March 26, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

Senior White House adviser Tom Perez told reporters Tuesday that “it’s too early” to tell how long it will take to rebuild the Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. 

President Joe Biden has called in “every federal agency with any sort of expertise or equity” to work on the bridge, he added.

Separately, Perez also did not rule out the possibility of “litigation or other efforts” that would seek compensation for the costs of rebuilding the bridge.

The Baltimore bridge collapse will have a serious impact on supply chains, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday.

Some background: Baltimore is 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 will likely already be changing course for other East Coast ports.

The DALI, the ship that 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 Through Saturday, said Judah Levine, a researcher at logistics firm Freightos.

CNN's Chris Isidore and Hanna Ziady contributed to this report.

This post was updated with more background on the post.

Members of the US Coast Guard have detected an oil sheen on the water near the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but they have not yet determined the source of the fuel discharge, according to USCG Petty Officer Kimberly Reaves.

USCG Command Center officials haven’t yet determined whether the sheen is the result of a fuel spill from the ship that collided with the Key bridge, or if it’s from the vehicles on the bridge that fell into the water after the collision, Reaves told CNN. Officials also do not yet know how much fuel has spilled into the water, Reaves added. 

A spokesperson from the Environmental Protection Agency told CNN they haven’t received any information from USCG confirming a fuel leak happened. EPA does have an on-scene coordinator ready to assist, according to EPA Region 3 spokesperson Shaun Eagan. 

Maryland Department of the Environment officials are conducting water sampling both upriver and downriver of the site of the bridge collapse, according to department spokesperson Jay Apperson. 

Apperson said the state is coordinating “closely” with the US Coast Guard and other agencies.

Vice President Kamala Harris said the federal government has directed its resources to help with the ongoing search and rescue operation in Baltimore after a bridge collapsed on Tuesday.

At the beginning of her remarks in North Carolina, she said she spoke with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.

The federal resources will be used to "assist with the search and rescue, to reopen the port, and to rebuild the bridge as quickly as possible. And of course, I know we all will stand and continue to stand with the people of Maryland," Harris said.

Earlier Tuesday, in remarks from the White House, President Joe Biden told reporters he’d directed his team “to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” promising to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can” to survey the damage himself. 

There is an ongoing investigation looking into possible vehicles on the bridge at the time of the collapse, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at Tuesday's news conference.

He added that what he could confirm is that the quick work of authorities in closing the bridge had saved lives.

Six people remain missing following the Baltimore bridge collapse during a news conference on Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference Tuesday.

Moore said search and rescue efforts continue and that there is no new information.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the road to recovery and rebuilding in the wake of the bridge collapse will "not be quick" and it will certainly be costly. "But we will rebuild," he noted.

Buttigieg reaffirmed President Biden's earlier commitment that the federal government will provide all the support and resources needed to rebuild.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the Baltimore bridge collapse "a unique circumstance."

He said the country will take the situation and learn from it.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged the families affected by the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

"They are hoping and praying and we are hoping and praying with them. We are all putting our arms around the community of Baltimore and that is true for all of this country," he added.