Four 'vital' US military cargo support ships are trapped behind collapsed Baltimore bridge as experts

Four US military support ships are trapped behind the collapsed Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore - a logistical nightmare that could threaten America's readiness to respond to a conflict. 

The four cargo vessels - the SS Antares, SS Denebola, Gary I. Gordon and Cape Washington - are part of the Ready Reserve Force, a branch of the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet. 

All were docked in Baltimore, poised to deploy in the event of a conflict, when the bridge collapsed on March 26. Two were undergoing maintenance and two were stationed at the dock. 

Now, they are stuck in the paralyzed port. The ships are part of a fleet which has previously provided support in conflicts including the Gulf War.

Maritime defense experts say that while the ships remain unavailable, the US military could be forced to use civilian cargo ships in the event of a crisis. 

Four cargo vessels which are part of the Ready Reserve Force, a branch of the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet, are docked in Baltimore

The Navy's USS Denebola (L) and USS Antares Fast Sealift Ships sit moored unable to get underway due to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in the Port of Baltimore's inner harbor

The Ready Reserve Force is available at short notice to provide support and deliver equipment during the rapid deployment of military forces. It is comprised of 48 vessels, including the four in Baltimore.

Six construction workers perished after the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed on March 26 after the container ship Dali lost power and collided with one of its support structures. 

A huge recovery effort is underway to reopen the busy shipping channel and remove Dali.

Eleven cargo ships, including the Ready Reserve Force vessels, are unable to leave the Port of Baltimore.

Steven Wills, a navalist for the Center for Maritime Strategy, said the fact military support ships are stuck could cause issues if the US needed to rapidly respond to a military or humanitarian crisis.

The Ready Reserve Force played a role in the Gulf War’s Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and has also provided disaster relief following major hurricanes and storms.

'Right now, we do not have enough logistics vessels like these to do another Desert Shield or Desert Storm,' Wills told the Baltimore Sun. 'We would have to go out and ask for civilian companies to provide their ships in order to get enough.'

Salvage teams started removing containers from the Dali over the weekend.

The vessel's 22-man crew remain on board, where they continue to carry out duties including maintenance.

The removal of the containers is set to continue this week as weather permits, according to a statement from the Key Bridge Response Unified Command. 

It is an important step toward the full reopening of one of the nation's main shipping lanes, and crews are progressing toward removing sections of the bridge that lie across the ship's bow to eventually allow it to move.

The Dali has been trapped under steel in the Patapsco River since it slammed into the bridge on March 26, killing six workers who were filling potholes on the bridge's roadway. A total of 32 vessels have since passed through temporary channels on either side of the wreckage, officials said.

In this photo provided by the Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command, response crews begin removing shipping containers from the deck of the cargo ship Dali using a floating crane

Response crews begin removing shipping containers from the deck of the cargo ship Dali using a floating crane barge at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Sunday, April 7, 2024

The site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and the container ship that toppled it, Dali, are seen from the debris retrieval vessel Reynolds, April 4, 2024

The removal of the containers from the deck of the Dali is set to continue this week as weather permits, according to a statement from the Key Bridge Response Unified Command

Mangled containers are seen crushed by the bridge, with the salvage operation expected to continue this week 

'The Unified Command is concurrently progressing on its main lines of effort to remove enough debris to open the channel to larger commercial traffic,' U.S. Coast Guard Capt. David O'Connell said in the statement.

President Joe Biden took a helicopter tour Friday of the warped metal remains and the mass of construction and salvage equipment trying to clear the wreckage. 

The president also met for more than an hour with the families of those who died.

Eight workers - immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - were filling potholes on the bridge when it was hit and collapsed in the middle of the night.

Two men were rescued and the bodies of three others, named as Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Castillo, 26, were recovered in subsequent days. The search for the other victims continues.

Officials have established a temporary, alternate channel for vessels involved in clearing debris. 

The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to open a limited-access channel for barge container ships and some vessels moving cars and farm equipment by the end of April, and to restore normal capacity to Baltimore's port by May 31, the White House said.

More than 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on site to help cut out sections of the bridge and remove them from the key waterway.

The shipping container crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six people

Dramatic footage showed the moment the bridge collapsed as the ship collided with it 

The almost-two dozen sailors who were on the ship are being forced to stay on the wrecked vessel

Most of the Dali's crew are from India, with the country confirming that 21 of them are from the nation, while one is from Sri Lanka, according to the US Coast Guard. 

They've been given books, magazines and access to TV to keep themselves entertained by local aid groups.

None of them have been allowed to disembark as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues its investigation into the crash.

It has still not been confirmed when they'll be allowed to leave the ship.

Andrew Middleton, director of the Catholic Ministry, Apostleship of the Sea, told NPR that he has had 'limited conversations' over recent days with the crew as they remain on board.

He told NPR that those on board were 'prepared for a 28-day voyage, so they have fresh food and fresh water.'

The crew were required to stay on board 'to monitor mechanical systems, electrical systems, pumps,' he said. 'All those kind of things that make the vessel operate, you need humans to do that.' 

In this photo provided by the Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command, response crews begin removing shipping containers from the deck of the cargo ship Dali using a floating crane barge at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Baltimore. (Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command via AP)

A specialized salvage climber scales a container to survey the damage to containers onboard the cargo ship Dali at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Saturday, April 6, 2024

Response crews begin removing shipping containers from the deck of the cargo ship Dali using a floating crane barge at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Sunday, April 7, 2024

The site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and the container ship that toppled it, Dali, are seen from the debris retrieval vessel Reynolds, April 4, 2024, in Baltimore. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

Workers are seen in the beginning stages of dismantling the steel from the frame of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, using an exothermic cutting torch, April 4, 2024, in Baltimore. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

He said that if they should end up being stranded for longer than 28 days, 'the ship line will make arrangements to get food and fresh water out to them or, you know, anything else that they might need.'

He added: 'I think we worry that the stress and the trauma of the incident and - that, as time goes on, might start to weigh a little more heavily on them.'

The Indian government confirmed following the crash that those on board are in good health, including the one crewmember who sustained a minor injury during the collision. 

Questions have been raised over exactly how the crash occurred, and who ought to take responsibility.

CBS previously reported that an unclassified memo from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said the ship reported losing power before it crashed, with Maryland governor Wes Moore backing up the claim. 

Officials told the outlet that the crew unsuccessfully tried to reboot the propulsion systems, before alerting Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Authority. 

They said that this alert allowed local officials to stop traffic on the bridge and likely saved lives. 

But NTSB previously said it needs to undertake its full investigation before it can come to a conclusion on exactly what happened.