Singapore Minister for Transport, Chee Hong Tat, has expressed his condolences for the people in Baltimore, Maryland in the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse due to a collision on Mar. 26 (Singapore time) with Singapore-registered vessel Dali.

He also wrote to U.S. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to provide assistance to the U.S. authorities, he said in a Facebook post on Mar. 27.

"Deeply saddened by damage"

"I am deeply saddened by the damage due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, following [a collision] with a Singapore-registered vessel, Dali," Chee wrote in his post.

He added that officials from the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore and the Singapore Ministry of Transport's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) are on their way to Baltimore for support and investigations.

"As a flag State, our officers will work closely with the US Coast Guard and agencies to fully support the investigations. My thoughts are with the people of Baltimore during this difficult time."

MPA to continue supporting US authorities

In a media statement on Mar. 27, MPA said that it is deeply saddened by the incident and expressed sympathy for the affected families.

MPA Chief Executive, Teo Eng Dih, has extended MPA's continued support to the U.S. Coast Guard and the local authorities.

It is working with Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, the Dali ship's management company, to facilitate information exchange to support the U.S. Coast Guard in its investigation.

MPA also requested the vessel’s classification society, ClassNK, to prepare the technical assessment and stability calculations.

These measures aim to support the U.S. Coast Guard in the planning and subsequent safe execution of the vessel salvage operations.

"MPA, as the Singapore flag administration, takes its responsibilities for the safety of vessels registered under its flag very seriously. It works with eight international classification societies, appointed as MPA’s Recognised Organisations, to survey, inspect and ensure Singapore-flag vessels comply with all applicable statutory requirements."

MPA will conduct an investigation to determine whether there have been any infringements of relevant statutory requirements under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, as part of its flag state obligations.

TSIB will separately conduct a marine safety investigation under the International Maritime Organization's Casualty Investigation Code with the objective of identifying lessons to prevent future marine casualties and incidents.

However, the aim of TSIB’s investigation is not to assign responsibility or determine the liability for the incident.

"MPA will continue to work with the ship management company to ensure that the welfare of Dali’s crew is taken care of throughout the incident, and that the company fully cooperates with the relevant local authorities."

Top photos via Big_Mayor/X & Chee Hong Tat/Facebook