One of the biggest shipping mistakes in Maryland's history occurred recently and the United States is reeling with shock, as stories erupted from news outlets on the people who were caught in the midst of the crash and how a scene from a popular comedy show named the Simpsons aired an eerily similar episode years before the accident. But one thing that many people aren’t speaking about is the huge economic political and social impact that this collision will cause. This article aims to dive deep into the effects of the ship's crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
But what really happened? On March 26th, America woke up to troubling news. People were reporting a ship crash onto the famous Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Reporters say that the ship lost power and connection as it floated helplessly near the bridge while trying to cross on that Tuesday morning. An incident of this size is catastrophic, as the bridge is located near one of the most populated cities in the United States and is one of the biggest most important ports in the entire nation. This problem is going to affect the entirety of the United States and will have devastating impacts on our economy if we are not able to rebuild the bridge in due time.
First responders arrived at the scene to block the bridge before the daily rush hour of citizens in Maryland going to work but were not there fast enough to save the 6 people of a construction crew that were caught amid the crash that morning. 2 bodies have been found so far and the rest were presumed dead 12 hours after the incident.
But what does all this have to do with the economy? Well, the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a vital part of transportation, manufacturing, and business not only in Maryland but all over the United States. 20 billion dollars worth of goods were transported across it every year along with thousands of people, who relied on that bridge to travel to work and school, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTDA), it will take around 18 months and anywhere between $400 to 800 million dollars in repair costs.
Luckily, the Coast Guard has invested in building a temporary alternate route for essential vessels (ships only) near the ruins of the drawbridge. This will help vital ships travel through the port but many businesses will still suffer immensely until the bridge finishes its reconstruction. Hopefully, the government plans to expand this alternate route for other vehicles as the roads around the river are piling up with cars. For now, Maryland officials are removing debris and trying to clear out what’s left of the bridge to start preparing for the construction of the new bridge.
However, the citizens of Baltimore still relied on the bridge to get across the river to their daily commutes. Now, many are forced to drive an extra 15 miles around to get to the other side making a small trip to work, much longer. This goes the same for shipping companies that require shipping their products through the port of Baltimore as land travel is going to be extremely slow due to the sudden increase in traffic that is going to erupt in the nearby routes. This could cause shipping inflation and have international impacts as well.
This means companies like Amazon and Apple who are trying to ship their products through the river will have to take the longer alternative route which will increase costs for the companies (not necessarily for everyone as many products aren’t required to go through the East cost anyways) meaning that it will increase the shipping costs for us. So it is advised to not ship or buy anything from Baltimore for the next few months until these businesses can find a way to bring their costs down together. Shipping inflation is not the only inflation that will be occurring. The Francis Scott Key Bridge was the most popular port for cars and farm equipment internationally making economic experts predict a huge increase in prices for farmers and companies like Mitsubishi and other brands that are not made in the USA that previously relied on the port for their international sales.
While most citizens are worried about the economic impact, the bridge also has an unseen political impact. With the elections nearing, everything seems like a hurdle for the Biden administration to jump, every event and issue now has millions of more eyes as potential voters who might not have been watching politics before, tune in to see what’s going on and what politicians are doing about it. Biden vowed to the people that the federal government will do whatever it could to protect the workers who lost their jobs on the port and said that the government will cover the costs of reconstruction (congress willing). This has many Americans assured that the issue will be resolved quickly.
While the national impact seems staggering, as always the local economic impact is 10 times more. FORBES reports 15,000 members who work directly in the port of Baltimore that will not be getting their paychecks, with hundreds of others who work indirectly.
Though the losses seem big, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. When the container ship lost power and control, it issued a mayday, allowing Maryland authorities to stop traffic and save lives. As you read, hundreds of ships are being rerouted to the port of Mobile where workers rush to meet the demand. With the United States investing millions into this problem, rest assured there will be a solution. The Maryland authorities along with Americans living across the nation are working to fix the bridge fast and find alternate routes for the thousands redirected.
Works Cited
“Default.” Maryland.gov, 2024, www.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.
Ray, Siladitya. “Biden Vows Federal Government Will Pay for Baltimore Bridge Rebuild after Collapse.” Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/03/26/biden-vows-federal-government-will-pay-for-baltimore-bridge-rebuild-after-collapse/?sh=4ba5e0c47bab. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.
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