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Introduction: Whenever an "accident" of this sort takes place, those of us who doubt every official explanation of everything (the JFK assassination, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the implosion of WTC7, the crash of TWA 800, Obama's birth certificate, Polar bear extinction, the crash of American 587, the "suicide" of Jeffrey Epstein, the "suicide" of Vince Foster, the miraculous overnight come-from-behind victory of Joe Biden in 2020, Chinese spy balloon(s), "two weeks to flatten the curve," etc.) immediately wonder who would benefit most from this incident? This is why the national news media laments the existence of the internet. We no longer have to take their word, which is the government's word, for anything. Baltimore already had plenty of problems without this. Biden lauds Port of Baltimore reopening, infrastructure investments. President Joe Biden cited the reopening of the Port of Baltimore in June as evidence of the great things that can be done by investing in America and its infrastructure. Biden spoke at an open-air event on a dock at the Port of Baltimore and lauded the port's re-opening after that deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse that killed six bridge workers in March. Maryland files lawsuit against the Dali's shipping company for Baltimore bridge collapse. Maryland filed a lawsuit against the shipping company responsible for the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, which left six workers dead. Maryland's lawsuit mirrors other recent filings alleging the Singapore-based ship's owner and manager, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Group, knowingly sent a faulty ship into American-controlled waters. Earlier this year, the Dali lost power and struck the bridge overnight, bringing it down and closing the Port of Baltimore for weeks. DOJ files $100M suit against owner of ship that crashed into Baltimore bridge. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed suit against the owner of the container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore earlier this year, alleging that the company and those on board the ship knew about persistent faulty electrical and mechanical problems and failed to fix them. The Justice Department is seeking $100 million in damages from Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Maritime PTE, the owners and managers of the ship, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The damages DOJ is seeking include the cost of responding to the disaster as well as for clearing the wreck and bridge debris from the Patapsco River. Possibly related: Months after Baltimore bridge collapse, Dali leaves port, most sailors head home. Eight crew members that were on the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are home after around three months on the Dali. A judge ruled on Thursday, June 21, that the men could return on the condition that they would be available for future depositions as the investigation into the crash and bridge collapse continues. A spokesperson for the ship's management said that he expected two more crew members to return from the United States soon. Investigators said that there is no need to keep the men in the United States any longer since they have already been questioned by the Justice Department. The crew had been unable to leave the ship because of they were considered witnesses in the ongoing investigation. Crew members also did not have valid visas or shore passes. Ship behind Baltimore bridge collapse towed to port — but crew stuck on board for 55 days without personal cellphones still can't leave. The ship that caused the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse has finally been removed and towed back to port, but the 21 crew members who have been stuck for 55 days aren't able to leave the vessel just yet. The massive Dali cargo freighter regained buoyancy on Monday morning as part of a huge team effort by various local authorities and was moved away from the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bridge collapsed on March 26 after the ship struck one of its support columns, killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge overnight. Ship that caused Baltimore bridge to collapse had 4 blackouts before deadly crash: report. The electrical blackouts experienced by the container ship Dali before it left Baltimore's port were "mechanically distinct from" those that resulted in the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge hours later, according to congressional testimony Wednesday. "Two were related to routine maintenance in port. Two were unexpected tripping of circuit breakers on the accident voyage," National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy testified. The Dali was headed to Sri Lanka, laden with shipping containers and enough supplies for a month-long voyage. Shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore early on March 26, the ship lost power and propulsion and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns, killing six construction workers. Baltimore bridge span removed, ship freed with precision blast. Dali, the container ship that felled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, was freed on Monday by precision explosive charges that dismantled the span of the roadway that came down on the vessel. Gov. Wes Moore announced at a news conference that a channel 50 feet deep and 700 feet wide was expected to be available to vessels at the end of the month and will be a key piece for "fully opening vessel traffic to the port." The port was initially shuttered at 1:28 a.m. March 26 when the 940-foot, Singapore-flagged ship lost power and drifted into the bridge