carnival cruise ship collision cozumel

Carnival cruise assessing damage to 2 ships after collision

Six people sustained minor injuries after the collision, the cruise line said.

Six people sustained minor injuries after two Carnival Cruise Line ships collided Friday at a port in Cozumel, Mexico , according to the company.

Those injured presented themselves to the Carnival Glory medical center for evaluation following the incident, a statement from the cruise line read.

A Carnival Glory ship was attempting to dock in the morning when it hit a Carnival Legend ship, according to a statement from the cruise line.

"We are assessing the damage but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship. We have advised guests from both ships to enjoy their day ashore in Cozumel," the statement added.

Megan Skora was in her room aboard a nearby cruise ship when she heard the crash.

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"I couldn’t believe my eyes seeing what I did," Skora told ABC News, noting it was the "first time I've ever been scared on a cruise line."

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2 Carnival Cruise ships collide in Cozumel, Mexico; at least 6 people injured

Two Carnival Cruise ships collided at the port of Cozumel, Mexico, on Friday morning, causing damage to at least one of the ships and at least six reported injuries, according to the company.

"Carnival Glory was maneuvering to dock when it made contact with Carnival Legend which was already alongside," a spokesperson for the company wrote in an emailed statement. "We are assessing the damage but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship."

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Initially, there was only one reported minor injury of a Carnival Glory guest that occurred when a group was being evacuated from the dining room of one ship's decks 3 and 4. But the cruise line said that since its preliminary evaluation, six guests with minor injuries "have presented themselves to the Carnival Glory medical center for evaluation."

Makenna Morris, 21, from Salt Lake City, Utah, said that she was on the fourth deck of the Carnival Legend taking pictures when she noticed the Carnival Glory moving toward her ship. She said that as the Carnival Glory approached, she could hear passengers screaming as they prepared for the impact.

"I started hearing people yelling and screaming on the Royal Caribbean," Morris told NBC News. "That’s when I heard sounds of cracking and glass breaking.”

Morris also recalled hearing what sounded like scraping as the Carnival Glory made impact with the Carnival Legend.

“They ran into us and I was like 'holy crap'," Morris said. “The whole dining hall caved in and shattered.”

I hope everyone is ok on the Carnival Glory after it crashed into the Carnival Legend. @CarnivalCruise #MayYouAllBeSafe #Travel #cruise #FridayThoughts https://t.co/60eZJm8gGG — Journey with Josh 🩺 (@JheadRN) December 20, 2019

Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line and the largest one globally, according to the trade publication Cruise Market Watch.

Eight ships from various cruise lines were scheduled to dock at the Port of Cozumel on Friday. The Carnival Glory, which left its home port in New Orleans on Sunday, was scheduled to dock in the port at 10 a.m Friday, while the Carnival Legend was scheduled to dock at 8 a.m.

The ships' passengers have been advised to spend their day ashore in Cozumel.

Gwen Aviles is a trending news and culture reporter for NBC News. 

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Passengers aboard two crashed Carnival cruise ships recount the moment of collision captured on dramatic video

• Video footage captured two Carnival Cruise Line ships colliding off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico, on Friday.
• The Carnival Glory collided with the Carnival Legend, and the moment of collision shattered the Glory's back windows.

In the video, people filming the incident from the shore and a neighboring cruise line could be heard reacting with gasps of astonishment, yelling and cursing as the ends of cruise ships plowed into one another.

• However, passengers aboard the ships who felt the collision firsthand had varying experiences on when the point of impact was made.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

Two Carnival Cruise Line ships collided off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico, on Friday.

Video footage of the incident captured the Carnival Glory sliding into the Carnival Legend, and the moment of impact shattering the Glory's back windows.

A spokesman for Carnival Cruise Line told The Washington Post that the crash was an "allision," because technically one was not moving. The Legend was docked when the Glory crashed.

Passengers aboard the ships - who felt the collision firsthand - shared their varying experiences when from the point of impact.

