How much cargo goes through the Baltimore Port?

The emergency services are searching for survivors after a large portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore, with at least seven missing after falling into the Patapsco River.

The devastating incident took place after a cargo ship crashed into a support pillar structure at around 1.30am local time on Tuesday morning (March 26).

The ship was bound for Sri Lanka and while all of those onboard are said to be accounted for and uninjured, there is a desperate search to find people in the water.

Police said they have been told there were workers on the bridge at the time of the crash. Just two people have been pulled from the water five hours on from the incident, one of whom is currently fighting for their life in hospital.

How much Cargo goes through the Baltimore Port?

The bridge itself spanned a major shipping route in the port of Baltimore, which had been a growth in traffic until its collapse.

Last year was a record year for the port itself in terms of cargo. As Transport Topics reports, the Port of Baltimore’s public marine terminals hit a record high for receiving 11.6 million tons of general cargo in the fiscal year of 2023 – up from a high of 11 million tons in 2019.

Reuters reports that Baltimore is also the busiest port for car shipments in the US. According to data from the Maryland Port Administration, more than 750,000 vehicles were handled in the port in 2022.

Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Speaking last September, Gov. Wes Moore said: “The Port of Baltimore continues to show its strength as an economic engine and continues to show why Maryland’s reputation for outstanding workers and a tremendous business climate is so well founded.

“This impressive milestone is a testament to the people who make up our longshore labor force and to our partners in the maritime industry.”

Speaking about the “unthinkable tragedy” of the bridge collapse, the city’s mayor Brandon Scott said: “We have to be thinking about the families and people impacted, folks who we have to try to find.

“This is what our focus should be on right now, we’re going to continue to work in partnership with every part of government to do everything we can to get us through the other side of this tragedy,” he said.

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