Hazardous Material Containers Breached During Baltimore Bridge Collapse: NTSB
The cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 was carrying more than 50 hazardous material containers, some of which were breached during the collapse, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said during a press conference on March 27 that the agency, which is currently probing the crash, had obtained a cargo manifest of the 984-foot-long Singapore-flagged cargo vessel named Dali.
The vessel—which reportedly lost power while transiting out of Baltimore Harbor and struck the bridge—had 56 containers of hazardous materials on board at the time of the incident, Ms. Homendy said.
The NTSB chair said a senior hazmat investigator had identified the containers.
“That’s 764 tons of hazardous materials—mostly corrosives, flammable, and some miscellaneous hazardous materials—class nine hazardous materials which would include lithium-ion batteries,” Ms. Homendy said.
“Some of the hazmat containers were breached,” she added.
Asked how many of the containers were in the water, the NTSB chair could not provide an exact number.
I did see some containers in the water and some breached significantly on the vessel itself,” she said. “I don’t have an exact number but it’s something that we can provide in an update and certainly in our preliminary report which should be out in two to four weeks.”
Officials have also observed a sheen—sometimes caused by gasoline or oil—on the waterway surrounding the collapsed bridge that spans the Patapsco River. According to Ms. Homendy, federal, state, and local authorities are aware of this and are currently working to address those issues.
“The NTSB as part of our safety investigation documents that type of release, it documents the damage and and documents the type of materials involved as part of our investigation,” Ms. Homendy said.
Asked by one reporter to characterize the level of concern regarding the hazardous material leak and the sheen on the water, Ms. Homendy declined to respond and directed him to state and local authorities.
The NTSB will also not provide any of its findings while the investigation remains ongoing, Ms. Homendy noted.
Date: March 30, 2024 at 22:29:05 From: Rodney Boulderfield, [DNS_Address] Subject: Re: Hazardous Material Containers Breached During Baltimore Bridge...
“Not only do we need to get those ships in, there are some ships that are already in there that can’t get out. So, it’s very important to get that channel open,” he said.
Officials monitoring 1.8 million gallons of fuel
Federal officials are monitoring about 1.8 million gallons of fuel inside the ship for its “spill potential,” according to an unclassified memo from the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. But a US official familiar with the matter told CNN “lots would have to go wrong” for that amount of fuel to spill.
An elite Coast Guard team is examining 13 damaged containers from the crashed vessel, “some with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and/or hazardous materials [HAZMAT] contents,” the CISA memo said. The team is also analyzing the ship’s manifest to determine what was on board and if any materials could pose a health risk, the source said.“
Responses:
None
19066
Date: March 30, 2024 at 17:05:17 From: akira, [DNS_Address] Subject: thanks, Kay...
for bringing it to our attention... Here's the press conference, linked in article: Yes, “Some of the hazmat containers were breached,”
Streamed live on Mar 27, 2024 NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy briefs the media on the NTSB investigation of a cargo ship striking and subsequent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
Responses:
None
19065
Date: March 30, 2024 at 09:37:54 From: Redhart, [DNS_Address] Subject: Epoch Times: low cred/pseudoSci/CTs/Failed fact cks.
Overall, we rate The Epoch Times Right Biased and Questionable based on the publication of pseudoscience and the promotion of propaganda and conspiracy theories, as well as numerous failed fact checks. Detailed Report Questionable Reasoning: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, Propaganda, Fake News, Failed Fact Checks Bias Rating: RIGHT Factual Reporting: MIXED Country: USA Press Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE Media Type: Newspaper Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY