Ocean carriers nearly all make similar Baltimore call
- Latest News
- Sunday, 31 March 2024
There's now a growing list of ocean carriers terminating their deliveries to the US's Port of Baltimore as a result of the Dali container ship steering failure that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge and the death of six workers.
With the Baltimore port indefinitely closed, the onus of cargo pick up from an alternate port and transport to its final destination will in most cases rest with the shipper.
In an email to customers seen by CNBC, for example, MSC said customer containers already on the water and bound for the Port of Baltimore will be rerouted and discharged at an alternate port for pick-up.
“For these shipments, the contract of carriage will be declared terminated at this alternate port and storage, D&Ds and on-carriage costs to the initially intended destination will be for the sole cargo’s account,” MSC said.
"Passage to and from Baltimore ... will not be re-established for several weeks if not months.”
Rivals CMA CGM, COSCO and Evergreen all have made similar statements and in some cases formally declared 'force majeure', a legal term which refers to the right to waive contract duties when events beyond a party’s control occur.
Maersk is the only major carrier to say it will provide transport from diverted ports for customers.
Maersk was the charterer of the Dali, the 10,000-container capacity container ship that lost control and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing it down.
US authorities mobilised ahead of the Easter weekend to start clearing the bridge wreckage ahead of reconstruction.
Time and cost
Meanwhile, rebuilding the bridge could take anywhere from 18 months to several years and costs are likely to be at least US$400 million — and possibly as much as a billion dollars.
Realistically, the project could take five to seven years, said Ben Schafer, an engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University.
“Two years? I want it to be true, but it doesn’t feel right to me,” he said.
Others including Sameh Badie, an engineering professor at George Washington University, disagree and say the project "could take as little as 18 months to two years".
For comparison: The Florida Sunshine Skyway Bridge was struck by a freighter in Tampa Bay in 1980. Its replacement took five years to build, was 19 months late and ran US$20 million over budget.
However, Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, says the Interstate 35W bridge in Minnesota that collapsed into the Mississippi River in 2007 was replaced in less than 14 months.
In part, it's up to the paperwork, the approvals necessary to be able to rebuild as quickly as possible.
And hopefully, Congress will be able to come together to provide the money quickly, Tymon said.
Overall, though, the project will need companies that have the expertise as well as time available to commit, all the needed authorisations and a design that suits speed - as well as some luck.
