TFI, Shipping Company Downplay Impact of Baltimore Bridge Collapse
The destruction of the Key Bridge in Baltimore should have a relatively limited impact on US fertilizer trade, according to a March 28 statement from The Fertilizer Institute (TFI). TFI said that over the last five years, on average, about 1% of all US fertilizer imports have come in through the Port of Baltimore.
In 2023, fertilizer imports into Baltimore were valued at nearly $75 million, with more than 86% of those imports comprised of nitrogen fertilizers. Baltimore was the seventh most important port for imports of fertilizer from Russia in 2023, with imports of $33.5 million from that trade partner.
Fertilizer exports from Baltimore were more limited, TFI said, averaging about $7 million over the last five years. Less than 1% of US fertilizer exports in 2023 left from Baltimore.
The bridge collapse will have a “relatively small impact” on global shipping as crews work to clear debris hindering port access, according to John Wobensmith, CEO of Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd., in an April 3 interview with Bloomberg TV.
The two channels now open aren’t deep enough to allow Genco vessels to pass, Wobensmith said. “Hopefully in the next few weeks there will be deeper channels that are established,” he added. In the meantime, other East Coast ports have been modifying operations to absorb cargoes diverted from Baltimore.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the federal government should pay to get the bridge rebuilt before sorting out liability for the foreign-flagged cargo ship, a path that could face roadblocks from Republicans in Congress.
“That’s going to be pursued aggressively, but to me, that’s really something we need to take care of on the back end,” Buttigieg told reporters on April 2. “I don’t want to run any risk that that could add one day to the process of getting the port back open and the bridge back up.”
The Transportation Department has granted $60 million for immediate needs, in what Buttigieg called a “down payment.” He said the emergency relief account has about $950 million, and the department is researching any flexibility with limits to those funds.
Some GOP House members are opposed to President Biden’s pledge to cover the cost of replacing the bridge. Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser labeled the promise “outrageous,” while Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina said the money should come from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Biden signed in 2021, adding “before we spend one more dime for domestic infrastructure, we must build a border wall.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has come out in support of Biden’s pledge, saying it’s the government’s responsibility to cover the costs. “In situations like that,” he told a radio host in an interview, “whether it’s a hurricane in Florida or an accident like this, the federal government will step up and do the lion’s share of it.”
The most comparable situation to the Baltimore bridge came on Aug. 1, 2007, when the eight-lane I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, Minn., collapsed over the Mississippi River while loaded with rush hour traffic. Thirteen people were killed and 145 were injured.
It took Congress just three days to authorize $250 million in federal funds for repairs to the Minneapolis bridge. President George W. Bush promptly signed the bill, and the bridge was rebuilt and ready to roll within 13 months, three months ahead of schedule.
The federal government’s deep pockets have typically been part of the standard response to massive disasters such as Baltimore’s. When a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, Washington covered upfront costs. Ditto for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast in 2010.
The owner of the ship in Baltimore is already seeking to limit its liability to about $43.7 million. The company, Grace Ocean, could face hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims, legal experts say. On April 1 it filed a petition jointly with Synergy Marine, which was operating the Singapore-flagged ship. They claim the collapse of the bridge was “not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care” of the companies and that they shouldn’t be held liable for any loss or damage from the disaster.
But if they are held liable, it shouldn’t be for more than the current value of the ship and its cargo, they said. Following the crash, the total value has fallen from as much as $90 million to $43.7 million, according to the filing in federal court in Maryland.
The petition is a common move for ship owners in the wake of catastrophic crashes like the one in Baltimore. It invokes a 19th-century law once used by the Titanic’s owner to reduce the ship owner’s liability after a crash to the value of the ship and any pending freight.
The companies said they expect the liability limit they are seeking to be “substantially less than the amount that has been or will be claimed” in losses or damages. The petition comes less than a week after the March 26 crash and as parts of the ship remain stuck at the site of the accident.