March 28 (UPI) — The state of Maryland on Thursday requested $60 million in emergency federal relief funds after a container ship struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse Tuesday.
Gov. Wes Moore’s office said the funds are “needed for the state to proceed as quickly and safely as possible with debris removal, demolition, traffic operations and other emergency needs.”
The request is not related to reconstruction of the bridge, Moore’s office said. President Joe Biden said earlier this week, however, that the federal government would pay for reconstruction.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has said reconstruction would be a lengthy and expensive process.
Bruce Carnegie-Brown, chair of insurance giant Lloyd’s of London, meanwhile has estimated the collapse of the bridge and its ripple effects could result in the largest marine insurance payout on record.
“[It’s] very early days to call a number. I don’t at this point anticipate that it’s outside our realistic disaster scenario planning,” he said. “It feels like a a very substantial loss, potentially the largest-ever marine insured loss, but not outside parameters that we plan for.”
Morningstar DBRS analysts said total insured losses could be between $2 billion and $4 billion, depending on how long the port is blocked.
Moore also said Thursday that the state will conduct a “full evaluation” of all fracture-critical bridges and called on local leaders to help in the effort.
“And that work is happening as we speak,” Moore said. “The best minds in the world are coming together to collect the information that we need to move forward with speed and safety.”
At least eight construction workers were on the bridge when it collapsed Tuesday. Two men were rescued that day and another two were found dead on Wednesday. Rescuers have not found the remaining four but presume them to be dead.
The wife of Julio Cervantes, one of the rescued men, told NBC News Thursday that the workers were all on break in their cars when the boat hit.
“My husband doesn’t know how to swim. It is a miracle he survived,” she said.
The Dali container ship struck a support pillar on the bridge after losing power early Tuesday morning. The ship reported losing power as it left the port of Baltimore and alerted the Maryland Department of Transportation that it might hit the bridge as a result.
Baltimore is the 11th biggest port in the United States and the second busiest for the import and export of cars and light trucks.