that serves as the unofficial gateway to a harbor formed where the Patapsco River meets Chesapeake Bay. Why Did the FBI Seize the Phones of the Dali's Crew? It's been more than six weeks since the cargo ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse. While some detour channels have been cleared, and some of the cargo has been removed, the Dali is still stuck in the same spot with a huge section of the bridge pushing down her bow. Plans to remove the final bridge sections using small explosives were delayed by rough weather this week. Amazingly most of the crew has remained onboard the vessel for much of this time. Reverend Josh Messick of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center has been in touch with the crew regularly but he describes the situation as having been quite stressful for the sailors. One big part of that stress is the fact that the FBI seized all of the sailor's phones as soon as they arrived and they still haven't returned them. Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Body of Final Victim Recovered. Salvage teams have recovered the body of a sixth construction worker, believed to be the last victim who went missing after the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The victim was identified as 37-year-old José Mynor López of Baltimore. His body was found on May 7 at the scene of the bridge's collapse, according to the Key Bridge Response Unified Command. The Maryland State Police, along with an FBI victim specialist and linguist, and a team of mental health professionals have notified the victim's family members after a positive identification was made. "With heavy hearts, today marks a significant milestone in our recovery efforts and providing closure to the loved ones of the six workers who lost their lives in this tragic event," Col. Roland Butler Jr., superintendent of the Maryland Department of State Police, said in a statement. Explosives will be used to remove large section of Key Bridge from Dali freighter. Within the next week, crews plan to use precision explosive charges to remove the large section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge draped across the bow of the Dali freighter. [Advertisement] Charges will be placed on the truss, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Ronald Hodges of the Key Bridge Unified Command, and the crew still aboard the Dali will shelter in place on the container ship when they are detonated. Officials at Unified Command determined the explosives would be more effective than cutting apart the piece with powerful saws — the method used so far to separate many of the bridge pieces in the Patapsco River so they can be lifted out by massive cranes. [Advertisement] "It's the safest and the quickest way, rather than having a guy up there in a crane cutting a truss that's under a bunch of weight and tension," Hodges said. Prepare For A Slow, Spendy Baltimore Bridge Rebuild That Won't Satisfy Anybody. There is an old adage in the construction industry. All customers want their project three ways — good, fast, and cheap. No such projects exist in reality, but owners can sometimes have two of the three. Fast and inexpensive but shoddy. Quick and good but expensive. You get the drift. Extrapolate that concept to a perfect new bridge or highway with all the bells and whistles, with which everyone will be happy, and you will get an exceedingly slow, high quality, and inexplicably expensive finished product. Besides famous treasures like the Golden Gate or London Tower Bridge, when is the last time you remember what a bridge looked like after you passed under or over it? Likely never, as long as you traveled without incident. The purpose of a bridge over water is to allow people or vehicles to cross without getting wet — and to let boats pass under it. Those engineering priorities have become secondary to many other interests, and that is why we cannot have nice infrastructure in a timely fashion and at a reasonable cost. Key Bridge collapse: Massive claw to clear remaining debris; deeper channel to open Thursday. A massive hydraulic grab arrived in Baltimore over the weekend as officials plan a new phase of efforts to clear the debris of the Francis Scott Key Bridge to commence after a planned Thursday opening of the deepest alternate channel through the wreckage yet. The grab will be attached to the Chesapeake 1000 crane and work as a "vital part" of debris-removal operations at the bottom of the Patapsco River in the next stage of operations, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Himes, a spokesperson for the Key Bridge Response Unified Command. The set of four hydraulic claws weighs 165 metric tons when empty and can hold up to 1,000 metric tons, according to its Dutch manufacturer, The Grab Specialist. The grab comes as a 35-foot channel is expected to open, allowing larger vessels to travel into the Baltimore harbor and salvage operations start to pivot toward clearing debris from the harbor's 50-foot main channel. National Security Implications of Baltimore Bridge Catastrophe. The Port of Baltimore is "closed until further notice" following the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy, sending several industries into disarray and jeopardizing national security. In 2023, the port handled a record amount of international cargo, ranked ninth for both dollar value and tonnage in the United States. Vital for both imports and exports of a variety of commodities, the Port of Baltimore has always had international significance and the impact of its closure will be wide-ranging and long-term for the supply chain in the United States and beyond. Given the seriousness of this issue, Congress must come together to approve the funding to clean up the debris, reopen the channel, and rebuild the bridge. Having three decades of experience in the United States military, and with foreign affairs and national security issues I can safely say that the reverberations of the disaster will be felt across the globe. The repercussions with regards to energy security are of specific concern and must be addressed. FBI Announces Criminal Investigation of Baltimore Bridge Collapse. The FBI announced it is conducting an investigation of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, and that it had boarded the cargo ship Dali: "The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court authorized law enforcement activity." The bureau is determining whether the Dali violated federal law before causing the collapse that killed six people. