Bernie Sanders

Senator from Vermont
Jump to  stances on the issues
Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race on April 8, 2020. This page is no longer being updated.
Sanders, an independent, is back after waging an unsuccessful challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016 with a democratic socialist platform that included free college tuition. His positions on those issues have driven the policy debate within the Democratic Party ever since. He was elected to the Senate in 2006 and was previously in the House for 16 years.
University of Chicago, B.A. (1964)
September 8, 1941
Jane Sanders; divorced from Deborah Shiling
Jewish
Levi (son with Susan Mott)
Heather, Carina and David
Congressman from Vermont, 1991-2007;
Mayor of Burlington, 1981-1989

SANDERS IN THE NEWS

2020 Presidential Debates Fast Facts
Updated 11:56 AM ET, Thu Oct 5, 2023
Here's a look at the 2020 presidential debates. June 26, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Elizabeth Warren Transcript June 27, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang Transcript July 30, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson Transcript July 31, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Andrew Yang Transcript September 12, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Houston, Texas Hosts: ABC News and Univision Moderators: Linsey Davis, David Muir, Jorge Ramos and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang Transcript October 15, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Westerville, Ohio Hosts: CNN and The New York Times Moderators: Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Marc Lacey Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcripts: 8pm ET, 9pm ET, 10pm ET November 20, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Atlanta Hosts: MSNBC and The Washington Post Moderators: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Ashley Parker and Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript December 19, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Los Angeles Hosts: PBS NewsHour and Politico Moderators: Tim Alberta, Yamiche Alcindor, Amna Nawaz and Judy Woodruff Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript January 14, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Des Moines, Iowa Hosts: CNN and Des Moines Register Moderators: Wolf Blitzer, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Abby Phillip Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcripts: 9pm ET, 10pm ET February 7, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Manchester, New Hampshire Hosts: ABC, Apple News and WMUR-TV Moderators: Linsey Davis, Monica Hernandez, David Muir, Adam Sexton and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang February 19, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Hosts: MSNBC, NBC News, The Nevada Independent and Telemundo Moderators: Vanessa Hauc, Lester Holt, Hallie Jackson, Jon Ralston and Chuck Todd Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Transcript February 25, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Charleston, South Carolina Hosts: CBS News, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Twitter Moderators: Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett, Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell and Bill Whitaker Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcript March 15, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Washington, DC Hosts: CNN and Univision Moderators: Dana Bash, Ilia Calderón and Jake Tapper Participants: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Transcript September 29, 2020 Event Type: First Presidential Debate Location: Cleveland, Ohio Hosts: Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic Moderator: Chris Wallace Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript October 7, 2020 Event Type: Vice Presidential Debate Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Hosts: The University of Utah Moderator: Susan Page Participants: Kamala Harris and Mike Pence Transcript October 15, 2020 October 9, 2020 - The Commission on Presidential Debates cancels the second presidential debate after Trump declines to do a virtual debate despite concerns over his Covid-19 diagnosis. October 22, 2020 Event Type: Third Presidential Debate Location: Nashville, Tennessee Hosts: Belmont University Moderator: Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript
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STANCES ON THE ISSUES

climate crisis
Close Accordion Pane
Sanders has described climate change – now as well as during his 2016 run for president – as a global security threat. He is a leading proponent of the Green New Deal, the broad plan to address renewable-energy infrastructure and climate change proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. In August 2019, Sanders released a $16.3 trillion climate change program. His targets include meeting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s goal of 100% renewable energy for electricity and transportation by 2030; cutting domestic emissions by 71% over that period; creating a $526 billion electric "smart grid”; investing $200 billion in the Green Climate Fund; and prioritizing what activists call a “just transition” for fossil fuel workers who would be dislocated during the transition. The Vermont independent would also cut off billions in subsidies to fossil fuel companies and impose bans on extractive practices, including fracking and mountaintop coal mining, while halting the import and export of coal, oil and natural gas. Sanders vows to recommit the US to the Paris climate accord, a landmark 2015 deal on global warming targets that Trump has pledged to abandon. More on Sanders’ climate crisis policy
economy
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Sanders introduced his 21st-century Economic Bill of Rights in June 2019, in which he pledged “once and for all that every American, regardless of his or her income, is entitled to the right to a decent job that pays a living wage; the right to quality health care; the right to a complete education; the right to affordable housing; the right to a clean environment; and the right to a secure retirement.” In October 2019, he introduced a plan that would guarantee workers eventually take control of 20% stakes in the country’s largest companies through the issuance of new stock and would mandate that employees elect 45% of corporate boards of directors. The Sanders plan would also impose strict new guidelines on mega-mergers, while asking a revamped Federal Trade Commission to review deals pushed through during the Trump administration. Throughout his career, Sanders has been pro-union, saying in January, “If we are serious about reducing income and wealth inequality and creating good-paying jobs, we have to substantially increase the number of union jobs in this country.” In 2017, he supported a 10-year infrastructure plan costing $1 trillion. At the time, proponents estimated the plan would create 15 million jobs. He had put forth a similar proposal during his first presidential campaign. More on Sanders’ economic policy
education
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Sanders would eliminate tuition and fees at, as his campaign says, “four-year public colleges and universities, tribal colleges, community colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs.” He unveiled legislation in June 2019 that would wipe out $1.6 trillion in undergraduate and graduate student loan debt for about 45 million people. The plan has no eligibility limitations and would be paid for with a new tax on Wall Street speculation. Sanders frequently describes education as a “human right.” That means “making public colleges, universities and historically black colleges and universities tuition-free and debt-free by tripling the work study program, expanding Pell grants and other financial incentives," he said. His “Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education” would seek to improve the K-12 system by taking aim at de facto segregation and public-school funding disparities while banning for-profit charter schools. More on Sanders’ education policy
gun violence
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Sanders describes “an epidemic of gun violence” in the US and has pushed for expanded background checks and the closing of assorted loopholes in firearm purchases. Sanders has consistently voted for legislation that would ban so-called assault weapons and said he would seek to do the same for high-capacity magazines. He said he would push for harsher punishments for “straw” purchases, when someone purchases a gun for someone who cannot legally possess a firearm. More on Sanders’ gun violence policy
healthcare
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Sanders introduced “Medicare for All” legislation in 2017, which would have created a national government-run program providing comprehensive coverage with no premiums, deductibles or copays. He has taken this version of the plan one step further since its initial rollout to include long-term care at home and in the community for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Unlike some of his presidential opponents, Sanders says there should be no private insurance option except for items not covered by his Medicare for All act, such as elective procedures. Sanders argues that the increase in taxes would be more than offset by eliminating the premiums, deductibles and copayments associated with private health insurance. When asked during the first Democratic presidential debate about whether taxes would go up as a result of his health care plan, Sanders said: “Yes, they will pay more in taxes, but less in health care for what they get.” Sanders also supports importing drugs, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and pegging the price of medicine in the US to the median price in five other developed nations. More on Sanders’ health care policy
immigration
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Sanders has called for comprehensive immigration legislation, which includes providing a path toward citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He has proposed providing legal status for those covered by the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields from deportation some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children. Sanders has also called for restructuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement. More on Sanders’ immigration policy

LATEST POLITICAL NEWS

March 27, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapse
Updated 5:20 AM ET, Thu Mar 28, 2024
