As U.S. officials work to prevent the Baltimore bridge collapse from snarling global supply chains, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has been offered as an alternative route for cargo, officials said Thursday.
Gov. Hochul and New Jersey’s Gov. Phil Murphy said their shared Port Authority can take on more cargo and that they directed the authority to review all possible paths to help prevent disruptions to supply chains. The Port Authority, which operates one of the nation’s busiest marine terminals, said it processed about 20% more cargo just three years ago. Some freight bound for Baltimore is likely to be diverted to New York and New Jersey, the authority said.
Early Tuesday, power died on a 984-foot-long cargo ship called the Dali as it chugged through chilly waters in the Baltimore Harbor, causing the giant vessel to collide into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The steel-arched span collapsed, six construction workers died and access to one of the country’s busier ports was cut off indefinitely.
The director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Bethann Rooney, said in a statement that her team was in contact with counterparts in Baltimore, and was working with “industry partners to respond as needed and ensure supply chain continuity along the East Coast.”
It was unclear how long the local Port Authority might accept additional cargo that would have gone through Baltimore. But a spokesman for the authority, Steve Burns, said it would assist as long as needed.
David Turner, a spokesman for Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, said there was no estimate on how long the Port of Baltimore would be closed off. “There’s still a lot unknown about the wreckage,” he said in an email.
Hochul and Murphy said they were prepared to offer aid to Maryland and to ease stresses on broader supply chains.
“We have seen over the past several years that indefinite port closures can impact national and global supply chains, which hurt everyday consumers the hardest,” they said in a joint statement. “Along with our federal partners, we will continue to work together to support our neighbors in Baltimore and consumers nationwide.”
