An apparent explosion occurred aboard a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier near the Francis Scott Key Bridge site in Baltimore on Monday evening.
Baltimore City fire spokesperson John Marsh told WBAL-TV that the incident was reported at 6:28 p.m. ET on Aug. 18. Marsh said the situation was contained and confirmed that no injuries had been reported.
The vessel had just departed from the CSX Coal Dock, according to Mike Singer, a member of the Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay Shipwatchers group. Singer told WBAL-TV the ship was “full of coal” at the time of the explosion.
Multiple fireboats and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene. Baltimore officials said there was no indication of a wider safety threat, and the cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
The ship was reportedly en route to Port Louis, Mauritius, carrying a full coal load. No damage to nearby infrastructure or reports of pollution have been released at this time.
Authorities said additional information will be provided once the investigation into the cause of the blast is complete.
On March 26, 2024, the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali lost power while leaving the Port of Baltimore and struck a support pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Despite a Mayday call that stopped traffic, the collision caused the bridge to collapse, killing six construction workers and injuring two others. A federal investigation later found that the bridge’s vulnerability to such impacts had been underestimated, with its collapse risk nearly 30 times higher than acceptable safety levels.
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