
Mr Moses Lin, partner and head of shipping at law firm Shook Lin & Bok, said MPA ensures Singapore-flagged ships have complied with relevant safety regulations.
It also ensures that these ships have undergone the regular inspections and certifications needed for a vessel’s structural integrity, seaworthiness and safety.
But flag states, he noted, do not have direct responsibility for the day-to-day operational safety of vessels.
In an accident like the Baltimore one, just because the ship involved is registered in Singapore does not mean the Republic is responsible, said Associate Professor Goh Puay Guan of the National University of Singapore Business School and Centre for Maritime Studies.
“Safety checks and compliance checks would likely have been conducted regularly, and as long as these are done in accordance with procedure, the regulatory bodies would have carried out their responsibilities,” he added.
Under international law, flag states must conduct an inquiry into any marine casualty or incident involving a ship flying its flag that causes loss of life or serious injury to nationals from another state, or causes serious damage to ships or installations of another state.
The flag state must also cooperate in any inquiries held by the other state into such incidents.
In the case of a marine casualty or incident, owners and masters of Singapore-registered ships must first take urgent steps on the ground to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
Once that is done, they should alert MPA to the incident immediately or within two hours of the incident at the latest. A more detailed report should then be submitted within 24 hours of the occurrence.
5. Why are investigators from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) being sent to Baltimore?
TSIB – a department of Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) – is the authority responsible for investigating air, marine and rail accidents and incidents here.
When it was set up in 2016, it took over the task of carrying out independent safety investigations into marine accidents from MPA.
The bureau will investigate incidents that occur in Singapore with a “very serious marine casualty”, regardless of the country the ship is registered in, or those that involve a Singapore-registered ship when it is overseas.
These “very serious” incidents involve the total loss of a ship, a death, or severe damage to the environment. TSIB may also investigate marine casualties and marine incidents where safety lessons can be drawn.
MOT has said TSIB’s investigations are aimed at preventing accidents and incidents, and not to ascribe blame or liability. Still, any investigation being conducted by the bureau does not prevent other entities, such as MPA, from conducting their own probes.
The shipowner of the Dali container vessel is Singapore-based firm Grace Ocean.
PHOTO: REUTERS 6. Which party bears the liabilities in such accidents?
As early investigations into the Baltimore bridge collapse are under way, it is difficult to ascertain which party would be liable for damages, legal experts told ST.
Major parties that might be potentially responsible include the shipowner, operator, charterer, captain or master of the vessel, said Shook Lin & Bok’s Mr Lin.
The Dali container ship was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk at the time.
Losses would likely include damage to the bridge, business and service disruptions, and the loss of lives, said lawyer Kevin Chan.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Grace Ocean can seek compensation from relevant parties, lawyers said.
“If it was an engine failure which caused the vessel to lose power and collide with the bridge, it might be the operator or the engineer who was responsible,” said Mr Mathiew Rajoo, partner at DennisMathiew law firm.
The company that hired the parties responsible may then be liable, he added.
Port pilots may also be held liable in certain situations.
“Pilots typically board ships in local waters to direct the ship as these waters could be small and narrow or have conditions that the ship’s captain may not be aware of. “So, in certain instances, it could also be the pilot’s fault for failing to direct the vessel correctly,” Mr Lin said.
Grace Ocean may shield itself from damages by filing for a limitation-of-liability action under maritime law, said Mr Mathiew. The liability will be based on the tonnage of the vessel.
But the company, he said, will not be entitled to the limitation if it is established that the loss resulted from a deliberate act or omission.
The shipowner would also likely be covered by insurance, said lawyers.
The ship has been insured by the Britannia Protection and Indemnity Club, a mutual insurance association owned by shipping companies, since 2014.
According to its website, the insurance group covers areas such as loss of life, liability to cargo and collision liability.
But there may be instances where shipowners could be denied their claims, depending on the terms of the policy, said Mr Chan.