Jordan Moseley, a passenger on the Carnival Legend, told Reuters that he was eating breakfast on the ship when he felt the crash.

"All of a sudden we felt the ship rock to one side and then back into place," Moseley told Reuters. "A few minutes later, the cruise director announced that the Carnival Glory had crashed into our ship while docking due to the high winds and rough ocean conditions in Cozumel."

Another Carnival Legend passenger, Christian Maxey, was in his cabin below deck during the crash. He told The Washington Post that the ocean had been rough throughout the duration of the cruise, so he didn't think much of the crash.

"I don't think people really understood that we had actually hit something, given that our weather had been rocky," he told The Post.

Mary Anne McKinley, another passenger aboard the Carnival Legend, echoed a similar sentiment of mistaking the crash for a big wave.

"The crash wasn't too bad," McKinley told CNN . "Just felt like a big wave crashing into the ship."

The same could be said for one passenger aboard the opposite ship Carnival Glory, Maddison Haynes.

"Last night we experienced some major motion on the boat, so this morning we assumed something similar was happening," Haynes told CNN. "We felt a jolt and didn't really think anything of it."

Carnival Legend passenger Makenna Morris, who was on the fourth deck of the boat when the crash happened, told NBC News that she could hear passengers screaming as the Carnival Glory moved closer to their ship.

"I started hearing people yelling and screaming on the Royal Caribbean," Morris told NBC News . "That's when I heard sounds of cracking and glass breaking."

Being on one of the upper decks, Morris was able to see the damage of the crash first-hand.

"They (the Carnival Glory) ran into us and I was like 'holy crap'," Morris said. "The whole dining hall caved in and shattered."

Six passengers sustained "minor injuries" in the crash, The New York Times reported.

"We are assessing the damage but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship," Chelsea Stromfeld, a spokeswoman for the cruise line, told The Times. "We have advised guests from both ships to enjoy their day ashore in Cozumel."

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Two Carnival cruise ships collide in Mexico's Caribbean port of Cozumel

Carnival Glory was docking when it collided with Legend, leaving six people injured and Glory’s stern crushed

Two cruise ships have collided in the port of Mexico’s Caribbean resort of Cozumel, damaging the 952-foot-long (290-meter) vessel and leaving passengers stunned at the loud impact.

Six people were lightly injured on the massive ship named Carnival Glory, according to Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise operator. A passenger said the incident occurred during rough sea conditions.

“Carnival Glory was maneuvering to dock when it made contact with Carnival Legend which was already alongside,” the company said in a statement. “We are assessing the damage but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship.”

Carnival added that the ship itineraries were not affected.

Civil protection authorities in Cozumel said the incident took place at around 8.30am local time and that officials were investigating.

Carnival Glory just crashed into Carnival Legend and almost crashed into Oasis of the Seas at the Cozumel cruise port. #FoxNews #RoyalCaribbean #CarnivalLegend #CarnivalGlory #OasisoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/5ITBCfz99L — Matthew Bruin (@BruinMatthew) December 20, 2019

Passenger Jordan Moseley said he was eating breakfast on the Carnival Legend, a 963-foot-long (294-meter) ship that can hold more than 2,000 passengers, when he felt the crash.

“All of a sudden we felt the ship rock to one side and then back into place,” Moseley told Reuters. “A few minutes later, the cruise director announced that the Carnival Glory had crashed into our ship while docking due to the high winds and rough ocean conditions in Cozumel.”

A video taken from an upper deck of Carnival Glory, which can carry nearly 3,000 passengers, showed pieces of the ship tumble onto the deck of the other vessel, with some splashing into the churning water.

#carnivalglory 10 year anniversary cruise just crashed. License and insurance please! #carnivalcrash #10yearanniversary #cozumel #oopsie pic.twitter.com/s2gNUHcWSR — Wendy Brewer (@WendyBrew5967) December 20, 2019

“Oh my God, look at that ship!” an onlooker can he heard saying in the video posted on social media.

