The final remaining span of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge — collapsed by a cargo ship crash in late March — has been brought down in a controlled explosion.

As Marine Industry News reports, US Army explosives experts oversaw the demolition on Monday (13 May) some six weeks after the container vessel Dali collided with one of the bridge supports, causing the four-lane bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River.

Six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time were killed in the incident.

Now that the bridge has been exploded into smaller pieces that will be easier to salvage, it’s hoped the narrow channel that represents the only access to the Port of Baltimore — one of the busiest on the US east coast — can soon be cleared to allow shipping to return to full capacity.

Meanwhile, the City of Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Dali, alleging it was “clearly unseaworthy” and was sailed by “an incompetent crew”.

Marine Industry News has more on the story HERE.

The insurance loss related to collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge outside the port of Baltimore, USA this week is likely to be multiple billions of dollars.

That’s according to Lloyd’s of London John Neal, who told Bloomberg that the incident on Tuesday (26 March) “has the potential to be one of the largest marine losses in history”.

Barclays analysts estimate that marine insurers face claims of up to €3 billion, with more than €1 billion of that figure for the bridge collapse alone — while there may be further liability related to disruption to one of the US east coast’s busiest ports.

As Marine Industry News reports, large sections of the 2.57km bridge collapsed after one of its supports was hit by the cargo ship Dali, which reported losing power minutes before the incident.

The bodies of two members of a construction crew who were working on the bridge at the time have been recovered, but four others remain missing.

Marine Industry News has more on the story HERE.