Baltimore Bridge Disaster: Ship containing Hazardous Material was heading to Sri Lanka?

COLOMBO (News 1st); The cargo ship that caused a bridge in Baltimore to collapse was carrying hazardous materials, said the United States National Transportation Safety Board.

56 containers aboard contained hazardous materials, including corrosives, flammables and lithium ion batteries.

MV Dali, was carrying 764 tons of hazardous materials when it crashed into the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024.

The ship, was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and Maersk said it had chartered it.

The same vessel that hit the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge, destroying it and sending people and vehicles tumbling into the water, was also involved in a collision while leaving the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.

The Dali – a 948ft (290-meter) cargo ship with a capacity of 10,000 containers – was leaving the container terminal of Antwerp heading to Bremerhaven.

As it did so, its bow reportedly swung around, causing the stern to scrape the side of the quay, significantly damaging several meters of the hull.

The ship was reportedly detained by authorities afterward and docked in Deurganckdok, Belgium. There were reportedly no injuries or adverse pollution.

According to Vessel Finder, the weather was fine at the time, and the incident was reportedly blamed on the ship’s master and pilot on board.