Other images of the battered vessel show a railing along the Carnival Glory stern bent downwards at a roughly 45-degree angle, revealing a twisted and mangled ship interior.

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Two CCL-Carnival Ships Collide in Cozumel

Passengers watched in shock as a couple of Carnival cruise ships collided near Cozumel Mexico on Friday, December 20. The collision was caught on video by several onlookers. It involved Carnival Legend and Carnival Glory . The shipowner is assessing the damages to both ships. 

Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement that Carnival Glory had a collision with Legend this morning in Cozumel. Glory was maneuvering to dock when she made contact with Carnival Legend which was alongside. According to the cruise company, there had only been one minor injury reported from a Carnival Glory guest as a result of the accident. The passenger had been hurt while being evacuated from the dining room on decks 3 and 4.

Carnival also said there were no issues that impacted the seaworthiness of either ship. They had advised passengers from both vessels to enjoy their day ashore in Cozumel.

Videos and photos taken by people at the scene showed a gash through the middle decks at the stern of Carnival Glory. All damage to the liners appears to be above waterline.

According to Carnival, there will not be any disruptions to the planned itineraries. The next voyage for both vessels was "not impacted." Carnival Legend is scheduled to sail back to Tampa FL Sunday morning, December 22.

For other accidents and incidents see at the ships' CruiseMinus pages -  Carnival Legend  and  Carnival Glory .

• Cruise News

Two Carnival Cruise Ships Collide in Cozumel

Doug Parker

• December 20, 2019
• 8.0K shares

While attempting to dock, one Carnival Cruise Line ship backed into another of the line’s vessels in Cozumel’s Puerto Maya pier on Friday morning, injuring one guest. Carnival Glory was pulling in when it bumped into the docked Carnival Legend .

UPDATE: How Cozumel Accident Will Impact Carnival Glory

The cause of the accident is still under investigation but from videos and photos taken as the incident was unfolding, it appears the collision was caused by high winds.

Carnival Cruise Line told Cruise Radio, “ Carnival Glory had a allision with Carnival Legend this morning in Cozumel. Carnival Glory was maneuvering to dock when it made contact with Carnival Legend which was already alongside. We are assessing the damage to both ships.”

The statement went on to say, “There is one reported minor injury of a Carnival Glor y guest that occurred when a group of guests were evacuated from the dining room on Decks 3 and 4.”

There’s no word yet as to whether either ship will wind up seeing their itinerary altered as a result of the accident and the inspections it made necessary.

The Incident Was Caught On Video

A witness who saw the event unfold from Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas told Cruise Radio that Carnival Legend was docked with the bow facing forward. Carnival Glory was backing in. The aft end of Carnival Glory made contact with the bow of Carnival Legend .

Glynis Knibb of the Royal Caribbean Periscopers group live-streamed the accident on the popular social media app.

It’s not terribly surprising that photos and video immediately surfaced. Many cruisers enjoy capturing the arrivals, departures and dockings of ships.

Carnival Legend and Carnival Glory are on seven-night Western Caribbean cruises from Tampa and New Orleans, respectively.

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Cruise ships collide in Mexico's Cozumel, damaging Carnival liner

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Retired Ship's Captain Explains Cruise Ship Crash In Cozumel

December 21, 2019 / 12:03 AM EST / CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Two Carnival cruise ships collided off the Mexican island of Cozumel Friday. One ship was damaged and six people were hurt when one boat cut right through the other. But how did it happen?

The crash, called an "allision" in nautical terms because the Legends ship was already docked when the moving Carnival Glory swiped it while trying to dock, wiping out the windows of the Glory's Platinum Restaurant. It was empty at the time, but six passengers suffered minor injuries.

The boats crashed at the docks, and is believed to be caused by sudden high winds. Retired ship's captain John Loftus said accidents like this are not uncommon.

