Supply Chain Disruption After Collapse of Bridge at the Port of Baltimore

Early in the morning of March 26, the containership Dali carrying nearly 4,700 shipping containers attempted to depart from the Port of Baltimore. Its destination was Sri Lanka. While navigating on the navigation channel of the Port of Baltimore, the containership lost power and control of the steering system and ended up colliding with one of the piers of the Francis Scott Key bridge causing the bridge to collapse. Several construction workers died as a result of the accident and the traffic to enter and leave the harbor of the Port of Baltimore was blocked for weeks. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge impacted not only the US economy but also global supply chains. Cargo owners, end customers, logistics companies, shipping lines and entire communities were affected at some degree. In this paper, the disruption in global supply chains caused by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge is discussed and the role of technology, specifically intelligent supply chain control towers, to respond rapidly and cost-effectively to unexpected events that disrupt supply chains, is also discussed.