“Possible situations where coverage may be excluded would include the vessel’s failure to maintain its class (a certification of its technical standards) required under the policy, or if the collision was intentional or a result of wilful misconduct by the shipowner,” he said.Additional reporting by Grace Leong
When the M/V Dali had an allision with Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge at eight knots, the 116,000-deadweight-tonne ship hit with explosive force. This tragedy left six bridge workers dead, an economically-essential port closed, and the entire maritime sector under scrutiny.
Commercial shipping transports over 80 percent of the world's trade, valued at $14 trillion. The global fleet is estimated at 120,000 vessels, of which five percent are container vessels.
After the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was enacted. This act mandated tug escorts for laden tankers in Alaska, and soon after that, the states of Washington and California required tanker escorts in their waterways.
As the San Francisco Bay Area stakeholders met, there were serious concerns about tankers transiting the bay’s extreme tidal environment and eight bridges. But the remedy was easy: all tankers would require tugboat escorts of two or more boats based on deadweight tonnage. The only debate was whether twin-screws or tractor tugs met the OPA90 mandate of “best achievable technology.
Recently, ships have stuck bridges in China and Argentina, and the industry is again reminded of the freighter ramming the Tampa Bay Skyway Bridge in 1980, killing 35 people as trucks, cars, and a Greyhound bus fell 150 feet into the bay.
The heroic efforts of two marine pilots on the M/V Dali, who made a mayday call and dropped the ship’s anchor, will not be soon forgotten. But had they been able to radio their tug escort to maneuver the ship’s course, this maritime catastrophe would not have occurred.
Tony Munoz is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Maritime Executive.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
Sunday, March 31, 2024
UPDATED
Baltimore bridge being cut up after ship collision
By AFP March 31, 2024 A handout photo from the US Coast Guard shows demolition crews cutting the top portion of the north side of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 30, 2024 - Copyright US COAST GUARD/AFP Kimberly REAVES
The crumpled Baltimore bridge was being cut up in preparation for its removal, Maryland’s governor said Sunday, promising “progress” was being made after it was destroyed by an out-of-control ship.
Demolition crews using blow torches sliced through the top part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed when the Dali cargo vessel lost power and struck it on Tuesday, killing six people.
“Progress is beginning to happen despite the fact that it’s an incredibly complicated situation,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore, adding that weather conditions and debris in the water meant divers were unable to assist with the recovery operation.
“We now do have cranes, the Chesapeake 1,000, which has a capacity of lifting a thousand pounds,” Moore told CNN on Sunday.
“(Workers have) begun to cut up the remnants of the bridge that we can then prepare for removal.”
Video footage shared Saturday by the Unified Command — the overall response team that includes the US Coast Guard — showed sparks flying as crews suspended in cages cut through an upper section of the steel structure.
The Unified Command said the wreckage will lifted away and processed at a Baltimore shipping site before being taken to a disposal site.
Moore said the recovery would be a “long road,” adding: “This is a very complex operation, but movement is happening.”
– Search for bodies –
The difficult conditions have hampered efforts to recover the bodies of the six road workers — all Latino immigrants — who died when the bridge collapsed, with just two bodies recovered so far.
Shipping in and out of Baltimore — one of the United States’ busiest ports — has been halted, with the waterway impassable due to the sprawling wreckage.
Moore told MSNBC on Sunday that his priorities were recovering the victims’ bodies before reopening the channel.
“It’s impacting the nation’s economy. It’s the largest port for new cars, heavy trucks, agricultural equipment. It’s impacting people all over the country,” he said.
The ship veered towards the bridge due to power trouble, with the pilot issuing a Mayday call that allowed some road traffic to be stopped just before the collision at 1:30am after which the structure collapsed in seconds.
“It takes a lot to make sure that it can be dismantled safely, to make sure that the vessel stays where it is supposed to be and doesn’t swing out into the channel,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told “Face the Nation” on CBS.