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the city of Baltimore was pursuing legal action, and that it would "hold responsible all entities accountable for the Key Bridge tragedy, including the owner, charterer, manager/operator, and the manufacturer of the M/V Dali, as well as any other potentially liable third parties." The truth is coming out in the Baltimore bridge cyber attack. [Video clip only.] FBI launches criminal probe into Baltimore bridge collapse. The FBI has launched a criminal probe into the Baltimore bridge collapse that killed six construction workers. Agents will investigate whether the 22-strong crew of the Dali knew it had serious systemic issues before they left the Maryland port on March 26. Some were seen arriving at the ship today to speak to the crew, who remain onboard. Lessons from Maryland Key Bridge Collapse. [Scroll down] Who should pay for the Key Bridge's replacement? President Joe Biden jumped the gun by declaring that the federal government would foot the entire bill. That ignores a number of key points, including that the Key Bridge is a toll bridge whose replacement should be financed at least in part via toll revenue bonds. It also ignores a $350 million Maryland insurance policy on the bridge and ship insurance provided by Britannia P&I Club, one of about a dozen such insurance vehicles, according to The Wall Street Journal. These clubs pool their resources in the event of a major disaster, and up to $3.1 billion is available per ship. President Biden's hasty over-reaction has drawn some bipartisan opposition, including from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). Rep. Garamendi told Bloomberg TV, "I don't think this has to be federal taxpayer money. Let's first go to the insurance side of it, and then we'll see what's left over." It's far too early to put a price tag on the replacement bridge. The original Key Bridge cost only $316 million, but its flawed design must not be replicated. African American groups call for ditching 'racist' Francis Scott Key, naming new bridge after late congressman. A coalition of African American groups in Maryland is pushing for Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge to be renamed once reconstructed over what they say is racism connected to Key's legacy. The Caucus of African American Leaders of Anne Arundel County recently voted unanimously to call for changing the names of two bridges in Maryland, including the Key Bridge, and will lobby Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and the state's Democrat-controlled General Assembly on the proposal, the Baltimore Banner first reported Tuesday. The bridge collapsed in late March when a cargo ship struck a support beam. Let me guess: THEY will decide which black female the bridge will be named for. There will be no referendum. Massive container ship loses power near NYC's Verrazzano Bridge days after Baltimore Key Bridge disaster. A massive container ship lost propulsion power in the waters around New York City and was brought to a rest near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Friday night — less than two weeks after failure on another massive cargo vessel caused it to smash into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. The US Coast Guard confirmed that its Vessel Traffic Service received a report that the 89,000-ton M/V APL Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed the Kill Van Kull — the shipping lane between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey. An image shared on X by John Konrad, CEO of maritime-focused news outlet gCaptain, shows the 1,100-foot APL Qingdao floating uncomfortably close to the span that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island. Joe Biden's Narcissism Devolves Into Sociopathy at Baltimore Bridge Collapse Site. Joe Biden made a short trip to Baltimore on Friday [and ...] visited the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, which occurred after a container ship lost power and hit one of the support structures. As the president's public appearances go, his latest was typical. Biden slurred his words and got confused multiple times, both things that seem to occur every time he gives a speech. If he ever figures out how to exit a stage, it'll be the first time in a long time. There was one moment that caught my eye, though, because it exposed something deeper than the president's general senility and lack of timing. [Tweet with video clip] [...] This was not just a harmless infrastructure failure. Six people died after the bridge collapsed, with some bodies being found in vehicles submerged at the bottom of the bay after an extensive search. Biden was at the site of a deadly tragedy. What kind of person shows up in that setting and starts giving a bad comedy routine? Further, what kind of person then makes up a story in an attempt to make themselves the center of attention? Here's Why It Could Take Longer to Rebuild the Baltimore Bridge