Our live coverage of the Baltimore bridge collapse has moved here. 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. ##Catch Up## 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."  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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. Marcel Muise, the National Transportation Safety Board investigator in charge, provided the following timeline of events as provided by the recovered voyage data recorder (VDR). Approximately 12:39 a.m. ET: The ship departed from Seagirt Marine Terminal. By 1:07: The ship had entered the Fort McHenry Channel. 01:24:59: Numerous audible alarms were recorded on the ship's bridge audio. About the same time, VDR sensor data ceased recording. The VDR audio continued to record using the redundant power source, Muise said. 01:26:02: VDR resumed recording sensor data and during this time, steering commands and rudder orders were recorded on the audio. 01:26:39: The ship's pilot made a general very high frequency (VHF) radio call for tugs in the vicinity to assist. About to this time, Muise said, the pilot association dispatcher phoned the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) duty officer regarding the blackout. Around 01:27:04: The pilot ordered the Dali to drop the port anchor and ordered additional steering commands. Around 01:27:25: The pilot issued a radio call over the VHF radio, reporting that the Dali had lost all power and was approaching the bridge. Around this time, the MDTA data shows the following also occurred: Their duty officer radioed two of their units that were already on scene due to construction on the bridge — one on each side of the bridge — and ordered them to close traffic on the bridge. All lanes were then shut down by MDTA. Around 01:29: The ship's speed over ground was recorded at just under 8 miles per hour. From this moment on approximately 1:29:33, the VDR audio recorded sounds consistent with the collision of the bridge. Additionally, around this time, MDTA dash cameras show the bridge lights extinguishing. 01:29:39: The pilot reported the bridge down over the VFH radio to the Coast Guard. The investigation into the cargo ship crash into Key Bridge could take up to two years, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy. "We have an amazing team of individuals who are focused on very specific areas of expertise and so I have no doubt that we will be able to pull this together in hopefully 12 to 24 months," she said Wednesday at a news conference. She called the investigation "a massive undertaking" and said there are "many different components to the investigation." "It's multimodal," Homendy said, noting that "this is not new for the NTSB." "We've conducted other investigations of bridge strikes, bridge collapses," she said. Approximately six hours of voyage data from the Dali cargo ship that hit the Key Bridge in Baltimore has been provided to the National Transportation Safety Board, according to Marcel Muise, NTSB investigator in charge. The footage was recovered by the US Coast Guard on the morning of the accident and contains footage from midnight to 6 a.m. ET, Muise said at a Wednesday news conference. "The NTSB is continuing to obtain more data," Muise said. A senior hazmat investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board looked at the cargo and cargo manifest today, identifying 56 containers of hazardous material, agency Chair Jennifer Homendy said Wednesday. "He was able to identify 56 containers of hazardous materials. That's 764 tons of hazardous materials — mostly corrosives, flammables, and some miscellaneous hazardous materials, class nine hazardous materials, which would include lithium ion batteries," she said at a news briefing. Some of the hazmat containers "were breached," she said, adding that sheen was seen on the waterway. There were 21 crew members and two pilots onboard the Dali cargo ship when it crashed into Baltimore's Key Bridge, according to the National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy. The NTSB is leading the investigation, Homendy has said. The board will try to determine what occurred onboard Dali and also look at the structure of the bridge itself. Read more about what investigators are working on here. The National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy emphasized the agency will not analyze information collected or provide conclusions while on the scene of the Key Bridge collapse. "It's really important for folks to understand that we will not analyze any of the information we are collecting. We will not provide any sort of findings, conclusions or any safety recommendations while on scene," she said. "Our entire focus on scene is to collect the perishable evidence — that's documenting the scene, it's taking photographs, it's taking any sort of electronics or components, whatever goes away once the scene is cleaned up," she said. The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a news conference to share updates about the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy is expected to speak. Authorities are pausing search and recovery efforts for the four additional people who are presumed dead after the bridge collapse, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., the superintendent of Maryland State Police said Wednesday evening. “At this point, based upon the conditions, we are now moving from a recovery mode to a salvage operation," he said. "Because of the superstructure surrounding what we believe were the vehicles and the amount of concrete and debris, divers are no longer able to safely navigate and operate around that," he said. "We have exhausted all search efforts." The superintendent added that based on sonar scans, officials believe that the vehicles are "encased in the superstructure and concrete" of the bridge. Butler Jr. added that there is "no definitive timeline" for how long the salvage phase will take, once it is complete, the divers will go back to the site. “The sonar simply said they cannot get to that area because it was fully encased in the superstructure," he said. “Once that salvage effort takes place and that superstructure is removed, those same divers are going to go back out there and bring those people closure," he added. The headline and post have been updated with additional comments from Butler Jr. ##Victims## The brother of a person presumed dead after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed earlier this week described him as a "man who dreamed big." "I could describe him as a dynamic person, as a visionary person, a man who dreamed big," said Martin Suazo Sandoval, brother of Maynor Suazo Sandoval. He told CNNE in Honduras on Wednesday that his brother was an industrial mechanical technician and went to the United States to fulfill his dreams. However, after the pandemic, Maynor Suazo Sandoval had to look for an additional job to have more income and found work at a bridge supervision and maintenance company. Martin Suazo Sandoval said his brother believed in helping people, and sponsored minor sports leagues because he believed that by "helping the children here in the town, they would have a better childhood". Martin Suazo Sandoval said what they want most is for their brother's body to be found "so we can begin to take steps to repatriate him." ##Victims## After the Dali ship sent out its first mayday signal, first responders leapt into action to both move people off the bridge and prevent other cars from entering it, Maryland's governor said. They were also notifying workers who were part of a construction crew on the bridge to leave, Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday, as officials learn more about what happened in the moments before the collision and collapse. "One of the survivors, who I had the opportunity to speak with, one of the things he mentioned to me was as he was moving off of the bridge — and literally saw the bridge fall right after he moved off — it was because it was a first responder who was telling him to move off the bridge," Moore said. The governor said the ongoing investigation will reveal more of what happened and how those responders communicated with the workers. He said this particular worker who survived said he heard the warning "audibly," that the officer was telling him to move off. Officials have recovered the bodies of two of the missing workers who were on the Francis Scott Key bridge when it collapsed, the head of the Maryland State Police said Wednesday. Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said that shortly before 10 a.m. ET divers found a red pickup truck in about 25 feet of water. “Divers recovered two victims of this tragedy trapped within the vehicle,” Butler said. He said Maryland State Police notified the families of those found about an hour ago. Their names were given as: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala The workers, who were filling potholes on the bridge at the time of the incident, were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, officials said. Butler Jr. confirmed that both men whose bodies were found today were working for the construction company. One was identified by a driver’s license in his pocket, the other was identified by fingerprint, he said. The post has been updated with more details from the news conference, including the correct spelling of the victims' names after an update from authorities. ##Victims## An inspector who was contracted by the state of Maryland with an engineering firm overseeing work was among victims that fell into the water following the Key Bridge collapse, according to Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said investigations continue on what happened on the ship and there are no declarative answers on possible power challenges or issues on the Dali. "The thing that we do know is that we had documented that there were power challenges as the freight was coming up on the bridge," Moore said. "The mayday call came in because of the power issues and the lack of ability to steer the vessel." Baltimore's mayor asked for people to have "a little bit of decency and respect" when it comes to online discourse about the fatal bridge collapse. "Don't spread misinformation. Don't play bridge engineer online or in the media. Remember that these are people's family members who have lost their lives simply trying to make transit better for the rest of us," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said. The head of Maryland State Police announced earlier that dive teams recovered the bodies of two people in the river on Wednesday. At least four other people are unaccounted for and presumed dead, the Coast Guard said. If anyone is found liable in the events that led to the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, they will be pursued to add funds to the cost-share in rebuilding, US Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Wednesday evening. "As the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] conducts its review, we'll have a better of exactly what happened, and if anybody is liable for negligence or wrongdoing, you can be assured that we will be pursuing those funds as part of the cost-share," he said at a news briefing. Maryland officials are working on plans to reconstruct the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it collapsed earlier this week, Sen. Ben Cardin said. "We are also working today on a replacement bridge so that we can also have those plans in place and have the tools and resources available so that we can reconstruct the bridge as quickly as possible," he said Wednesday. Cardin thanked the Biden administration and federal partners for their help so far. He called on Congress to "provide the necessary authorizations, support and resources to make this recovery complete and that we can move as quickly as possible." He said, still, the top priority is to reopen the shipping lanes and minimize harm to the economy. Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are the countries of origin for the six people who are presumed dead following the bridge collapse, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., the superintendent of Maryland State Police, said Wednesday at a news conference. "The notifications to these individuals' family members and loved ones outside of the United States is being handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and accordance with their established protocols," he said. "Again, I encourage you all to think about these people and those that they love and they lost. They're going to need your love and support." ##Victims## Maryland has submitted a request to President Joe Biden's administration for emergency relief funds "to assist in our work going forward," Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday. Moore said he spoke to Biden Wednesday by phone. Remember: Biden pledged the full support of the federal government in the response and recovery efforts after Tuesday’s collapse. His administration has already conveyed a sense of urgency to open up federal funding to remove debris and ultimately rebuild the bridge. The collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge is a global crisis, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said, re-iterating the importance of the bridge in global trade and economy. "The collapse of the Key Bridge is not just a Maryland crisis. The collapse of the Key Bridge is 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. "Last year alone, the port handled $80 billion of foreign cargo — the largest in the country." Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the search and recovery operation following the collapse of a key Baltimore bridge is now focused on bringing closure to the families of those presumed dead. “We need to bring a sense of closure and comfort to the families and we take that very seriously,” Moore said. Six people who were on the bridge have been missing and are presumed dead, a Coast Guard official said previously. There has been a search and recovery operation going on since Tuesday evening. The governor said divers were in the water at 6 a.m. ET Wednesday for search and recovery efforts. “This is not a conclusion, it’s a continuation and we take this phase just as seriously and just as personally as we took the last phase,” he said. Officials including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Ben Cardin and Sen. Chris Van Hollen are providing updates on efforts underway following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday. What happened: The bridge toppled shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday when the Dali, a 213-million-pound cargo vessel, lost power while trying to leave the port and smashed into one of the bridge’s support columns, sending people and cars into the frigid Patapsco River. Eight construction workers were believed to be mending potholes on the bridge when it fell, according to officials. Two survived and were pulled from the water but the remaining six are presumed dead due to the prolonged search time and cold conditions. The brother of Maynor Suazo Sandoval — one of the six victims presumed dead in the Key Bridge collapse – said the victims' families were informed of the news conference with the Maryland governor and other top officials that was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET. However, they have not been told what to expect, Carlos Suazo Sandoval said. He added that they plan to attend and ask questions.  The news conference had yet to begin as of 5:35 p.m. ET and an official said the delay was due to traffic issues for some of the attendees. ##Victims## When a container ship slammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, it led to the disastrous collapse that left six people presumed dead and took out one of the region’s key infrastructure links. But it wasn’t the first time that kind of impact had happened: Four decades earlier, another container ship that also lost power hit the same bridge — and it stood strong. The drastic difference in outcomes between the two accidents is an example of the dangers caused by the massive increase in shipping vessel size in the intervening decades. It’s also raising questions about whether changes in the bridge’s design could have prevented the deadly collapse. A CNN review of public records and interviews with about a dozen bridge and shipping experts show that hundreds of bridges over US waterways were built decades ago when container ships were a fraction of the size and weight they are today. Bridges of the era when the Key Bridge was built weren’t designed to protect against collisions with ships as big as the Dali, the vessel that caused the Baltimore catastrophe. Some experts said that this week’s disaster should inspire engineers to reevaluate whether America’s aging infrastructure can withstand impacts from the gigantic ships that transit our waterways today. “It’s absolutely a wake-up call,” said Rick Geddes, a professor and director of Cornell University’s Program in Infrastructure Policy. “The people who were building the Francis Scott Key Bridge never really contemplated ships of this size. It wasn’t their fault — they just didn’t have a crystal ball.” Read CNN's full investigation and see how modern vessels stack up with aging bridges. Federal authorities now said there are 11 ships, in addition to the Dali cargo vessel, stuck inside the Port of Baltimore following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.  The Transportation Department told CNN on Wednesday that it corrected the data to reflect an additional vessel stranded behind the fallen bridge. Officials now say that the following vessels are stranded at the port: Four Maritime Administration (MARAD) Ready Reserve vessels Three bulk carriers One vehicle carrier Two general cargo ships An oil/chemical tanker This post has been updated with the latest information on the vessels in the post. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN’s Phil Mattingly his agency is focused on four things following the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore: Working with the city to get the bridge back up Dealing with traffic impacts Reopening the port Making sure the supply chain impacts are dealt with. Buttigieg called the reopening of the port the most “acute short-term concern” especially for the workers impacted with about $2 million a day being lost in wages, he said.  Other ships stuck at the port have to be unloaded and have cargo offloaded and transported by land to get to other ports during this closure, which Buttigieg described it as a “complicated operation.”   Parties that are found accountable for the incident will be held liable, Buttigieg promised, but said that process will now slow the process of reopening the port. “We’re going to make sure that those federal resources are put together upfront so that nothing unnecessarily delays the roadway back to normal. Workers are counting on it, people who depend on these shipments, whether they realize it or not, they’re counting on it and about 30,000 vehicles a day that go over that bridge, they’re counting on us doing everything in our power to get them back to normal,” Buttigieg said.  “It will not be quick and it will not be easy, but we’re committed to do it as long as it takes,” he said. The Baltimore Orioles will honor the people who are presumed dead in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse at the season opener on Thursday. The team said the moment of silence will also pay tribute to the city's "brave first responders who immediately stepped into action." The Orioles are scheduled to face the Los Angeles Angels at Camden Yards in Baltimore at 3:05 p.m. ET on Thursday. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Ben Cardin, Sen. Chris Van Hollen as well as officials from the Maryland State Police, US Coast Guard and the Maryland Department of Transportation will hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. ET.  They will discuss updates on efforts underway following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday. More than 1,000 US Army Corps of Engineers personnel were activated to help clear the critical shipping channel where Baltimore's Key Bridge collapsed. Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, commander and chief of engineers, explained the team will approach the mission in three steps. Here's what they are: Step 1: Get the steel trust out of a 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep channel, and examine what parts of the concrete are still at the bottom. "Any piece of concrete, any piece of steel on the bottom is just as much as of a hazard as that in the channel," Spellmon said. This step will allow "one-way traffic going in and out of the Port of Baltimore again," he said. Step 2: Work closely with the Coast Guard to stabilize containers on top of the ship. Then the trust of the bridge that is still on top of the ship needs to be taken off "so it can be tugged to a safe part of the port," Spellmon said. "By removing the vessel, that will allow us to reopen two-way traffic." Step 3: Take out the remaining 2,900 feet of steel and all the associated concrete and roadway that's at the river bottom. "We're up to this task. We have what we need," Spellmon said. The Environmental Protection Agency is not aware of any fuel leakage at this point after a ship hit Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, a spokesperson said. Earlier Wednesday at a White House briefing, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said the vessel is stable but still has over 1.5 million gallons of fuel onboard. The US Coast Guard would be the ones to determine if there is a fuel leak because they are the lead agency, EPA Region 3 spokesperson Shaun Eagan told CNN. Some background: Members of the Coast Guard detected an oil sheen on the water near the wreckage of the Key Bridge on Tuesday. However, they have not yet determined the source of the fuel discharge, according to USCG Petty Officer Kimberly Reaves.   Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and several other officials were taken to the scene of the collision on Wednesday, his spokesperson told CNN. “The governor surveyed the recovery area to further assess the damage. He along with other federal and local partners boarded a Coast Guard ship to receive a closer view and a better understanding of the ship’s path and how this incident occurred," the spokesperson said. "This is part of the Governor’s efforts to continue the strong working relationship with the Coast Guard along with our federal partners, thank first responders working on the scene, and to learn more about the events that took place,” the spokesperson added. Other officials included Sen. Ben Cardin, Mayor Brandon Scott, Congressman David Trone, County Executive Johnny Olszewski and County Executive Steuart Pittman. Investigators are focusing on how a massive cargo ship collided into a key Baltimore bridge — and whether any preventative measures could have helped mitigate the bridge collapse. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said. The board will try to determine what occurred onboard Dali and also look at the structure of the bridge itself. Here's what the NTSB is working on: Investigators boarded the ship overnight and retained the vessel’s recorder or black box, she said. They will use this to put together a timeline of what led to the ship hitting the bridge. In this, the NTSB will look to verify reports that the ship had power issues and lost propulsion just before hitting the pillar, Homendy said. A team of 24 investigators planned to return to the vessel on Wednesday to focus on collecting the perishable evidence, including pictures of the vessel, she said. Investigators will also begin interviews with Dali's crew. A specialized team will determine who was controlling the vessel and who was on the ship’s bridge at the time of the crash. The NTSB will additionally look at the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the debris that fell into the water or onto the ship, Homendy said. It will determine whether there were other measures that “should have been in place to prevent this type of destruction from occurring," she said, including things like "dolphins" and "fenders," structures aimed at protecting the bridge. ##Catch Up## Seven Brawner Builder employees were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the night of the collapse, Brawner Builders Executive Vice President Jeffrey Pritzker told CNN. One survived, and the other six are presumed dead. "These were wonderful young men," he said. "They were doing a tough job. These guys were hardworking wonderful people and now they're gone." Pritzker told CNN he doesn't know how the worker managed to survive, saying the survivor isn’t ready to talk about his experience yet but he is “very, very upset," has injuries and is suffering from stress. "It's amazing that he did survive," Pritzker said, adding that the worker was able to swim away. Most of the seven men have worked for Brawner Builders for years, according to Pritzker and were doing concrete remediation work, including filling potholes on the Key Bridge on the night of the collapse.  Pritzker also said the owner of Brawner Builders spent the night of the collapse praying their people would be found alive.  When it became apparent the other six employees were presumed dead, the owner and seniors in the company gathered the families together and spent the morning with them.  "We will make sure the families are well taken care of," Pritzker said.  Pritzker said the company is in the process of putting together compensation packages for the families.  ##Victims## One of the construction workers missing from the bridge collapse in Baltimore is Dorlian Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala, family members told CNN on Wednesday. Guatemala's Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified Tuesday two of its nationals among those unaccounted for: a 26-year-old from San Luis, Petén, and a 35-year-old from Camotán, Chiquimula. The 26-year-old is Dorlian, his cousin confirmed to CNN.  Here's what his family told CNN about Castillo Cabrera: What his sister-in-law said: He had been working at Brawner Builders for at least three years and loved his job. He was not married and did not have children, Pima Castillo said. What his cousin said: Castillo Cabrera came to the US to follow his dream and help his mother, Marlon Castillo said. “Unfortunately, he was in a place where no one imagined what was going to happen.” ##Victims## President Joe Biden met with top officials in the Oval Office Wednesday on the ongoing federal, state and local response to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, according to the White House.  He met with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg as well as US Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, and he spoke to Gen. Scott Spellmon. Biden also spoke with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and reiterated his administration’s support for the people of Baltimore.  Investigators are working to learn more about what happened after a massive cargo ship collided with Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, causing it to collapse. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, went aboard the ship to gather evidence. Meanwhile, cold water temperatures and choppy waters are affecting divers' attempts to find the six bodies of those missing, who are presumed dead. Here's where things stand: Workers missing: Three Mexican nationals were among the people on the bridge when it collapsed — two of them are presumed dead and one person was rescued. A father of three from El Salvador has also been identified as one of the missing, as has a father of two from Honduras — both of whom had lived in the US for almost two decades. And two Guatemalans are among those unaccounted for. The US State Department said it will reach out to any countries whose citizens were impacted. What to do about the debris: The Coast Guard is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the parts of the bridge that are sitting on the bow of the ship so that it can be moved out of the way, according to Vice Adm. Peter Gautier. Dozens of containers with hazardous materials are among the more than 4,700 cargo containers that remain on the ship, he said, but they are not a threat to the public. Dangerous conditions: Search and recovery operations have resumed after they were halted overnight due to dangerous conditions, including “very unstable” sections of the steel bridge and shipping containers hanging from the cargo ship, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN. Divers also have little visibility at the bottom of the river, officials said previously. Environmental impacts: There are no drinking water intakes near the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collision that could compromise drinking water quality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said. The agency has at least two regional officials in the field with the Coast Guard to help with assessments, according to an EPA spokesperson. Paying for repairs: There is not yet a cost estimate for damages due to the collapse or a timeline of how long the bridge will take to rebuild, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. He vowed to hold any private company found liable for the incident accountable and added that the bridge was not designed to withstand the impact from the 200-million-pound container ship. Coming up later today: The NTSB will give an update Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Baltimore remains in a state of emergency, Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN. He says he expects it to remain in place for the "foreseeable future." ##Catch Up## The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a news conference Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Remember: NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN this morning that investigators were able to board the Dali ship overnight and that interviews with crew members would begin today. The two Mexicans missing after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, are originally from the states of Veracruz and Michoacán, according to a statement by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday. Remember: The Mexican nationals are among others missing. A father of three from El Salvador has been identified as one of the missing, as has a father of two from Honduras — both of whom had lived in the US for almost two decades. Two Guatemalans are also among those unaccounted for. ##Victims## Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reiterated Wednesday that they still do not know the full condition of the portions of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that did not collapse and emphasized that the rebuild process will be complex and potentially expensive.  "We are committed to delivering every federal resource needed, every federal resource needed to help Maryland get back to normal, and we're going to work with them every step of the way to rebuild this bridge. It is not going to be simple," he told reporters at the White House during a briefing. "Rebuilding will not be quick or easy or cheap, but we will get it done." Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday said he hopes Congress won't let partisan politics get in the way of the recovery and rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key bridge. "Infrastructure is – or at least ought to be – a bipartisan priority," Buttigieg said during a briefing at the White House. "I know that partisanship has gotten in the way of some important functions and expenditures." But Buttigieg left some room for optimism that lawmakers will work together and overcome their political differences. "I would also remind any members who might find themselves on the fence ... that today this is happening in Baltimore, tomorrow it could be your district. And we really need to stand together – red, blue and purple – to get these things done." Teams of officials are working on a plan to re-float the ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge and move it out of the way as the investigation into what happened continues on Wednesday. The Coast Guard will work with the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the parts of the bridge that are sitting on the bow of the ship, according to Vice Adm. Peter Gautier, the deputy commandant for operations for the US Coast Guard. Then, they will work to re-float the ship. The front of the vessel is sitting at the bottom of the Patapsco River because of the weight of the bridge debris, Gautier said. The first step in all of this is to use remote-operated vehicles and divers to survey what is happening under the surface, Gautier said. One rescue diving expert said that is a dangerous task: Butch Hendrick, a rescue diver and the founder of Lifeguard Systems, a company that trains public safety personnel on rescue diving, said the wreckage under the surface of the Patapsco River is likely “interactive.” “Right now every piece is twisted, mangled and turned in another format and something as simple as moving one piece can move multiples,” he told CNN on Wednesday. To make things more complicated, because of the depth of the river, divers have little visibility at the bottom, officials said previously. Hendrick said divers would need to feel around the debris while being careful not to knock anything loose, describing it as "everything is in braille." Any private company that is found liable for the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge "will be held accountable," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said — but he emphasized the government will not wait for that determination to start the rebuilding process. "I think our emphasis and the president's goal is to make sure that that process is not something we have to wait for in order to support Maryland with the funds that they need," he said at a White House briefing. Buttigieg declined to specify what that accountability might look like. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said officials are still working to come up with a cost estimate for damages due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday. President Joe Biden vowed the federal government would foot the bill in the hours after the bridge's collapse. Buttigieg said at the White House on Wednesday it is "likely" that the administration would turn to Congress to seek funding, "but that shouldn't be a barrier" for immediate funding relief. It's also too soon to say how long it will take to rebuild the bridge, Buttigieg said, also noting that it took 5 years to build. "It is going to be some time," he said. Dozens of containers with hazardous materials are among the more than 4,700 cargo containers that remain on the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said at the White House on Wednesday. Of the 4,700 containers on the ship, 56 contained hazardous materials, he said. But Gautier said the containers pose no threat to the public. They were in an area of the ship largely unaffected by damage, he said. Two containers are missing overboard. Those containers do not contain hazardous material, he said. The US State Department will reach out to any country whose citizens were impacted by the Baltimore bridge collapse, according to a spokesperson. "The Office of Foreign Missions is generally continuing to monitor the situation, and will reach out directly to any foreign missions should we receive information about their citizens being affected, but with respect to any one country, I don't have an update,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a briefing on Wednesday. Miller also offered condolences for the families of those affected by the tragedy. The official said he was aware of reports that some of the victims were from Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras. Six construction workers who were on the bridge when it was struck remain unaccounted for. The crew of the ship that crashed into the bridge was from India. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials have determined there are no drinking water intakes near the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collision that could compromise drinking water quality, according to a statement from EPA spokesperson Shaun Eagan. At least two regional EPA officials are in the field with the US Coast Guard (USCG), offering support to USCG by “identifying possible discharges of oil” and helping to “determine the contents of the shipping containers,” according to Eagan. More context: The USCG is currently the lead for any discharge cleanup efforts, but EPA staff are on-site to provide more personnel and equipment if USCG or the state of Maryland requests it to help address any sources of potential discharges of oil or hazardous material from the containers. The Francis Scott Key Bridge was not designed to withstand the massive impact from a container ship that caused it to collapse early Tuesday morning, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttgieg said Wednesday. "A bridge like this one, completed in the 1970s, was simply not made to withstand a direct impact on a critical support pier from a vessel that weighs about 200 million pounds —orders of magnitude bigger than cargo ships that were in service in that region at the time that the bridge was first built," Buttigieg said at a White House briefing on Wednesday. Buttigieg added the federal government is "committed to delivering every federal resource needed to help Maryland get back to normal" following the bridge's collapse early Tuesday. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the loss of life from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday could have been "in the dozens" if not for several factors, including the time of day and the mayday call that happened just before a massive cargo ship struck the bridge. Buttigieg credited the quick response from emergency personnel for mitigating loss of life during a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday. "If not for several factors, including those responders' efforts, the mayday call, the maintenance closure that was already underway, and the time of day of this impact, the loss of life might have been in the dozens," Buttigieg said. Six construction workers who were on the bridge when it was struck remain unaccounted for. Family members of one of the workers missing since the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge still holds on to hope that their loved one will be found alive. “We still have faith until this moment, God grant the miracle, it would be beautiful,” Carlos Suazo Sandoval, brother of Maynor Suazo Sandoval, told CNN en Español on Wednesday. “We still have hope, I know that time is our worst enemy,” he said. Maynor Suazo Sandoval, 38, a Honduran national, was working on asphalt on the bridge when it collapsed, his brother said. Carlos, who spoke to CNN outside a family staging area set up by state and federal authorities in Baltimore, said his family is still processing the incident and has yet to tell Maynor’s 72-year-old mother, who lives in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Maynor, who is one of eight siblings, is described as a kind and joyful person who had “vision,” his brother said. “He always wanted to have his own businesses. He always said his elderly years would be in Honduras,” he said about his missing sibling. Another brother told CNN earlier Wednesday that Maynor Suazo Sandoval has lived in the United States for 18 years and is a married father of an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. Three Mexican nationals were among those on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed Tuesday, Mexico’s president said Wednesday morning. One of those individuals was rescued and is alive, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said, describing him as “injured” but “safe." Two are still missing, he added, saying that his administration is in touch with those families, who are being assisted by diplomatic officials.  López Obrador stressed that migrants often work jobs at midnight and do “risky work,” adding “they do not deserve to be treated, as they often are, by some irresponsible politicians and with little sensibility in the United States.” López Obrador's administration is aware of other missing people, including those he believed to be brothers from Central America, he said. Acknowledging the difficulty of the situation, López Obrador said his office would remain in contact with family members. ##Victims## More than a day after the Dali cargo ship crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, authorities are still searching for the six people missing in the crash. Cold water temperatures and choppy waters are affecting divers' attempts to find the bodies of those missing, who are presumed dead. Here's the latest: The investigation: A team from with the National Transportation Safety Board went aboard the ship late Tuesday night to gather evidence for their investigation, agency Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN on Wednesday. There, they obtained the ship's data recorder, or black box. No timeline for channel reopening: There is no specific timeline for when ships may be able to move in and out of the channel into the Port of Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says, but he reiterated that it is a priority to get it reopened. "Long road to recovery": US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg predicted the restoration effort for the city and port won't be quick. He also warned of supply chain disruptions, saying, "The impact of this incident is going to be felt throughout the region and really throughout our supply chains." Coast Guard assessing hazmat threat: The US Coast Guard is examining damaged shipping containers, some containing potentially hazardous materials, from the crashed vessel, according to a US government document obtained by CNN and a US official familiar with the matter. Overnight search deemed unsafe: Search and recovery operations were halted overnight due to dangerous conditions, including “very unstable” sections of the steel bridge and shipping containers hanging from the cargo ship, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN. Details emerge on those missing: Local authorities have yet to confirm the identities of those missing but have said they include construction workers who were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Here's what we know about the six people presumed dead. Ship blacked out before crash: Just minutes before impact, there was a “total blackout” of engine and electrical power on the ship, according to Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots Association. City remains in state of emergency: As the search operations continue for the missing, Baltimore remains in a state of emergency, Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN. He says he expects it to remain in place for the "foreseeable future." Read more of the key details about the crash here. ##Catch Up## Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called for "a full and thorough investigation" of the Francis Key Scott Bridge collapse. Divers working on recovery efforts have been operating under "pitch-dark conditions, frigid temperatures, in high tides, high winds, with mangled metal all around them ... looking and still searching for these individuals," he said Wednesday. Moore added investigators do not yet know what caused the ship to lose power.   "There needs to be accountability to make sure these things do not happen again and that we have a system in place to make sure they don’t," he said. Moore also said he spoke to families of those presumed lost and "prayed with them, prayed for them." He said that he promised the families that he would "exhaust all options to be able to bring them a sense of closure and that includes these heroic divers." Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told CNN on Wednesday that there currently is no specific timeline for when ships may be able to move in and out of the channel into the Port of Baltimore after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge — but that it is a priority. The bridge collapse is currently blocking a key channel into the busy port and impacting thousands of workers. Moore said that approximately 15,000 workers are directly impacted and about 140,000 workers are indirectly impacted. "The Port of Baltimore has such a significant economic impact not just on on my state, not just on the state of Maryland, but we're talking about 51 million tons of foreign cargo. That's the largest, we're the largest port in the country for foreign cargo," Moore said. Moore also noted that Baltimore is a top 10 port overall for the country. He said there are people who will be impacted all over the country as the port remains closed, from the farmer a Kentucky to an auto dealer in Michigan. Pressed again on when ships will be able to move in and out of the port, Moore responded, "We're prioritizing and focusing on how we (are) coordinating efforts. I mean, it's the reason that, that I've been on the ground marshaling the resources and marshaling the efforts and and why we're going to stay here, to be able to make sure that we can get this thing open and get things going again." Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the city remains in a state of emergency as recovery efforts continue for the six presumed dead a day after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed. “There's still a state of emergency. We will have that for the foreseeable future," Scott told CNN’s John Berman Wednesday. "This is an unthinkable tragedy that impacts our city and our community and our state in so many different and ways," he said. The mayor declared a state of emergency in the city Tuesday after a 984-foot cargo ship hit a pillar of the Key Bridge, causing it to collapse. Authorities announced Tuesday afternoon that efforts had shifted from a search and rescue operation to a recovery operation. The mayor also acknowledged the work ahead to reopen the Port of Baltimore, a major hub for vehicles, containers and commodities which has suspended vessel traffic was suspended until further notice following the bridge collapse.  