Oklahoma highway reopens following shutdown after a barge hit a bridge
An Oklahoma highway has been reopened following its closure for a few hours on Saturday after a bridge over the Arkansas River was struck by a barge
ByThe Associated Press March 31, 2024,
1:13
SALLISAW, Okla. -- An Oklahoma highway was reopened Saturday following its closure for a few hours after a bridge over the Arkansas River was struck by a barge.
Troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed a portion of U.S. Highway 59 south of Sallisaw at around 1:25 p.m. after the barge hit the bridge.
No injuries were reported on the highway or the barge, according to state patrol officials. The bridge crosses the Arkansas River where it enters the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, which is not far from Oklahoma's border with Arkansas.
The highway reopened to traffic around 4 p.m.
“Engineers inspected the structure and found it safe to reopen,” the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said in an email.
A spokesperson for the highway patrol did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on whether officials have determined what caused the barge to hit the bridge.
The news came as engineers began working Saturday to lift a section of twisted steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland after it crumpled into the Patapsco River after a massive cargo ship crashed into one of its main supports.
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Baltimore's bridge collapse recalls lessons of Florida tragedy decades ago
In 1980, a ship crashed into Sunshine Skyway over Tampa Bay, killing 35
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Fla., was rebuilt in 1987 after the original bridge collapsed in 1981. A freighter struck a support post during a storm, collapsing the southbound span. A Greyhound bus and seven other vehicles were plunged into the water, killing 35 people.
March 27 (UPI) -- The catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday over Baltimore's Patapsco River, where six people remain missing and presumed dead, is drawing tragic comparisons to a similar bridge collapse in Florida 44 years ago.
On the morning of May 9, 1980, a freighter slammed into the support columns of the old Sunshine Skyway bridge over Tampa Bay during a violent thunderstorm, causing a 1,300-foot section of the southbound span to collapse. A Greyhound bus and seven other vehicles plunged into the water, where 35 people died. Only the driver of a pickup truck survived the drop.
In Baltimore, a Singapore-based cargo ship is reported to have issued a mayday Tuesday morning after losing power. Crews performing pothole work on the bridge alerted drivers to stop the flow of traffic as the ship crashed into a support column, collapsing much of the span and sending eight people into the water. Two were rescued as a search continued for the other six until late Tuesday, when it was called off.
Both bridge collapses involved freighters hitting support columns, collapsing much of the span, and plunging vehicles and people into the water below. Both bridge collapses cut off a major artery for drivers and for shipping. And both spans that collapsed opened in the 1970s.
As investigators gather in Baltimore to determine what happened Tuesday, the question is what lessons learned from Florida's tragedy decades ago could have made a difference this week. Post-disaster findings
In Florida's bridge collapse, the pilot of the ship, John Lerro, ultimately was cleared of negligence and the collision was deemed an accident. During months of hearings, Lerro maintained that he had no control over the freighter and was at the mercy of the 70-mph winds as he navigated through the 800-foot-wide opening under the twin bridge spans.
"We believe he made a reasonable decision of attempting to transit under the bridge, in view of his fear of slamming into the bridge broadside," Douglas Rabe, chief National Transportation Safety Board investigator, said in 1981. Investigators ultimately determined the National Weather Service should have warned mariners of the severe storm and that Lerro should have abandoned his attempt to navigate under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
While Tuesday's bridge collapse is still early in the investigation, there are reports that the crew aboard the cargo ship Dali issued a "mayday," saying the vessel had lost power, before it slammed into one of the support piers of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. Engineering protective barriers
On Tuesday, engineers and bridge designers raised questions about the structural safety of Baltimore's bridge and whether protective barriers around the support columns would have prevented the tragedy.
British structural engineer and bridge designer Ian Firth told The Baltimore Sun that protective barriers include cable systems, pontoons, caissons and submerged islands. Firth said the most commonly used protection for bridge support columns are bumpers or "dolphins," which are filled with sand or concrete to protect the bridge from cargo ships.