Than the Whole Transcontinental Railroad. The effort to rebuild the recently collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore, Maryland, could quickly turn into a years-long quagmire as a result of environmental red tape under the Biden administration, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Baltimore Bridge was struck by a container ship navigating the Patapsco River out of the Port of Baltimore in late March, sending several cars and workers into the water and rendering the passageway unusable. It is unknown exactly how long the bridge could take to rebuild, as officials could expedite the process, but experts warned the DCNF that government red tape, such as environmental reviews filed by government entities or environmental activists, could slow down its construction after debris is cleared from the site and new plans for a replacement bridge are drawn up. Dali owners deny fault for Baltimore bridge collapse and demand lawsuits be capped at price of the boat. The owners and manager of the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge last week and sent its metal frame tumbling into the river below have denied responsibility, as they tried to argue that they shouldn't be held liable for amounts larger than the new value of the damaged vessel. Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., the owner of the cargo ship Dali, and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., the ship's manager, filed a petition in federal court Monday denying any fault or neglect, according to the Baltimore Banner. Force Majeure Is Now In Effect. Because of the Baltimore Bridge Disaster, multiple shippers have declared Force Majeure. Two lessons learned out of this episode? First[,] having an American Flag Merchant Fleet would provide much better ability to give legal direction and guidance on a large scale in such circumstances. The second lesson? Slow speed diesels have become the operating norm for 50 years with merchant vessels. Sprinting to a new harbor to dump your cargo or outrun a Chinese submarine are much better with an ability to kick in after-burner with the slow speed diesels and move the merchant vessel at 25 plus knots when an In Extremis event happens. We are now descending into a new worldwide supply chain shock — get ready. Company of Ship that Took Down Baltimore Key Bridge Responds, May Be Protected by 173-Year-Old 'Titanic' Law. The owner of the container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last week, causing it to collapse and killing six workers, and the ship's management company, have filed a petition in federal court to limit their liability in the tragedy. The U.K. Independent reported that the petition and appeal filed by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Limited and Hong Kong's Synergy Marine Group are based on the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851. This is the same U.S. law that protected the White Star Line, the owners of the Titanic, according to the Independent. First ship passes through temporary channel in Baltimore bridge wreck. The first ship has passed through a temporary alternate channel opened through the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. A tugboat maneuvering a fuel barge passed through the channel, bound for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The channel is meant to allow the passage of vessels that are part of recovery and clean-up efforts at the site of the collapse. But officials say some other cargo barges will be able to move through the channel. A second passage is also being cleared that will allow larger ships with deeper drafts to pass, though there is no timeline for when it may open. 2 ship companies are invoking a 200-year-old law to try to skirt huge legal liabilities from the Baltimore collision. The owner and manager of the Dali containership that collided with Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last week are attempting to limit their legal liability through an old law. Grace Ocean, the vessel's owner, and Synergy Marine, the operations manager, are seeking to cap their liability at about $43.7 million — the value of the ship after the disaster, according to a court petition the companies filed on Monday in Maryland. The Singapore-based companies valued the 95,000-metric ton Dali at up to $90 million, pre-bridge collision. Cleanup from the disaster will eat into the ship's overall value. Repair could cost at least $28 million and salvage another $19.5 million, the companies estimated. The freight was valued at $1.2 million. The companies will file another estimate after determining final salvage and repair costs. The Editor says... The Attack On The Port Of Baltimore. The evidence is overwhelming that Iran, with the help of Russia and China, disabled the ship. My report documents another attack on a U.S. port, the Port of Houston, in 2021, in which hackers were said to have breached a computer network, and a "foreign-state actor" was involved but never identified. For the last several months, various warnings have been given about cyber warfare directed against maritime targets. These include a congressional hearing, a speech by the FBI director, indictments of Iranian cyber actors, and the Biden Administration issuing a new Executive Order on "Safeguarding of Vessels, Harbors, Ports, and Waterfront Facilities of the United States" on February 21 — just over a month ago. In other words, the Biden Administration, and its CIA and FBI, saw this coming. [...] The vaunted "surveillance state" that is up for review by Congress failed us again. And this explains why most of the media will not even mention the possibility that cyber warfare disabled the cargo ship's communications and navigational