By Helen Regan, Kathleen Magramo, Antoinette Radford, Alisha Ebrahimji, Maureen Chowdhury, Rachel Ramirez, Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Tori B. Powell, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Kathleen Magramo, CNN
From CNN's Andy Rose
An emergency call from the container ship gave officials time to begin closing the Francis Scott Key Bridge to vehicle traffic before the ship slammed into it, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Tuesday.
“I'm thankful for the folks, once the warning came up and once notification came up that there was a mayday, who literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge — these people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Moore said.
From CNN's Chris Isidore and Hanna Ziady
The Port of Baltimore is closed to vessel traffic until further notice, and it's too early to say when ships will begin calling on the port once again, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Monday.
"Right now our exclusive focus is on saving lives, our exclusive focus is on search and rescue," he said at a news conference Monday.
The length of time that the channel is blocked by debris from the bridge will determine the extent of the economic impact of the accident on the local economy. While it could take years to rebuild the bridge — Moore described the process as "a long-term build" and one without a timeline as of yet. He added that removing the debris is likely to be a priority and could be accomplished much faster.
Some background: Overall, Baltimore ranks as the ninth biggest US port for international cargo. According to the Maryland state government, the port supports 15,330 direct jobs and 139,180 jobs in related services.
Until the channel is reopened, ships that had been destined for the Port of Baltimore are likely already changing course for other East Coast ports.
The DALI, the ship which hit the bridge and caused the collapse, was the only container vessel in the port at the time of the collision, but seven container vessels had been scheduled to arrive in Baltimore through Saturday, said Judah Levine, a researcher at logistics firm Freightos.
From CNN's Peter Valdes-Dapena
A number of major automakers, including General Motors, Toyota and the Volkswagen Group, the maker of VW, Audi and Bentley cars and SUVs, use the Port of Baltimore to ship vehicles in and out of the east coast of the United States.
With Baltimore closed, automakers will now work to find other ports to bring vehicles in the US and to ship out ones that are manufactured here. GM, for instance, exports vehicles to South America and America through Baltimore.
"Our thoughts are with those who were affected and the Baltimore community," GM said in a statement shared with CNN. "We expect the situation to have minimal impact to our operations. We are working to re-route any vehicle shipments to other ports."
John Lawler, Ford's chief financial officer, said in a Bloomberg Television interview that Ford is rerouting auto parts to other East Coast ports. He said the situation will “lengthen the supply chain a bit.”
Truck traffic disruptions could cause issues even for automakers that aren't directly affected by port issues. Volkswagen's shipping facility in Baltimore, for instance, is on the eastern side of the bridge, and, so, continues to have access to the ocean.
"Last year, we received, processed and shipped approximately 100,000 vehicles through Baltimore for US dealers located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S," VW said in a statement. "We do not anticipate any impact on vessel operations but there may be trucking delays as traffic will be rerouted in the area."
BMW and Nissan both said the bridge collapse would not greatly impact their operations.
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is heading to Baltimore today, a staff member with the agency confirmed to CNN.
Buttigieg spoke to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to a post from the secretary on X.
"Rescue efforts remain underway and drivers in the Baltimore area should follow local responder guidance on detours and response," Buttigieg wrote.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said in a news briefing Tuesday morning that authorities are searching for alternative transport options for the approximately 35,000 people using the bridge every day, noting that they will be directing people to use two major tunnels — the harbor tunnel and the Fort McHenry Tunnel — to avoid the site of collapse.
From CNN's Alisha Ebrahimji
Authorities have been able to find three passenger vehicles, a cement truck and a fifth vehicle submerged in the water using infrared and side-scan sonar technology, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN.
Up to eight dive teams were in the water performing search and rescue operations, he said, noting he's unsure if the fifth car is a passenger or work vehicle.
"It's the dynamic of an incident like this, operating in a space of uncertainty, it just makes things very difficult," he said. "Add darkness to it, it becomes dangerous."
From CNN’s Sahar Akbarzai and Heather Chen
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) announced it will launch an investigation into the container ship DALI and the bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a statement from the MPA on Tuesday.
The DALI is a Singapore-registered vessel, according to the port authority.
The MPA said it is in contact with the US Coast Guard and will “provide full cooperation to the US Coast Guard in its investigations,” the statement says.
From CNN Staff
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday morning after it was struck by a 984-foot cargo ship.
Here's what we know:
From CNN’s Caitlin Danaher
The insurers of the DALI container ship involved in a collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday are “working closely with the ship manager and relevant authorities to establish the facts,” a statement from Britannia P&I Club said Tuesday.
With head offices in London and Luxembourg, the Britannia P&I Club provides Protection and Indemnity insurance and Freight Demurrage and Defence insurance to shipowners and charterers, according to the company website.
Britannia P&I Club added it is working to “help ensure that this situation is dealt with quickly and professionally."
“In the meantime, our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident,” the statement added.
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said crew on the ship were able to issue a "mayday" before colliding into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which allowed authorities to stop traffic from going on the bridge.
"We're thankful that between the 'mayday' and collapse that-that we had officials who were able to-to begin the stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not up on the bridge," Moore said.