"They're big pieces of machinery, a ship, and they don't stop like a car," Loftus said.

In a letter to passengers Friday night, Carnival Glory's captain wrote: "I apologize for the accident that occurred this morning as Carnival Glory was maneuvering to her docking position. A formal investigation is underway to confirm the cause of the accident, which we believe was due to spontaneous wind gusts and strong currents."

Watching the video, Loftus said the wind was likely a factor.

"What I did note was it was windy-- looked like 20 to 25 knots," he said. "So that was pushing her down onto the Legend's bow."

Passengers spent the day exploring Cozumel before getting back on board the ship. Despite the aesthetic damage, it was deemed seaworthy and left just after 9:00 a.m. Friday morning to continue its regular schedule.

"It happens more than you think," Loftus said. "That was a fairly minor collision."

Passengers on the Glory were given $100 to spend on board the ship before it docks in New Orleans on Sunday.

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One Carnival cruise ship crashed into another as horrified passengers watched in Cozumel

A Carnival cruise ship trying to dock in Cozumel, Mexico, crashed into an already-docked ship at the port Friday morning, leaving six passengers injured.

According to Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Vance Gulliksen, Carnival Glory was trying to dock when it “made contact” with the smaller Carnival Legend, which was already docked. He referred to the crash as, technically, an “allision,” a nautical term meaning one of the objects was not moving when it was struck. It wasn’t immediately clear how the accident happened.

Experts said they expected investigators to look at several factors: what the mooring plan was for the Carnival Glory, what role wind and other weather might have played, whether the ship’s engines had any issues that could have affected propulsion and what was going on at the ship’s controls.

“I cannot say with certainty here, but my hunch is that these ships are frequent callers on this port,” says Kyle McAvoy, a retired Coast Guard captain and marine safety expert with consulting firm Robson Forensic. “It’s probably something that is done very often by these two ships at this specific port and so it may be somewhat of a routine. So what went wrong this time? That’s what this investigation will have to figure out.”

Several passengers on the Carnival ships and the nearby Oasis of the Seas — which the Glory appeared to veer uncomfortably close to — posted videos and photos of the incident and the aftermath. A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean International, which owns Oasis of the Seas, said the ship was not impacted and did not have any damage.

One woman on the Carnival Legend narrated as she watched the moving ship veer toward the nearby Oasis of the Seas.

“Stop, stop, stop,” said the woman, whose user name on Twitter is Maddie Morris. “Oh my gosh, this is bad.”

Video of the crash of the #CarnivalLegend and #carnivalglory and near miss of the #royalcaribbean boat @NBCNews @CNN @KSL5TV @fox13 @foxnewsalert @abcnews @abc4utah pic.twitter.com/T3a3aWSPZO — Maddie Morris (@maddie__morris) December 20, 2019

“We are assessing the damage, but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship,” Gulliksen said in an email. “We have advised guests from both ships to enjoy their day ashore in Cozumel.”

Early Friday, he said one passenger on Carnival Glory suffered a minor injury when he or she was part of a group of people evacuated from the dining room on the third and fourth decks of that ship. Later in the afternoon, Carnival sent an updated statement saying six passengers had gone to the ship’s medical center with minor injuries. Photos on social media show a crumpled exterior and several broken windows.

“Someone could have died!” one man said as he recorded video from the pier.

Crazy from Carnival Glory - crashed into Carnival Legend as it attempted to dock in Cozumel pic.twitter.com/qJffndnHf6 — christian maxey (@cmaxeyy) December 20, 2019

Jordan Moseley, who was a passenger on Carnival Legend, said in a Twitter message that he was eating breakfast on the ship when the crash happened.

“All of a sudden we felt the ship rock to one side and then back into place,” he said. “A few minutes later, the cruise director announced that the Carnival Glory had crashed into our ship while docking due to the high winds and rough ocean conditions in Cozumel.”

