• 7 months ago
The collapse of a significant bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday is poised to halt coal exports from the port for up to six weeks, potentially impeding the transport of approximately 2.5 million tons of coal, according to Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC. With Baltimore being the second-largest terminal for coal in the US, the blockage of this major coal hub threatens to disrupt global energy supply chains, which have only recently begun to recover from pandemic-related slowdowns. Thrasher noted that while some diversion to other ports is possible, the capacity constraints of these alternative ports pose limitations on such efforts.

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Transcript
00:00 The collapse of a significant bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday is poised to halt coal exports
00:07 from the port for up to six weeks, potentially impeding the transport of approximately 2.5
00:13 million tons of coal, according to Ernie Thrasher, CEO of XCoal Energy and Resources, LLC.
00:19 With Baltimore being the second-largest terminal for coal in the US, the blockage of this major
00:25 coal hub threatens to disrupt global energy supply chains, which have only recently begun
00:31 to recover from pandemic-related slowdowns.
00:33 Thrasher noted that while some diversion to other ports is possible, the capacity constraints
00:38 of these alternative ports pose limitations on such efforts.
00:43 Despite Baltimore accounting for less than 2% of global seaborne coal shipments, Thrasher
00:48 emphasized that the collapse would have little impact on global coal prices.
00:52 However, he highlighted the significance of the disruption for India, particularly given
00:57 the country's substantial annual coal demand and reliance on imports, a portion of which
01:02 is sourced from the US via Baltimore.
01:05 Energy Aspects and Analytics firm predicted that marine traffic in Baltimore would face
01:10 disruptions for a relatively short period, possibly lasting two to three weeks.
01:15 Additionally, some coal shipments may be temporarily redirected to other ports such as Norfolk,
01:21 Virginia.
01:22 The supply disruption is expected to have a more pronounced impact on Asian coal markets
01:27 compared to European markets, primarily due to the composition of the coal exported from
01:32 Baltimore, which often contains high sulphur content, unsuitable for European power stations,
01:37 as highlighted by commodity analytics firm DBX.
01:41 Shortly after 1 a.m. European time, a container ship named the Dali was sailing down the Patapsco
01:47 River on its way to Sri Lanka.
01:49 At 1.24 a.m., it suffered a total power failure and all its lights went out.
01:54 Three minutes later, at 1.27 a.m., the container ship struck a pylon of the bridge, crumpling
01:59 almost the entire structure into the water.
02:02 The bridge was up to code and there were no known structural issues, Maryland Governor
02:07 Wes Moore said.
02:09 The metal truss-style bridge has a suspended deck, a design that contributed to its collapse,
02:14 engineers say.
02:16 The ship appeared to hit a main concrete pyre, which rests on soil underwater and is part
02:21 of the foundation.
02:22 So far, six lives have been lost.
02:24 [Music]
02:31 [MUSIC]

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