Force Majeure Declared by Some Major Carriers in Wake of Baltimore Bridge Collapse

[bjl584]

In Baltimore bridge collapse, shippers left on hook for cargo pickup (cnbc.com)

[disneysteve]

It will definitely take some time to sort out the whole mess of cargo already in the port, cargo that was on that ship, and cargo that was on its way to that port. Other ports can pick up the slack but that's not a simple matter as they're already busy with their own volume.

I imagine the Feds will get the passage cleared as quickly as they possibly can. Hopefully it won't be more than a few weeks before ships are moving again. When a section of interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia last summer, people were predicting the road would be closed for months. It was closed for 2 weeks. I strongly suspect the same will be true here. They'll get that debris cleared and reopen the waterway in a few weeks, which is still plenty long enough to cause chaos but I highly doubt it will be an extended closure.

[kork13]

As we saw when COVID shut/slowed down most logistical hubs, this is going to have significant rippling effects in the economy. Baltimore is one of the highest-volume seaports in the country, and the biggest on the east coast. Entire logistical flow plans need to be reworked, other hubs are gonna get backed up with excess cargo volume, everything currently on the ship & in the port is likely to be delayed (creating delays/shortages for whoever the cargo was headed to), among many other considerations. What a mess. But I do agree, it'll likely be cleared sufficiently to enable movement through the river within a few weeks ... albeit a few very impactful weeks.

On a related note, the Dali's insurance is gonna get wrecked.

I'm glad that they've determined it's not the case here ..... but as someone in the national defense business, this thing initially appeared to have all the hallmarks of being either a terrorist attack, a trial run by a nation-state at indirect warfare tactics, or a variety of similar/related scenarios. As a general statement, under the 'Western Way of War', we go in to destroy another country's ability to fight (or even function), going after key logistical nodes is/always has been one of the best ways to force an adversary's hand.