When the Sunshine Skyway was rebuilt in 1987 at a cost of $240 million, engineers added dolphins mounted to artificial islands to protect the bridge from "potential water-traffic collisions." The six piers, closest to the shipping channel in Tampa Bay, are protected and the two main piers are flanked by 60-foot dolphins, which can withstand an impact of up to 30 million pounds.
Maryland's Francis Scott Key Bridge opened 10 years earlier in 1977. Codes for building bridges and their structures have changed over the years and vary state by state to accommodate vehicle traffic above and maximum access for water traffic to traverse underneath.
Benjamin Schafer, a professor of civil and systems engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told the Sun that protecting the bridge piers, in the unlikely event that a large freighter is unable to navigate, could have made a difference Tuesday.
"This sort of protection is what FSK did not have, and we can see now that it may -- may -- have helped," Schafer said.
Scenes from Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore
A damaged container ship rests next to a bridge pillar in the Patapsco River after crashing into and destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the entrance to Baltimore harbor on March 26, 2024.
An American webcomic posted an illustration of the Baltimore bridge collapse incident showing the ship’s Indian crew wearing loincloths ahead of the collision. This came a day after US president Biden praised the team for their prompt Mayday call
The narrative has drawn criticism for both undermining the ship's crew and for its racist portrayal of Indians. Image Courtesy: @FoxfordComics/X
An out-of-control cargo ship rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in six presumed fatalities on 26 March.
The Indian crew on the ship is receiving praise from US President Joe Biden, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and other prominent figures; yet, a “racist” cartoon that depicts the tragedy has sparked controversy.
Let’s take a look.
The racist cartoon
An American webcomic has posted an illustration of the tragic event the day after US president Biden praised the ship’s crew, the majority of whom were Indians, for their prompt Mayday call.
The animated film, which was aimed at the ship’s crew, depicts dishevelled men wearing only loincloths ahead of the collision.
An audio clip of people cursing at each other in English with a heavy Indian accent was also included in the cartoon.
The video was posted on X with the caption, “Last known recording from inside the Dali moments before impact,” by Foxford Comics.
With 4.2 million views and more than 2,000 comments, the image has become widely popular.
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with one of the bridge’s supports in Baltimore. Rescuers are searching for multiple people in the water. WJLA via AP
Criticism
The narrative has drawn criticism for both undermining the ship’s crew and for its racist portrayal of Indians.
Indian economist Sanjeev Sanyal shared the cartoon and stated that a local pilot was probably in control of the ship at the time of the tragedy.
“At the time that the ship hit the bridge, it would have had a local pilot. In any case, the crew had warned the authorities which is why the casualties were relatively few (for such a disaster). The mayor in fact thanked the Indian crew as “heroes” for raising an alarm that limited casualties,” he said.
Another X user said, “It’s shameful that people are mocking Indian crew for the tragic incident. Meanwhile the governor himself praised the crew.”
“This racist trash is one of the reasons that many Indians still don’t prefer the United States, apart from the cheap way in which your gun laws enable your citizens to dispose our brethren due to the same racist agenda without fear,” a third user chipped in.
Biden and others praise Indian crew
Synergy said all crew members and the two pilots on board were accounted for, and there were no reports of any injuries. “All 22 crew members of Cargo ship that hit Key Bridge in Baltimore are Indian,” Synergy said in a statement issued on its website.
After the tragedy, Maryland governor Wes Moore hailed the Indian crew on board the Dali , saying that it was their quick thinking that saved other lives.
US president Biden said that the crew notifying officials that they had lost control of the ship, prompted the shutdown of the bridge, a move that “undoubtedly” resulted in the saving of many lives.
Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel. As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before it was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives,” stated Biden during his comments at the White House regarding the collapse.