controls. Biden's War with Iran Comes to Baltimore. The coincidences just keep piling up. One month ago, according to several news outlets, the U.S. conducted a cyberattack against an Iranian military ship that had been collecting intelligence on cargo vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Then, on Tuesday morning, a cargo ship crashes into the Francis Scott Key bridge, after mysteriously losing power, causing the collapse of the bridge, loss of life, and an economic catastrophe costing tens of billions of dollars. On Things Collapsing. The recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was profoundly dramatic. It struck a chord because something similar happened in Tampa in 1980. Ships are big and always getting bigger. And this bridge was a bit older and not made with today's state-of-the-art design and technology. How did it happen? Was it a freak accident? The poisoned fruit of affirmative action? Sabotage or terrorism? I have no idea, and we may not know for a while. I do know that if the truth threatens some chestnut of politically correct conventional wisdom, it will be hidden in a footnote, if it is allowed to be released at all. Planes have crashed and ships have crashed into other ships, and the possible influence of affirmative action and lower standards was never really explored in any depth, even though it appeared to be a contributing factor. The powers-that-be seem to think we can take people with one or more standard deviations lower general intelligence and obtain the same result in technically demanding fields like aviation, seamanship, medicine, and engineering. Baltimore Bridge May Take 15 Years and $2 Billion to Rebuild. If you thought that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was the real disaster, you aren't familiar with the government. Stephen Green at VodkaPundit notes that, "Could it really take twice as long and four times as much money to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge than it did to build it in the first place? The Key Bridge was built at a cost (adjusted for inflation) of about $200 million. Replacing it could take a decade and cost $400 million to $800 million dollars, according to experts in what has become a dismal field." It'll get worse before it gets better. And that's assuming that it ever does. Estimates for the rebuilding time are stretching out to 15 years already. (And remember the reality will always be worse than the estimates.) The Collapsed Bridge to Nowhere: Francis Scott Key and Missing Logic. Joe Biden is demanding, and pronto, more of our tax money to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. He wants more from us — naturally — but America needs, as its first priority, to investigate and determine if the bridge's destruction was in fact unintended... or malicious. Much documented evidence is emerging as to the bridge "accident" being in fact, a political, and likely international, cyber-attack. Whether or not this is so, something is off-kilter about the serial infrastructure fails happening all around us. It is time for a much closer look. As to Biden's call for more cash, where are the trillion plus dollars obligated by Biden's crowning achievement, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law? [...] Why is Biden demanding, immediately, new money to cover the Baltimore bridge disaster, when insurers have not yet submitted determinations as to eligible underwritten costs to rebuild? A good bet is more federal fraud. The real answer is Joe Biden's graft and essential dishonesty. Key Bridge Disaster Highlights The Vital Importance Of American Energy. In the wake of the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor, media and public attention suddenly focused on the importance of the nation's ports. No one should doubt the vital nature of the Port of Baltimore to trade on the U.S. East Coast: The facility is a vital cog in the import and export of cars, coal, and other key commodities. The legacy media has certainly done a good job of telling that specific story as the week progressed, which is to be commended. But one aspect of the story that hasn't been told much if at all by these mainstream media outlets is the fact that, as vital as it is to trade on the East Coast, the Port of Baltimore ranks only as the 17th most-active US port in terms of total tonnage. The Bridge is out. The catastrophic destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore provides an apt metaphor for America. The wrecked bridge will cripple commerce and supply channels up and down the east coast and will cause similar chaos extending into the Midwest. Biden says he will have the government pay for all the necessary repairs, which currently appear to be about 1.5 billion dollars. Really? And from where will this money come? Somewhat related: Oh Say Can You See? Who among you was not impressed seeing the sudden and total collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after getting its pylon bonked by the container ship Dali a few hours before the dawn's early light in Baltimore harbor? In America's ongoing death-of-a-thousand-cuts, that one literally severed a major artery, but it may take a while to know how badly the wounded colossus known as the USA is bleeding out. "Joe Biden" emerged from his crypt pronto to state that the federal government would pony-up the cost of building the bridge back better, meant to reassure the public, you'd suppose. But perhaps the real reason was to obviate an otherwise requisite investigation of the crash by ship-owner Grace Ocean's insurance company — since legal wrangling over responsibility would add more years to the already years-long estimated bridge replacement time-frame. [...] Oh, one other thing, look out for on-the-ground economic reverberations from the FSK Bridge disaster. For instance, Baltimore is the USA's top port for importing and exporting automobiles. Also, earth-moving and large farm equipment, fertilizer, lumber, coal, and steel. It WAS NOT an accident: Ship changed course and kept it. Something is fishy yet again. The Ship Changed its Course Appox. 