But, he said, his concentration remains on the recovery efforts. “We're all, right now, still focused on recovery. That's what we're talking about today — recovering those who we lost,” he said. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says divers are dealing with a “treacherous situation” as they continue search and recovery efforts for six unaccounted people in the Francis Key Scott Bridge collapse, he told CBS News Wednesday morning. “We’re talking about frigid temperatures, we’re talking about a moving tide, we’re talking about darkness and mangled metal, that’s still very much in the middle of this water,” Moore said describing the conditions divers are up against. “The heroism of our first responders was just outstanding,” Moore said on CBS. Moore spoke to families of missing construction workers saying “these were fathers, and these were sons, and these were husbands, and these were people who their families relied on and so we let them know the state would be there for them,” he told CBS. The governor pledged his commitment to the families in search and recovery efforts, saying he's confident officials are only looking for six unaccounted for individuals. Moore stressed the economic impact the collapse will have, saying the port indirectly employs over 100,000 people and imports 51 million tons of foreign cargo, more cars, trucks, agricultural equipment than any other port in this country, he said. Rescue efforts are still focused on finding six people who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge during its collapse Tuesday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN. Just before talking with CNN, Scott received an update that divers were setting out to resume their search efforts in the water, he said. "That work is already dangerous, but will be even more so today," Scott said. "With the expected rain, the choppy waters and we all know about the debris and other things that they'll be dealing with." "We also have to live those first responders up who are putting their own lives at risk to be able to bring home those who we lost to have some sort of closure for those families." US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says if private companies are responsible for the Francis Scott Key Bridge cargo ship crash, they will be held responsible. “To be clear: if any private party is responsible and accountable for this, then they will be held accountable," he told CNN. “But we can’t wait for that to play out to get to work right now,” he said. Buttigieg predicted a “long road to recovery” for the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Port of Baltimore, telling CNN Wednesday that getting the bridge back up and the port reopen will be a priority for the Biden administration. When asked if he had any idea when the Patapsco River channel might reopen, Buttigieg said he did not have an estimated time, but was working with relevant authorities, including the US Coast Guard, to get it open as soon as possible. He noted that the conditions of the remaining pier will also impact that timeline. “Not only do we need to get those ships in, there are some ships that are already in there that can’t get out. So, it’s very important to get that channel open," he said. Buttigieg also warned of disruptions to supply chains in the near-term: “The impact of this incident is going to be felt throughout the region and really throughout our supply chains. We're talking about the biggest vehicle-handling port in the country that is now out of commission until that channel can be cleared — and a bridge that took five years to build.” National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN this morning that interviews with crew members will begin later today. "With respect to those on the vessel, we will also interview fire and rescue and and people that were on the bridge as well," she said. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN that investigators were able to board the Dali ship overnight. “Some investigators boarded late last night to look at the engine room, the bridge and gather any sort of electronics or documentation," Homendy said on CNN News Central Wednesday morning. “Right now, we do have the data record, which is essentially the ‘black box,’” Homendy added. “We’ve sent that back to our lab to evaluate and begin to develop a timeline of events that led up to the strike on the bridge.” She added that investigators should have information from the vessel's black box later today. Homendy said that a team of 24 investigators will be returning to the ship this morning, with a focus on collecting the perishable evidence, including pictures of the vessel. CNN’s Andy Rose contributed reporting to this post. Councilman for Baltimore's fourth district, Mark Conway, said the Port of Baltimore will continue to operate despite the Key Bridge collapse. Speaking to CNN, Conway said ships will still be able to move through the port, but larger cargo items will have to wait until the bridge debris is cleared. "The port will still be operating to my understanding, folks will be able to come in and out of the port, but cargo will not be able to make it through the port until we are able to clear the bridge and the area," he said. "And there's still at this point, no telling how long that may take," he said. The response to a bridge failure in Minneapolis 17 years ago, one of the most catastrophic in recent memory, could serve as a roadmap for Baltimore after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. On August 1, 2007, when cars were bumper-to-bumper in evening rush hour traffic along Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, the eight-lane bridge failed and collapsed into the Mississippi River and railyard below. Thirteen people were killed, and nearly 150 more were injured. In addition to the deaths and damage, the bridge collapse cut off a major transportation artery for the Twin Cities. About 140,000 cars a day traversed the I-35W bridge that once stood more than 100 feet above the Mighty Mississippi. But it took only 13 months for a brand new bridge to be built. “The economic impact was orders of magnitude less than people had feared,” Christopher Phelan, an economics professor at the University of Minnesota, told CNN. “There was a lot of almost instant adaptability.” Here's what Baltimore can learn from the I-35W bridge collapse. A deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore. A bridge in southern China sliced in half. Parts of a bridge cutting through the hull of a ship in Argentina. These events happened in the first three months of this year – and all after collisions with large commercial ships. These incidents, and the toll – with at least five killed in China, and six presumed dead in Baltimore – have highlighted what experts say is the urgent need to improve or protect old bridges to accommodate larger modern vessels. The Baltimore collapse on Tuesday focused national attention on the issue. “We need to remember this bridge was built 50 years ago, and the ships at the time were a fraction of the size of what Dali (the ship that crashed) is today,” said Sal Mercogliano, a former merchant mariner and maritime expert. “And Dali isn’t even a big container ship, there are much larger vessels that are out there,” he added. “So in many ways we have infrastructure that was built for another time.” The incident in China took place in February when a cargo ship rammed into the Lixinsha Bridge in the Pearl River Delta, southern Guangzhou province – a major international shipping hub and the country’s industrial heartland. These incidents may look similar but there could be varying factors at play, experts say. Read more about what experts say we can do to improve shipping safety. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team will likely board the MV Dali for the first time on Wednesday, Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN. “We will look for electronics throughout the vessel — anything we feel that could help us in the investigation,” she said. Right now, investigators are identifying their first investigative targets, including who they will interview and which entities will be party to the investigation, Homendy said. Investigators are also preparing to look at the structure of the bridge and any debris that fell to the Patapsco River and onto the ship itself, she added. Of the 24 NTSB investigators on the scene, Homendy said a specialized team would determine who was controlling the vessel and who was on the ship’s bridge at the time of the crash. Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early on Tuesday after a container ship smashed into one of its columns, sending people and cars crashing into the frigid Patapsco River. Eight construction workers were believed to be mending potholes on the bridge when it fell. Two of them were pulled from the river and survived but the remaining six are presumed dead. Divers will return to the water on Wednesday to search for the missing people. Here's what we know about the victims: Father-of-three Miguel Luna, who is from El Salvador but has called Maryland home for 19 years, was among those missing, according to CASA, a nonprofit that provides services to working-class and immigrant families.  A Honduran father of two, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, has also been missing since the bridge collapse, the man's brother told CNN. He said his brother has lived in the US for 18 years and has an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. Two Guatemalans are among those unaccounted for, the country's foreign ministry said. Those missing include a 26-year-old from San Luis, Peten, and a 35-year-old from Camotan, Chiquimula. The ministry did not name the men. The victims also include Mexican nationals but it is unclear how many, a Mexican Embassy official told reporters near the scene of the bridge. ##Catch Up## ##Victims## The Singapore-flagged cargo ship Dali, which crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, was briefly held in Chile last June over a propulsion issue, the Chilean Navy told CNN. An inspector found that the pressure gauges for the vessel’s heating system were “unreadable," and it was held at the Port of San Antonio on June 27, 2023, a navy spokesperson said Tuesday night. “The port state inspector granted a deadline for solving the deficiency before the ship could set sail, which was completed and verified on site by the inspector on the same day,” the spokesperson said. It was held at Chile's largest port, which categorized the deficiency of the vessel as related to “propulsion and auxiliary machinery.” It was not the first time the Dali had been held in a foreign port. The container ship had been inspected 27 times since its building in 2015, and had two “deficiencies" since then, according to records from the Electronic Quality Shipping Information System (Equasis). Dali was involved in an incident in 2016 in the Port of Antwerp, port officials confirmer to CNN. The US Coast Guard has suspended rescue efforts for the six people who were on Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed after a cargo ship collision. Recovery efforts are now underway for the missing people, who are presumed dead.  