Christian Maxey, 20, was in his cabin a couple decks below the point of impact when he felt “a little bit of an impact.” He said the ocean had been rough so far on the cruise, even forcing the ship to miss a stop in Grand Cayman.

“I don’t think people really understood that we had actually hit something, given that our weather had been rocky," he says.

He said the first acknowledgement that something had happened came 45 minutes to an hour after the strike. The cruise director did not explicitly say what happened, according to Maxey.

“He said, ‘We’ve had a boo boo,’" Maxey says.

Later, the captain gave an update with more information, but still encouraged passengers to enjoy their day in Cozumel. Maxey, who was sailing with his parents, said he would probably stay near the ship to get any updates. The voyage is scheduled to end Sunday in New Orleans, and Carnival said early Friday neither ship’s itinerary would be disrupted.

“It’s been a weird cruise,” Maxey says.

Is cruising safe? Most of the time, but beware of what can go wrong.

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Transportation | Baltimore Carnival cruise ship to operate out…

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Transportation | baltimore carnival cruise ship to operate out of norfolk following bridge collapse.

The Baltimore-based cruise ship Carnival Legend will operate temporarily out of Norfolk in the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse early Tuesday morning, Carnival Cruise Line announced.

The Legend’s current voyage is scheduled to end on March 31 and will dock in Norfolk. Following the cruise’s return, passengers will be given free bus rides back to Baltimore, Carnival said in a news release. The ship can carry as many as 2,124 guests, according to Carnival’s website.

Carnival said they have informed their current and future guests about the change to the Legend’s port. On Tuesday evening, the Carnival website was not allowing tickets to be purchased for voyages out of Baltimore.

The bridge was struck by a 948-foot Singapore-flagged ship called the Dali, which lost power just before the collision, the Baltimore Sun reported. The Dali was traveling at about eight knots at the time.

As of Tuesday evening, six construction workers repairing potholes on the bridge were presumed dead, Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, told the Baltimore Sun.

The collapsed bridge, spanning the Patapsco River, has severely impacted the flow of ship traffic to the Port of Baltimore. Vessel traffic into and out of the port was suspended, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said, and a Coast Guard report stated that the “Patapsco River channel is fully blocked.” The Port of Virginia will receive some of the diverted traffic, The Pilot reported .

“Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, adding that she’s grateful the President Joe Biden has pledged to reopen the Baltimore Harbor as soon as possible. “As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk.”

Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, [email protected]

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Celebrity cruise ship rescues 7 people from small vessel 'adrift' between Cuba and Mexico

A Celebrity Cruises ship rescued a group of people from another vessel between Cuba and Mexico this week.

Celebrity Apex “encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance” on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the cruise line.

“The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing (seven) people onboard,” the spokesperson told USA TODAY an emailed statement. “The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard.”

The ship departed from Fort Lauderdale for a week-long cruise with stops in Key West, Belize, Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman on Saturday, according to CruiseMapper . The Celebrity spokesperson did not specify who the people in the vessel were.

The ship notified the Coast Guard of the rescue “but there was no U.S. Coast Guard involvement in the case” because of its location, Petty Officer Eric Rodriguez said.

“In accordance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and maritime tradition, it is common and somewhat expected that mariners will render assistance to other seafarers in distress if they have the capability to do so,” he said in an email.

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The news comes after another cruise ship, Carnival Jubilee, rescued two men stranded in a kayak off the coast of Mexico’s Isla Mujeres in January.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

Cruises are heading to different ports because of the Baltimore bridge collapse, and Carnival says it's only taking a little loss

• The Baltimore bridge collapse will have a small impact on Carnival's bottom line.
• Carnival secured a temporary home port in Norfolk, Virginia, to minimize operational changes.
• Royal Caribbean and American Cruise Line's operations may also be affected.

Tuesday's Baltimore bridge collapse may marginally affect the world's largest cruise company.