Aerial view of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in Baltimore. Six people have been presumed dead following the incident. Reuters
Baltimore bridge tragedy
The ship flying under Singapore’s flag departed from Baltimore port at 1 am local time on Tuesday for a journey lasting around one month to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as per Marine Traffic.
The operators of the Dali cargo ship issued a mayday call that the vessel had lost power moments before the crash. At around 1.28 am, the vessel struck one of the 2.6-kilometre bridge’s supports, causing the span to break and fall into the water within seconds. Puffs of black smoke were seen as the lights flickered on and off.
The six missing people were part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, according to Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary. Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two of the missing were citizens of the Central American nation. Honduras’ deputy foreign affairs minister Antonio Garcia told AP that a Honduran citizen, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, was missing. The Washington Consulate of Mexico also said on X that citizens of that nation were also among the missing.
A view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, after the Dali cargo vessel crashed into it causing it to collapse, in Baltimore. Reuters
Rescuers pulled two people out of the water, one of whom was treated at a hospital and discharged hours later. Multiple vehicles also went into the river, although authorities did not believe anyone was inside.
Tuesday’s collapse might create a logistical nightmare along the East Coast for months, if not years, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore.
The port is a major East Coast hub for shipping. The four-lane bridge spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to the busy harbour, which leads to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
The governors of those states promised in a joint statement on Thursday that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will plan to take on more cargo to assist minimise the impacts on the supply chain up the coast from Baltimore.
Other racist cartoons
There have been numerous occasions in the past where visuals have drawn attention to the unequal treatment given to different nations.
In August 2023, a German magazine named Der Spiegel published a cartoon depicting India’s population overtaking China. It showed an overcrowded Indian train passing a modernised Chinese bullet train travelling on a parallel track with only two drivers inside. The passengers on top of the Indian train were seen holding the tricolour.
While people on social media heavily criticised the inaccurate portrayal, some politicians and other authorities have also used Twitter to condemn the cartoon as “racist” and “derogatory.”
In 2015, a cartoon was published in the Australian newspaper depicting starving Indians chopping up and eating solar panels sent to the developing nation in an attempt to curb carbon emissions has been condemned as “unequivocally racist.”
Drawn by the veteran cartoonist Bill Leak, the cartoon received massive criticism for being racist. Amanda Wise, an associate professor of sociology at Macquarie University, was quoted as saying by The Guardian, “This cartoon is unequivocally racist and draws on very base stereotypes of third world, underdeveloped people who don’t know what to do with technology,”
In 2014, the New York Times newspaper published a cartoon showing a man, wearing a shirt, dhoti, and a turban, standing with a cow and knocking on the door of a room marked “Elite Space Club” where two bespectacled men donning Western clothes were reading a newspaper on India’s Mars Mission.
The cartoon, made by Singapore-based artist Heng Kim Song, accompanied an article titled India’s Budget Mission to Mars. It received widespread condemnation, with many calling it ”racist,” and accusing it of mocking India.
For the uninitiated, in September the same year, India became the first nation to successfully put the Mangalyaan robotic probe into orbit around Mars on its first attempt. With this, ISRO joined the elite club of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Soviet Union for carrying out successful missions to the Red Planet.
With inputs from agencies
Thursday, March 28, 2024
'Egregious violation': Bridge collapse company fired worker who raised safety concerns
AlterNet March 28, 2024 The cargo ship Dali sits in the water after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland.
(Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Maersk — the company that chartered the cargo ship involved in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore that killed six people and injured several others — was sanctioned by the Department of Labor last year, according to a new report.
Lever News reported that cargo giant Maersk was hit with a violation in July of 2023 when it illegally fired a worker who reported safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard. The employee reported numerous safety concerns aboard a Maersk vessel that included leaks in a starboard-side tunnel, alcohol use by crew members and leaving a trainee unsupervised aboard the ship Safmarine Mafadi.
