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Baltimore Bridge Collapse: After a cargo ship crash, six people are believed to be dead and the search is paused |

Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses: Rebuilding the Baltimore bridge would be fully funded by public funds, according to US President Joe Biden.

Officials stated that six persons who had vanished when a cargo ship in the US city of Baltimore lost power and collided with a significant bridge early on Tuesday were thought to be dead. The Maryland State Police superintendent, Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr., said on Tuesday night that search efforts for the six individuals had been put on hold until the following day.

Maersk, a shipping corporation, has confirmed that the entire crew of the Singapore-flagged container ship “Dali,” which crashed into the Baltimore bridge and nearly collapsed, sending cars and people falling into the river below, was Indian.

Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath of the Coast Guard told the news agency AP, “We do not believe that we are going to find any of these individuals still alive at this point based on the length of time that we have gone in this search… (and) the water temperature.”

One of the busiest roads in the country, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, will be fully rebuilt at no expense to the government, according to US President Joe Biden.

Baltimore bridge collapse: Latest updates

  • The crew of the ship, according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore, sent out a mayday call just before the collision destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, allowing authorities to restrict traffic on the span. Moore declared, “These people are heroes.” “They prevented deaths last night.”
  • The objective was changed from search and rescue to search and recovery, according to Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr. He said that the search was on pause and that divers would visit the location again on Wednesday at six in the morning, when the difficult conditions from the previous night should clear up.
  • According to the state’s transportation secretary, Paul Wiedefeld, the six persons who are still missing were working as part of a construction group that was patching potholes on the bridge.
  • Given the depth of the water and the amount of time that had passed since the collapse, Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, the firm that employed the workers, stated on Tuesday afternoon that they were assumed to be dead.
  • Two people have been retrieved from the water by the rescuers. A patient received hospital treatment and was released a few hours later. Authorities didn’t think anyone was inside the several cars that ended up in the river.
  • When the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrived on the site, they declared that there was no solid evidence pointing to terrorism.
  • Flying from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, was the Dali. under a Singaporean flag, according per Marine Traffic information. The website states that the cargo ship is roughly 48 meters wide and 300 meters long.
  • Although a June inspection revealed a fault with Dali’s machinery, a more recent review turned up no flaws, according to the maritime information system Equasis.
  • According to Bloomberg, the Baltimore bridge is expected to halt the port’s coal exports for up to six weeks and prevent the transportation of up to 2.5 million tons of coal, according to Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC. Baltimore is the second-largest coal terminal in the United States, with around 74 million tons shipped by the country last year.
  • Synergy Maritime Group, a shipping company, had earlier claimed in a statement

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Due to the Houthi danger in the Red Sea, Indian exports could decline by $30 billion!

As the threat to cargo ships rises on the Red Sea, India can potentially take a major hit when it comes to exports!

As the threats to cargo vessels on the Red Sea spikes after recent incidents, India can potentially see a drop in exports by around $30 billion, as exporters hold back on shipments due to rising fears.

Houthi danger in the Red Sea

Last year’s export total stood at around $451 billion, and the rise in the fears regarding cargo ships on the Red Sea can see a drop of around 6-7 percent, said an initial assessment by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a New Delhi-based thinktank.

Sachin Chaturvedi, the director general of the thinktank told Bloomberg, “The crisis in the Red Sea would indeed impact India’s trade and may lead to further contraction.” However, the government hasn’t released any estimates of loss of exports due to the Red Sea crisis.

In view of the rising threats on the Red Sea, the number of vessels passing through the Suez Canal has also dropped by 44 percent, as compared to the average first half of December 2023, according to Clarkson Research Services Ltd, a unit of the world’s largest ship broker.

Red Sea is one of the most relied upon export routes for India as it is the primary route for shipping to Europe, the US East Coast, the Middle East and African countries. The Modi government is in process of holding talks with export commission councils to ensure a safe passage for export vessels.

Cargo ship threats on Red Sea!

In the middle of the war between Israel and Hamas, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants have resorted to targeting vessels passing through the Red Sea with missiles over the past few weeks. The Houthis say they are going after any vessels that have a connection with Israel.

Last week, India sent a warship to the Arabian Sea where a Liberian-flagged vessel said it was hijacked near Somalia’s coast. The Indian Navy said it “successfully rescued” the ship. However, this has sparked major fears amid Indian export cargo ships.

According to Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, the rising threats has prompted the Indian exports to hold back on around 25 percent of their cargo ships transitioning through the Red Sea.

India usually exports a variety of goods including petroleum products, cereals, and chemicals using the Red Sea route. Exports in the current fiscal year are already flagging with a 6.5% contraction in the April to November period from a year ago, according to government data.

This article was originally published on hindustantimes.com!

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