All vessel traffic has been halted at Baltimore's port, stopping both containerships and cruise ships.

Josh Weinstein, the CEO of Carnival, addressed the incident at the start of Wednesday's earnings call, thanking emergency services and the Coast Guard. Noting the "fluid" situation, he said the port closure's impact was not factored into full-year guidance or the earnings presentation, which covered the three months ending February 29.

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"We expect the situation to have less than a $10 million impact on a full-year guidance," Weinstein said .

The company said it secured a temporary home port in Norfolk, Virginia, for as long as needed, which should minimize operational changes. One of its cruises, the Carnival Legend, departed on Sunday for a seven-day round trip from the Baltimore port and will return instead to Norfolk. Its passengers will be bussed back to Baltimore , Weinstein said.

Without factoring in the collapse, Carnival's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization for 2024 are expected to be $5.63 billion, according to its earnings release .

Carnival stock fell about 3% at 10:20 a.m. in New York after the earnings call before paring losses. Competitors Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line were up around 3% and 6% respectively at closing.

Other cruise companies that sail out of Baltimore are similarly adjusting their plans.

The second-largest cruise operator, Royal Caribbean, has about 30 cruises out of Baltimore scheduled for the rest of this year. One left Baltimore on Saturday, with plans to return on April 4. The company is working on "alternatives" for that ship and others slated to sail out of the port, per the Washington Post .

American Cruise Line also frequents the Baltimore port on East Coast itineraries — its American Glory cruise is set to sail next week. The company has over 30 cruises scheduled from the Baltimore port for the rest of 2024.

The Baltimore port is the 17th-largest in the US, and the bridge collapse has left six construction workers presumed dead . While the cruise industry has adapted swiftly and does not expect the collapse to affect its bottom line significantly, the port closure is expected to hit the auto industry especially hard.

Watch: The container ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge has crashed before

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March 27, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

By Kathleen Magramo , Antoinette Radford, Alisha Ebrahimji , Maureen Chowdhury , Elise Hammond , Tori B. Powell and Aditi Sangal , CNN

Our live coverage of the Baltimore bridge collapse has moved here .

Here's what you should know about the Key Bridge collapse

From CNN staff

Officials recovered the bodies of two construction workers who were on Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed early Tuesday morning after a 984-foot-long cargo ship collided into a pillar.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called the collapse Wednesday " a global crisis ."

"The national economy and the world's economy depends on the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in the country," Moore said.

Here's what you should know:

• The victims: The six people who are presumed dead were from Mexico Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to Col. Roland L. Butler Jr, the superintendent of Maryland State Police. Two bodies were recovered and have been identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala. The two workers were filling potholes on the bridge and were later found trapped in a red pickup truck in about 25 feet of water, Butler said. The FBI is handling notifying the victims' families, Butler said.
• Recovery efforts: Authorities are pausing search efforts for the four other workers who are presumed dead, because additional vehicles are encased in concrete and other debris, making it unsafe for divers, Butler said. Once salvage operations clear the debris, divers will search for more remains, he said.
• The investigation: The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the fatal incident, according to the agency's chair Jennifer Homendy. During a Wednesday news conference, Homendy said there were 21 crew members and two pilots on board the Dali cargo ship when it crashed into the bridge. She also said a senior NTSB hazmat investigator identified 56 containers of hazardous material, and that some containers are in the water. The agency received six hours of voyage data from the ship and the investigation could take 12 to 24 months to complete, Homendy said. She emphasized that NTSB will not analyze information collected or provide conclusions while on scene of the collapse.
• Looking forward: Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said rebuilding the bridge will not be "quick or easy" but that it will get done. He said there are four main focus points ahead: reopening the port, dealing with supply chain issues until its reopening, rebuilding the bridge and dealing with traffic issues until the bridge is rebuilt. Biden  pledged the full support  of the federal government in the response and recovery efforts. His administration has already conveyed a sense of urgency to open up federal funding to remove debris and ultimately rebuild the bridge. Maryland has submitted a request to the Biden administration for emergency relief funds "to assist in our work going forward," Moore said Wednesday.