The worker also blew the whistle about inoperable lifeboats on board the ship and faulty emergency fire suppression equipment. The employee — who was a chief mate on the ship and occasionally served as a relief captain — told federal officials that they believed their firing was "retaliation for reporting alcohol consumption on board the vessel." Maersk was ordered to reinstate the worker and pay $700,000 in back wages and damages.
The worker was fired for violating an internal Maersk policy that required employees "to first report their concerns to [Maersk] ... prior to reporting it to the [Coast Guard] or other authorities." The Occupational Safety and Heath Administration (OSHA) slammed the company over the policy, describing it as "repugnant," "reprehensible" and "an egregious violation of the rights of employees." OSHA added that the policy "chills [employees] from contacting the [Coast Guard] or other authorities without contacting the company first."
Lever reported that during the OSHA investigation, the Department of Labor accused Maersk of violating the Seaman's Protection Act. That legislation allows for workers in the maritime industry to blow the whistle on safety violations while protecting them from retaliatory actions by their employers. The Department of Labor ordered Maersk to revise its internal policy to allow workers to contact the US Coast Guard directly about any safety concerns.
In an official statement, Maersk stated that while it was "horrified" about the crash that collapsed the bridge and expressed sympathy for those who were killed and injured, the company made it clear that responsibility for the Key Bridge collapse fell to Synergy Group, which was piloting the ship.
"We can confirm that the container vessel ‘DALI’, operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group, is time chartered by Maersk and is carrying Maersk customers’ cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel," the company stated. "We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed."
The Key Bridge collapsed after the DALI vessel experienced a power outage, prompting it to crash into one of the bridge's main trusses. While the ship's crew was able to issue a mayday call to first responders who then shut down the bridge to traffic, there were still several construction workers on the bridge repairing the road. Search and rescue teams were able to save several workers, but six were killed.
President Joe Biden has vowed that the federal government will foot the bill for the repair of the bridge and will work quickly to restore both bridge traffic and shipping lanes in and out of the Port of Baltimore. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned that while those repairs are underway, there will be "major and protracted supply chain issues" due to the inability of cargo ships to access Baltimore's port.
The Biden administration has not yet said if it will pursue legal action against Maersk or Synergy Group to help pay for the cost of repairing the Key Bridge. If it was to issue any civil penalties, the decision could be litigated in federal courts for several years.
The company that chartered the cargo ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was recently sanctioned by regulators for blocking its employees from directly reporting safety concerns to the US Coast Guard — in violation of a seaman whistleblower protection law, according to regulatory filings reviewed by the Lever.
Eight months before a Maersk Line Limited–chartered cargo ship crashed into the Baltimore bridge, likely killing six people and injuring others, the Labor Department sanctioned the shipping conglomerate for retaliating against an employee who reported unsafe working conditions aboard a Maersk-operated boat. In its order, the department found that Maersk had “a policy that requires employees to first report their concerns to [Maersk] . . . prior to reporting it to the [Coast Guard] or other authorities.”
Federal regulators at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which operates under the Labor Department, called the policy “repugnant” and a “reprehensible and an egregious violation of the rights of employees,” which “chills them from contacting the [Coast Guard] or other authorities without contacting the company first.”
Maersk’s reporting policy was approved by company executives, federal regulators found in their investigation into the incident.
“[Maersk’s] Vice President of Labor Relations, admits that this Reporting Policy requires seamen to report safety concerns to the company and allow it time to abate the conditions before reporting to the [Coast Guard] or other regulatory agencies,” Labor Department investigators said in their report.
During their investigation into Maersk, federal officials said there was “reasonable cause to believe” that the company’s policy violated the Seaman’s Protection Act, which protects maritime workers who speak out about unsafe working conditions. Officials ordered the company to reinstate the employee and pay over $700,000 in damages and back wages. They also demanded that Maersk revise its policy to allow seamen to contact the Coast Guard about safety concerns before notifying the company.