2 Minutes prior to Hitting the Baltimore Bridge • At 4:44:37 UTC, the ship begins its journey • 5:27:37 UTC, the ship changed course • 5:29:39 UTC, the ship hit the bridge This was no accident. [Numerous tweets.] The Baltimore bridge collapse and supply chains. It's not just ships that will be affected. With so major a road transport artery shut down, trucks will be severely delayed by having to detour around the affected area (and, of course, by greatly increased traffic congestion due to everybody else having to take the same detour). Our supermarkets rely on truck transport to receive food and other essentials every day. This incident will almost certainly have a serious impact on consumers in north-eastern states. It'll take years to rebuild this bridge, and heaven knows where the money will come from. It Could Take HOW LONG to Rebuild Francis Scott Key Bridge? Could it really take twice as long and four times as much money to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge than it did to build it in the first place? The Key Bridge was built at a cost (adjusted for inflation) of about $200 million. Replacing it could take a decade and cost $400 million to $800 million dollars, according to experts in what has become a dismal field. "To actually recreate that whole transportation network" could take a decade or more, structural engineer Ben Schafer told USA Today on Wednesday. Huge projects, Schafer said, now take "rarely less than 10 years." Well, they didn't use to. By comparison, the Apollo program that put a man on the moon required seven years, eight months, and 23 days. And — this is the really exciting part — everything about Apollo, from the massive Saturn V rocket to the "tiny" flight computer, had to be created from scratch. The Editor says... How Baltimore bridge disaster threatens to leave key global shipping markets 'frozen in time'. Major shipping markets are braced for impact following the collapse of an iconic bridge in Baltimore after it was struck by a Maersk-chartered container ship in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Pictures and video of sections of the Francis Scott Key Bridge plummeting into the Patapsco River after it was hit by the 9,962-teu Dali (built 2015) made headlines around the world. Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse FAQ. Who will pay for the damages? President Joe Biden announced that the federal government will fully foot the bill to pay for a new bridge. The Key Bridge saw over 11 million passengers per year before its fall. "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 the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort," Biden said. He has plans to visit Baltimore "quickly." Similar bridge collapses have seen full federal government support. Impact of Baltimore port closure on global supply chains. Baltimore is among the top 20 ports in the United States by tonnage and number of containers handled, according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Last year, it handled a record 1.1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) of containers — a measure of volume for shipping containers. Container imports via Baltimore amounted to 2.1 percent of the total for all US ports, according to Allianz Trade. [...] The port hosts transatlantic traffic, including small ships from northern Europe and the Mediterranean as well as some shipping lines from the Indian Ocean, Tourret said. But it is a key hub for the auto industry. Its private and public terminals handled 847,158 autos and light trucks last year, more than any other US port for the 13th year in a row, according to Maryland state figures. It also ranked first for farm and construction machinery, as well as imported sugar and gypsum, and second for coal exports. Baltimore is the largest US coal export port and the 22nd-largest exporter globally. The coal trade from Baltimore will be "probably frozen in time... Every other port is just jam-packed with coal right now — it would take six weeks to send rail cars back up to West Virginia and transfer them to barges." NTSB Update on Baltimore Bridge Collapse, Investigation and Current HAZMAT Concerns for Baltimore Harbor. The NTSB gives an update on the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, following the impact of a Singaporean-flagged cargo ship, the Dali. According to the update, 56 containers of hazardous materials were on board, including corrosive flammable cells, lithium ion batteries, and other hazardous materials. Some of the HAZMAT containers were compromised and some fell into the water. DEI and Racial Narratives Crop Up in the Wake of Baltimore Bridge Disaster. On Tuesday morning, a cargo ship collided with a pier supporting Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge. The collision took out the structure's support, causing it to collapse. Six people tragically lost their lives during the incident. Fortunately, two people were rescued. The incident has elicited an outpouring of grief and sympathy from across the country as efforts are being made to understand what led to the disaster. However, as with most tragedies, some members of the chattering class pounced on the opportunity to politicize the tragedy by racializing it. Influencers and media figures on both sides of America's political divide used the incident to promote racial narratives on an issue where it clearly does not belong. Was loss of Francis Scott Key Bridge an attack? Closings of port, I-695 have consequences. The wreckage of the I-695 bridge continues to block access to the Port of Baltimore and could disrupt shipping flows across the U.S., shipping industry officials say. Predictably, the disaster promptly attracted a large gathering of political and media figures, not to mention the U.S. Transportation Secretary, all of whom fell short of explaining the inexplicable. "For the shipping community, the accident will affect maritime lanes as carriers must seek alternative ports of call while the collapsed bridge continues to block the river," FreightWaves cited industry experts as saying. In 2023, the Port of Baltimore handled $80.8 billion in trade, including 1.