March 28, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

A heavy lift crane vessel will arrive at the Port of Baltimore later Thursday to help clear debris from the collapsed Francis Scott Key bridge, a senior White House adviser said, as the federal government reiterates its pledge to surge resources.

Tom Perez, the director of intergovernmental affairs, said that while salvage work has begun, officials are "incredibly sensitive to the notion that this is also the resting place for four fathers, for four brothers, for four sons."

About the victims: Four workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed are presumed dead. The Maryland State Police said two bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Perez reflected on visiting with "inconsolable" families of some of the victims this week, stressing the urgency with which officials are working to recover the remaining bodies. 

The workers were all immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Perez said the White House is working with family members abroad on the possibility of a humanitarian parole process for them to come to the US “for a limited period of time.”

The massive cargo ship crash into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore will likely lead to billions of dollars in liability claims. Marine insurance companies will be on the hook for much of the costs.

With various owners and companies involved – and with some maritime laws predating even the Titanic sinking – untangling the web, figuring out who owes what, and addressing the damages from both lives lost and to physical structures will be complex.

And paying for it will be no simple task. It's still too early to know how much the final bill for damages and rebuilding, but insurers will have to foot the bill.

The Dali ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private, a Singapore-based company, and insured by the Britannia Protection and Indemnity Club. Britannia is one of the dozen marine insurance member clubs under the International Group of P&I Clubs, a consortium that provides marine liability coverage for 90% of ocean freight and pools liability claims among members. (The International Group of P&I Clubs did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.)

These insurance companies are backed by insurance companies of their own – a type of business known as a reinsurer. Around 80 different reinsurers provide around $3 billion in coverage to the Dali’s insurers, according to Moody’s analyst Brendan Holmes. Since the losses will be spread across so many insurers, it’s unlikely to bankrupt any of the companies or cause a major bump in insurance prices, he said.

Read more about the challenges paying for the bridge reconstruction here.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said that Key Bridge workers need to be protected following the span's collapse in Baltimore.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says there is a "very long road ahead" for rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

He said leaders from multiple local, state and federal authorities are gathering funds to rebuild the bridge.

"This work is not going to take hours, this work is not going to take days, this work is not going to take weeks; we have a very long road ahead of us," he said.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of the Orioles' home opener at Camden Yards, Moore said reconstruction would require the assistance of everyone in the region.

"Together, again we are going to have another reopening day — and that will be the reopening of the Francis Scott Key Bridge," he said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says "we are thinking about the families" of the victims who lost their lives in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse earlier this week.

"Our hearts are with the families," Moore said at a news conference ahead of the Orioles' home opener at Camden Yards Thursday. "And to all the families, we are so sorry for this tragedy."

Remember: Officials recovered the bodies of two construction workers Wednesday after the bridge collapse. They have been identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala. 

The six people who are presumed dead were from Mexico Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., the superintendent of Maryland State Police. 

Sen. Chris Van Hollen laid out the next steps for covering the cost of the collapse of the Baltimore Key Bridge, telling reporters this morning that an assessment is underway right now to determine the full cost of recovery.

Here is the breakdown of how the Maryland Democrat said the costs will be covered:

Carlos Suazo Sandoval, the brother of one of those presumed dead following the bridge collapse, said that the families of victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse have been prepared by authorities and experts on what to expect next.

Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 38, was one of the construction workers who vanished after the bridge collapse, CNN previously reported.

Authorities have told the families they haven’t given up on recovering their loved ones, but they aren’t sure when that process will begin again. Debris must be removed from the water before more bodies can be recovered.

Experts have been preparing the families for what state the bodies might be in, if they are recovered, as it has been multiple days, and they may have been damaged by debris from the collapse.

Carlos Suazo Sandoval said, at this point, family members have accepted that more victims will not be found alive.

Baltimore was sleeping when the fully laden cargo ship, adrift and without power, slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing it down in seconds.

The six people presumed dead from the tragedy couldn’t escape. They were maintenance workers — the kind of people few people notice but who do tough jobs through the night to keep the country running.

All of those missing were immigrants, outsiders who had come to the US from Central and South America for a better life. Their stories and aspirations mirrored the lives of millions of new entrants to the United States. They are far more representative of the migrant population than the extreme and misleading picture often spouted about migrants by Donald Trump. The Republican presumptive nominee often falsely claims foreign countries are entering their asylums and jails to send their “worst people” as a de-facto invasion force to the US.

Often, migrants do jobs that other people don’t want to do — the ones with the lowest wages and the worst conditions. Some do so to support families in the US and to lay the foundation of better lives for their children and grandchildren. Many send money home to support relatives who live in far less affluent economies.

The sacrifices of those missing, presumed dead in Baltimore on Monday night might be worth remembering when the anti-immigrant rhetoric cranks up again in the run-up to November’s presidential election. And when the Francis Scott Key Bridge rises again, it’s a good bet it will be immigrants who are building it.

More than 48 hours after the collapse of the Key Bridge, dozens of vessels from as far away as Asia are still scheduled to arrive at the Port of Baltimore, according to maritime AI company Windward. 

As of Thursday morning, 59 vessels were headed toward the Port of Baltimore, up from the 54 vessels as of Wednesday afternoon. Most of those ships will need to be diverted to other East Coast ports due to the collapsed bridge, Windward said. 

The new tally includes 15 service vessels and one military/law vessel, according to Windward. The number of service vessels scheduled to arrive in Baltimore has increased, likely to help with the cleanup, according to Windward. 

Baltimore is the leading US port for vehicles, the import of sugar and second in the nation for coal exports. 

Most of the vessels headed toward Baltimore are coming from Europe, followed by South America, the Middle East and several from Asia, according to Windward. Logistics firm Freightos previously said seven container vessels were scheduled to arrive in Baltimore through Saturday.