The fired employee was a chief mate on the Safmarine Mafadi, a Maersk-operated vessel, who also served as a relief captain when needed. The seaman reported unrepaired leaks, unpermitted alcohol consumption onboard, inoperable lifeboats, faulty emergency fire suppression equipment, and other issues.
Before he was fired, the employee was disciplined for not properly maintaining the logbook and failing to properly follow orders. The fired employee told federal regulators that he believed these disciplinary actions were “retaliation for reporting alcohol consumption on board the vessel.”
Maersk did not respond to Lever questions about the Labor Department’s findings and its previous policy on workplace safety reporting ahead of publication.
In a comment to other news outlets, Maersk stated: “We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected. We can confirm that the container vessel ‘DALI’, operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group, is time chartered by Maersk and is carrying Maersk customers’ cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel. We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed.”
Whistleblower Protection
The Seaman’s Protection Act was enacted in 1984 to protect maritime workers who reported statutory violations to the Coast Guard from company retaliation. These employees had been left out of other whistleblower laws at the time. In 2010, the legislation was amended to also safeguard employees who refused to perform certain duties due to fears of personal injury.
Enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, companies that violate the Seaman’s Protection Act can be subject to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. The Coast Guard also encourages employees to “report any hazardous condition before it results in a costly mishap.”
Despite the law explicitly protecting maritime employees from workplace abuses including whistleblower retaliation, experts say there have been relatively few whistleblower complaints. In 2017, a case involving the Seaman’s Protection Act made it to the Supreme Court seeking to protect a New York harbor worker, a “persistent safety advocate,” who had been fired after reporting dangerous conditions, though the court declined to hear the case.
Many maritime employers have a similar policy that prevents employees from directly contacting the Coast Guard or other regulatory agencies, according to Eric Rhine, a lawyer specializing in maritime injuries, aviation accident claims, and other issues at the Spagnoletti Law Firm.
In a blog post, Rhine highlighted a previous whistleblower retaliation case that found it was “‘standard business practice’ for employers to prohibit any direct contact by employees with government regulatory bodies.”
Rhine also highlighted that maritime employees, who face many work hazards, have a right to report unsafe conditions aboard their vessels to federal regulators.
“Sometimes accidents occur when they could have been avoided if proper and reasonable care was taken by those responsible for safe working conditions,” Rhine wrote. “These accidents can leave employees with lasting impairment that prevents them from ever working again. Of course, even worse, they can be deadly.”
Total Collapse
The vessel that crashed into the Baltimore bridge, Dali, was chartered by Maersk and operated by Synergy Marine Group, a ship management company based in Singapore. The ship had a crew of twenty-two foreign workers from India. The boat is owned by Grace Ocean Private and was headed to Sri Lanka.
Maersk, which is headquartered in Copenhagen, is one of the world’s largest shipping companies, reporting more than $51 billion in revenue in 2023. The company operates in 130 countries and employs one hundred thousand workers, according to its annual report. As of December 2023, Maersk owned 310 ships and was chartering 362, which they say is one of the world’s largest container shipping fleets.
Since 2021, Maersk has spent $2.7 million lobbying Congress and federal regulators on workers compensation, as well as port congestion and infrastructure issues, among other concerns, regulatory filings show.
Since last summer, Maersk has been battling the International Longshoremen’s Association — a labor union that represents sixty-five thousand maritime workers, including Maersk employees — over labor unrest at a port in Alabama.
In August 2023, APM Terminals, a division of Maersk, sued the union, claiming that workers at its Mobile, Alabama port were on strike illegally during an active contract. The court case is ongoing, and documents filed by the union in March allege that the company illegally suspended six workers for “raising a concern about a safety issue at the job site.”
As of publication time, rescuers have suspended the search for six missing construction workers who were working on the Baltimore bridge at the time of the collapse. The workers are presumed dead, officials said. One body was reportedly recovered from the river on Tuesday.
 "Explained: The outrage over the racist cartoon mocking Indian crew of ship behind Baltimore bridge crash")