It's almost impossible to place people on the bow of ship due to the unstable structure, fire official says

 From CNN's Sarah Engel

Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said Wednesday that the cargo ship's bridge structure and containers at the bow remain unstable.

"It's going to be very difficult, if not impossible, and very dangerous, to place people on the bow of that boat right now," Wallace told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

"Naturally, we're still very cognizant of the fact that there are hazardous materials on board the vessel itself," Wallace said, alluding to the National Transportation Safety Board saying earlier that 56 containers were carrying hazardous materials.

Wallace said his team is relying heavily on aerial recognizance, including drones. "That's the only way we're able to see in," he said.  

He added that the aerial surveillance has "been able to really assure us right now we have no [chemical] reactions on board." 

"It's just utter devastation," NTSB chief says of the bridge collapse site

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, called the site of the Key Bridge collapse "devastating."

"It's pretty devastating, certainly, seeing not just what's going on with the cargo containers, but just looking at what was a bridge span — three bridge spans that is pretty much gone. It's just utter devastation," she said at Wednesday evening's news briefing.

She added that she is thinking of families who lost loved ones and those who are waiting to reunite with their lived ones.

NTSB interviewed the Dali's captain and some other crew members today, agency chief says

The National Transportation Safety Board has interviewed the ship's captain, his mate, the chief engineer and one other engineer today, according to Chair Jennifer Homendy.

The two pilots on board the Dali at the time of collision will be interviewed tomorrow, she added.

Cargo ship's voyage data recorder is basic when compared to an airplane's, NTSB chair says

From CNN's Tori B. Powell

The voyage data recorder on the cargo ship Dali was a "newer model" but is considered basic when compared to that on an airplane, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

"But it is very basic compared to say, a flight data recorder, where we would have 1,000 parameters," she said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The NTSB chief investigator Marcel Muise added:

"It's not a ship-wide system recorder, so most of the sensors that are being recorded are from the bridge. So things like GPS, the audio, rudder feedback, rudder commands are recorded on there. But not engineering, the temperature of each cylinder, power distribution sensors."

There were no tug boats with Dali at the time of the collision. That's normal, NTSB chief says

There were no tugs with Dali when the cargo vessel collided with Baltimore's Key Bridge, which is normal protocol, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

Remember: At 01:26:39 on Tuesday, Dali's pilot made a general very high frequency (VHF) radio call for tugs in the vicinity to assist, the NTSB investigator Marcel Muise had said.

"The tugs help the vessel leave the dock, leave the port and get into the main ship channel. And then they leave. Once it's on its way, it's a straight shot through the channel. So there are no tugs with the vessel at the time. So they were calling for tugs," she said.

NTSB chair says she saw some containers that were carrying hazardous materials in the water

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said she did see some of the 56 containers that were carrying hazardous materials in the water.

When asked how many

When asked how many containers of hazardous materials were in the water, Homendy said:

"I did see some containers in the water, and some breached significantly on the vessel itself," she said. "I don't have an exact number, but it's something that we can provide in an update."

Homendy said that a preliminary report should be out in two to four weeks.

This post has been updated with more quotes from Homendy.

Bridge did not have any redundancy, unlike the preferred method for building bridges today, NTSB chair says

Baltimore's Key Bridge did not have any redundancy, which is included in the preferred method of building bridges in the present day, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

"The bridge is a fracture critical," she explained. "What that means is if a member fails that would likely cause a portion of, or the entire bridge, to collapse, there's no redundancy. The preferred method for building bridges today is that there is redundancy built in, whether that's transmitting loads to another member or some sort of structural redundancy. This bridge did not have redundancy," Homendy said.

There are 17,468 fracture critical bridges in the United States out of 615,000 bridges total, she said, citing the Federal Highway Administration.

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