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units, 1.3 million tons of roll-on/roll-off farm and construction machinery, 11.7 million tons of general cargo, and 847,158 shipments of cars and light trucks. Transportation Dept Will Not Say How Many National Defense Ships Stuck in [the Baltimore] Harbor. After an initial strong public response from President Biden vowing the federal government would do whatever it took to fix the situation, his administration is showing early signs it is bungling the response to the collapsed bridge in Baltimore. Questions abound — such as exactly how many ships are stuck in the harbor, but the administration has been unable to provide fast or forthcoming answers. Matt Walsh Addresses "Coincidence" of Obama's New Movie Containing Scene Where a Cargo Ship Crashes Due to Cyber Attack. Shortly after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, former fraud investigator and veteran Jimmy Corsetti took to X and pointed out that in Obama's new Netflix movie "Leave the World Behind" there is a scene where a massive cargo ship crashes into the beach after losing power from a cyber attack. Corsetti added in the thread that the cargo ship in the movie was named the "White Lion" and highlighted that the country of Sri Lanka has a lion on its national flag. He then noted the Dali cargo ship was en route to Sri Lanka before it tragically crashed into the Key bridge. [Tweet with video clip] NTSB Releases Data on DALI's Black Box. As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy announced the voyage data recorder known as the "black box' was recovered from the DALI cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge early Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening, Homendy and NTSB investigator Marcel Muise held a press conference to reveal the data on the DALI's black box, also known as the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR). NTSB investigator Marcel Muise revealed there were about six hours of VDR on data and included a timeline of midnight to 6 am. Before revealing the data on the VDR, Muise warned that the quality of the voice recording and radio data was hard to comprehend due to background noise. If It Ain't Woke, Don't Fix It: Biden Urged To Use Baltimore Bridge Rebuild For Race Reparations. President Joe Biden is being pressed to use the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore as an opportunity to remedy alleged racial discrimination against blacks in the construction industry. Biden said this week that he had told his administration officials to "move heaven and earth" to reopen the port of Baltimore and rebuild the bridge. The reconstruction efforts, however, may be complicated by demands that the project further leftwing ideas about racial justice, the treatment of immigrants, climate change, and wealth redistribution. An op-ed in The Hill underscores that some of these demands may be irreconcilable. For example, demands for more black representation in construction can conflict with demands that the U.S. continue to welcome the surge of migrants at our borders. Over 1,600 planes affected by mysterious GPS jamming across Europe. Planes flying over and near the Baltic Sea in northern Europe have faced technical issues due to jamming. A total of 1614 planes, mostly civilian, have reported problems since then. A map shared on X by an open-source intelligence account, which monitors interference, displays incidents spread across Poland and southern Sweden, reported lbc.co.uk. Although most incidents seem to be in Polish airspace, OSINT blogs have mentioned that planes flying in airspace belonging to Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania have also experienced interference problems. According to lbc.co.uk, there seems to be minimal to no interference in Belarus, a strong ally of Russia, or in Kaliningrad, the Russian province separated from the mainland by sea and land. Baltimore Ship 'Black Box' Data Recorder Taken by Investigators. The investigation and recovery after the catastrophic bridge strike over the Patapsco River continues, with National Transportation Safety Board officials having boarded the MV Dali and professionals continuing to seek victims of the collapse. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials have now removed the MV Dali's data recorder — like the famous 'black boxes' of commercial aircraft — which upon evaluation may contain further information about the cause of the loss of propulsion that seems to have contributed to Tuesday's disaster. Among the more mundane reasons for the "lost propulsion" that would have left the ship not able to steer its own way and vulnerable to currents and changing dynamic forces in the water as it crossed dredged channels are dirty or bad fuel, insufficient maintenance, or freak mechanical failure. Nevertheless, it was stated the ship was up to date with its inspections and certifications at the time of the accident. 
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