Here are the latest developments: Overnight search deemed unsafe: Recovery operations were halted overnight due to dangerous conditions, including unstable sections of the bridge and shipping containers hanging from the vessel. Divers will return to the water Wednesday to search for the missing. Coast Guard assessing hazmat threat: The US Coast Guard is examining damaged shipping containers, some containing potentially hazardous materials, from the crashed vessel, according to a US government document obtained by CNN and a US official familiar with the matter. The team is also examining the ship’s manifest to determine if any materials on board may pose a health risk. People from multiple countries are missing: Miguel Luna, a father of three from El Salvador, has been identified as one of the missing workers. Father-of-two Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval from Honduras has also been identified as one of the missing. Two Guatemalans are among those unaccounted for, and some of those missing are Mexican nationals, though we don't know how many. Investigators to collect evidence: The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation into the incident and will likely board the vessel Wednesday to begin evidence collection. Ship blacked out before crash: Minutes before impact, there was a “total blackout” of engine and electrical power on the ship, according to Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots Association. Reconstruction's hefty price tag: Rebuilding the bridge will “not be quick” and will be costly, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. President Joe Biden called on Congress to support recovery efforts and said he wants the federal government to cover the full repair costs. Vital shipping port closed: A top priority will be clearing the channel so the Port of Baltimore can reopen, US Sen. Chris Van Hollen told CNN Tuesday. He noted that around four ships cannot leave the port and about 20 others are waiting to get in. ##Catch Up## One of the workers missing since the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge has been identified as 38-year-old Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, according to Martin Suazo, the man's brother.  Martin, who lives in Honduras, told CNN that family members in Baltimore called him to tell him that his brother, who had been doing maintenance work on the bridge, was missing after the collapse.  His brother had lived in the United States for 18 years and was originally from Azacualpa in Honduras. He was a married father of an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. Martin said his brother was also an entrepreneur who had started his own maintenance company. His family is still holding on to hope, believing that his brother could be found alive or that his body can be recovered so they can have some closure and give him a proper goodbye. What we know about the victims: Six people believed to be part of a construction crew are presumed dead since the bridge collision. Two of the missing workers are from Guatemala. The victims also include Mexican nationals, but it is unclear how many. Miguel Luna, a father of three from El Salvador who has called Maryland home for 19 years, was also among those missing.  ##Victims## Miguel Luna from El Salvador has been identified as one of six people on Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed, according to CASA, a nonprofit that provides services to working-class and immigrant families.  "Sadly, we discovered that one of the construction workers involved was a longtime member of our CASA family, adding an even deeper layer of sorrow to this already grievous situation,” said executive director Gustavo Torres.  "Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, left at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening for work and... has not come home," the statement said. "He is a husband, a father of three, and has called Maryland his home for over 19 years." "The entire Baltimore region and CASA family is lamenting this tragedy,” said Torres. “Our hearts ache for the families of the victims and all those impacted by this horrific accident." The organization is "providing humanitarian support during this crisis is the priority, as families navigate this tragedy and seek answers about their missing loved ones."  What we know about the victims: Six people believed to be part of a construction crew are presumed dead since the bridge collision. Two of the missing workers are from Guatemala. The victims also include Mexican nationals, but it is unclear how many. The US Coast Guard has suspended its active rescue efforts. ##Victims## More than 1,000 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) personnel will assist in the aftermath of the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. The team includes “engineering, construction, contracting and operations specialists” and will work with local, state, and federal agencies to remove the bridge and clear the federal shipping channel, a USACE news release said Tuesday.  “Our thoughts are with those impacted by the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” Baltimore District Commander Col. Estee Pinchasin said. “Our emergency managers are closely monitoring the incident and coordinating with partner agencies for any potential support requests.” The USACE will provide structural engineering support, waterway debris management, certified underwater assessment capabilities including sonar, as well as hydrographic and topographic surveying capabilities. Ships managed by the Synergy Marine Group — the company that managed the vessel that hit Baltimore's Key Bridge — have been involved in at least three deadly incidents since 2018, according to investigations and statements from officials in Australia, Singapore, and the Philippines. In 2018, a person onboard a vessel managed by Synergy in Australia was killed in an accident involving the ship’s personnel elevator, according to a report from the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau. “Many of these accidents involve the failure to apply existing safety management procedures and/or identified safety barriers that have proven effective in reducing the risks associated with elevator maintenance," the safety board's director, Stuart Macleod, was quoted saying in the report. In 2019, an officer on a Synergy-registered vessel in Singapore was reported missing after “likely fallen overboard while performing inspection or cleaning jobs at the outboard side,” according to a report by Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau. The report noted that if a risk assessment had been completed before the officer started their work it might have identified the risks involved and “the appropriate level of safety measures would have been included.” In 2023, at least one sailor was killed when a Synergy-managed tanker collided with a dredging ship in the Philippines, causing it to capsize, according to an incident report from the Philippines Coast Guard. The tanker referenced in the Philippine Coast Guard report, Petite Soeur, has been managed by Synergy since October 2022, according to the Electronic Quality Shipping Information System (Equasis) — a global tool promoting maritime safety.  Some of the individuals missing after the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge are Mexican nationals, according to Rafael Laveaga, Chief of the Consular Section of Mexico's Embassy in Washington.  Laveaga did not say how many of those missing were Mexican when he spoke to reporters near the scene Tuesday. A reporter asked Laveaga: “It’s our understanding that some of these victims might have families or backgrounds from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador. What can you tell us?”  “Yes, nationalities involve all the countries that you mentioned and that’s why we’re here as well, because we know our people are involved,” Laveaga told reporters. “It was a crew who was repairing parts of the, I think potholes on the bridge, and they’re the ones who are going to build the bridge again – the Latinos.”  Laveaga said it was too early to determine the nationalities of all the victims. “Accidents happen and it was a very unfortunate tragedy,” he said. Two of the construction workers missing since the bridge collapse were from Guatemala, the country's foreign ministry said Tuesday. The US Coast Guard has suspended its active rescue efforts for the six missing people. ##Victims## The US Coast Guard is examining more than a dozen damaged containers — some holding potentially hazardous materials — that were aboard the ship that crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to a US government document obtained by CNN and a US official familiar with the matter.  Thirteen damaged containers, “some with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and/or hazardous materials (HAZMAT) contents” are being examined by an elite Coast Guard team, according to an unclassified memo from the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The memo was distributed to NGOs and critical infrastructure operators on Tuesday evening.  A Coast Guard team trained in dealing with hazardous materials is investigating the ship’s manifest to determine what was on board and any health risks there might be, a US official said.  About 1.8 million gallons of “marine diesel spill potential” from the ship is also being monitored by federal officials, according to the memo. Estimates like that are a “worst case scenario,” the official told CNN, adding that “a lot would have to go wrong now for all that fuel to spill.”  Still, the source said, first responders are taking precautions to minimize any potential fuel spill from the ship.  1.8 million gallons is “not an unusual amount of fuel for a ship of that size to carry,” the official told CNN. Six people, who were believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning. The collapse came after a 984-foot cargo ship hit the bridge's pillar. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters on Tuesday evening that the end of the rescue operation was a "really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day." Late Tuesday, it was discovered that two of the construction workers who were missing after the bridge collapsed were from Guatemala, the country's foreign ministry said. Here's what you should know to get up to speed: The victims: Eight people were on the bridge when it fell, according to officials. At least two people were rescued — one was taken to the hospital and was later discharged, officials said. The incident: Video shows the moment the bridge fell into the water as the ship hit one of its pillars. CNN analysis shows that the ship's lights flickered and it veered off course before hitting the bridge. Maryland's governor said the crew on the ship was able to issue a "mayday" before colliding with the bridge, which allowed authorities to stop incoming traffic. Response efforts: Dive teams from various state and local agencies were brought in to assist in rescue operations. The mission started with 50 personnel and continued to grow before the Coast Guard announced Tuesday evening that it was suspending its active rescue operation and transitioning to a "different phase." The investigation: Authorities are still working to establish why the crash occurred. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the bridge. It will "take time to dig through" whether the bridge had ever been flagged for any safety deficiencies, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. Rebuilding the bridge: US Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the path to rebuilding the bridge would be "long and expensive." Senior White House adviser Tom Perez told reporters Tuesday “it’s too early” to tell how long it will take to rebuild the bridge.  Shouldering costs: President Joe Biden said he wants the federal government to bear the full cost of rebuilding the bridge, noting that it will not wait for the company that owns the ship, Dali, to shoulder the costs. Funding could come from the Federal Highway Administration and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but it may require additional funding from Congress. ##Catch Up## Two of the construction workers missing from the bridge collapse in Baltimore were from Guatemala, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Tuesday. Those missing included a 26-year-old originally from San Luis, Petén. The other is a 35-year-old from Camotán, Chiquimula, the statement said. The ministry said both were part of a work team “repairing the asphalt on the bridge at the time of the accident.” The statement did not name the two people missing, but it said the country’s consul general in Maryland “went to the area where the families of those affected are located,” where he hopes to be able to meet with the brothers of both missing people. The consulate also issued a statement Tuesday saying its consul general in Maryland "remains in contact with local authorities," and also confirmed that two of those missing "were of Guatemalan origin.” Six people, who were believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship hit the bridge's pillar. State and federal officials have not released information about the identities of any of the six missing workers. ##Victims## A crew member on the Dali cargo ship sent a message hours after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed Tuesday saying everybody on board was safe, according to Apostleship of the Sea director Andy Middleton. Middleton, who spent time with the captain of the Dali on Monday, told CNN’s Laura Coates he reached out to a crew member after hearing about the incident.  He said 22 members aboard the ship from India were setting sail on Tuesday morning and heading toward Sri Lanka. “I was able to reach out to a crew member very early this morning around 5:30 (a.m. ET) or 6 (a.m. ET) and get a message to them asking if they were OK,” he said. “That crew member responded within just a few minutes advising that the crew was safe, and everybody that [was] on board was safe.” Middleton was told by the ship's captain Monday that the vessel was going to take a longer route to avoid risks along the Yemen coast. “When I was out with the captain yesterday, we were talking while we were driving, and he advised that they were sailing down and around the tip of South Africa in order to avoid the incidents that are going on off the Yemen coast, and it was a safer way to go,” he said. Middleton said the Apostleship of the Sea is a ministry to seafarers with members that spend time in the port and on the vessels as a friendly face to the seafarers that visit the Port of Baltimore, “taking care of their needs to make sure that they're reminded of their God-given human dignity when they're here in Baltimore.” Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after a container ship lost power and crashed into it, sending people and vehicles falling into the frigid Patapsco River. Six people, believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead and the Coast Guard has ended its active rescue mission. Here's what you should know about the historic bridge: How old? The Francis Scott Key Bridge, also referred to as the Key Bridge, opened to traffic in March 1977 and is the final link in the Baltimore Beltway, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA.) It crosses over the 50-foot-deep Patapsco River, where former US attorney Francis Scott Key found inspiration to write the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner, according to MDTA. How long? The bridge was 1.6 miles long, according to MDTA. Traffic volume: More than 30,000 people commuted daily on the bridge, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. How much did it cost? The bridge cost $60.3 million to build, MDTA said. President Joe Biden said he’s committed to helping rebuild the bridge as soon as possible. About the port: Baltimore ranks as the ninth biggest US port for international cargo. It handled a record 52.3 million tons, valued at $80.8 billion, in 2023. According to the Maryland state government, the port supports 15,330 direct jobs and 139,180 jobs in related services. About the ship: The bridge collapsed after a container vessel called Dali collided with one of its supports. Dali is operated by Singapore-based Synergy Group but had been chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk. The ship is about 984 feet long, according to MarineTraffic data. That’s the length of almost three football fields. ##Catch Up## More than 18 hours after the collapse of the Baltimore bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said it was a heartbreaking conclusion after the Coast Guard ended the search-and-rescue operation for the six people who were on the bridge when it collapsed. It's a "really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day," he said. "We put every single asset possible — air, land and sea" to find the missing people, he told reporters on Tuesday evening. "While even though we're moving on now to a recovery mission, we're still fully committed to making sure that we're going to use every single asset to now bring a sense of closure to the families," the governor added. The pilot of the ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge Tuesday did “everything that he could have done” to slow the ship and keep it from drifting toward the bridge, said Clay Diamond, executive director and general counsel of the American Pilots Association. Diamond has been in close communication with the Association of Maryland Pilots over what unfolded on the Dali cargo ship in the moments leading up to the crash.   “Just minutes before the bridge, there was a total blackout on the ship, meaning that the ship lost engine power and electrical power, it was a complete blackout,” Diamond told CNN.  At that point, according to Diamond, the pilot did “everything that he could have done” to both slow the ship down and keep it from drifting to the right, toward the bridge. The pilot quickly gave a string of orders, calling for a hard rudder to port — as far left as possible — and for the anchor to be dropped. Additionally, Diamond said, the pilot was the one who contacted the pilot dispatch office to shut down traffic to the bridge.  “Those were all the appropriate steps but it happened so quickly and with so little lead time ... neither one of those maneuvers were enough,” Diamond said.  Diamond pointed out that while the lights on the boat could be seen turning back on — likely due to an emergency generator activating after the initial blackout — the ship’s engines never got running again.  Some background: Maritime pilots, who are required to be licensed, temporarily board a ship and help guide the vessel as it maneuvers through local waters. Pilot training programs are extensive and rigorous, according to Diamond, requiring years of experience navigating ships on the water, classroom simulations, and working under the supervision of licensed pilots.  A massive cargo ship plowed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday. Take a look at its path: Recovery efforts will be focused on finding the missing people to provide closure to their families, said Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., secretary of Maryland State Police. "At this point, we do not know where they are. But we intend to give it our best effort to help these families find closure," he said at a news briefing on Tuesday evening. Divers are expected to be back in the water at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday when "we'll find ourselves in a better position to understand the dynamics of what we're dealing with, and to address the issues in a much safer manner," he said. Meanwhile, surface ships will continue working overnight. A Maryland law enforcement official said while there is a "distinct possibility" that there could have been more vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed, they have not found any evidence to support that. "As unfortunate as it may be, it's a distinct possibility. However, we don't have any information to support that at this point," Maryland State Police Secretary Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said. Authorities have been able to find three passenger vehicles, a cement truck and a fifth vehicle submerged in the water using infrared and side-scan sonar technology, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace previously told CNN. Radio traffic captured how authorities stopped traffic and worked to clear the bridge seconds before the impact. The Coast Guard is ending its active search-and-rescue operation for the six missing people who were on Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed. Based on the length of time since the bridge collapsed and the water temperatures "we do not believe that we are going to find any of these individuals still alive," Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said. The bridge collapsed at around 1:30 a.m. ET after a container ship hit its pillar. The active search-and-rescue efforts were suspended around 7:30 p.m. ET, Gilreath said. Gilreath emphasized that the Coast Guard is not leaving but is “just going to transition to a different phase.” Conditions have changed and made it dangerous for first responders and divers to be in the water around the collapsed Baltimore bridge, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., secretary of Maryland State Police, said at a news briefing on Tuesday. "The changing conditions out there have made it dangerous for the first responders, the divers in the water," he explained. "We will still have surface ships out overnight." Elaborating on the changing conditions, he said: "The last thing we want to do is put divers in the water with changing currents, low temperatures, very poor visibility, and so much metal and other an unknown objects in the water. All it takes is one object to strike an individual and all of a sudden we have a first responder trying to recover another first responder." He said divers are expected to be back in the water at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday when "we'll find ourselves in a better position to understand the dynamics of what we're dealing with, and to address the issues in a much safer manner." Correction: An earlier version of this post contained an interview that was done by a CNN affiliate with a port worker who described electrical issues on the ship. Since this post was published, the subject of the interview has informed our affiliate that she cannot stand by her comments.
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