[Freight Weekly] NTSB Releases Key Bridge Prelim Report

🔍NTSB released a preliminary report on the Key Bridge collision🔍

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary findings into what caused the MV Dali to collide with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in a catastrophic collapse and several deaths. What to know:

• NTSB released a 24-page report revealing that the Dali suffered two catastrophic electrical power failures before impact into the bridge.

• The vessel experienced four blackouts in a span of 12 hours before colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge nearly seven weeks ago.

• Crew members tested negative for drugs, and the Dali's fuel lacked contaminants. The vessel’s fuel was tested three times, says NTSB.

• Key Bridge segments lain across the Dail that were still connected to the bridge’s damaged superstructure were freed by controlled explosions to help free the damaged merchant vessel.

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials say they are working to refloat the Dali to further clear the flow of traffic to and from the Port of Baltimore.

• Crew members remain stuck on board below deck in the massive hull of the Dali. They have been stranded for weeks, thousands of miles away from their homes. A local Catholic group has been aiding and remaining in contact with the 21-member crew as they remain stuck.

Bottom line: The NTSB is still conducting its investigation into what happened in March. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also opened a criminal inquiry.

CONTEXT: “All formerly trapped vessels by the Key Bridge collapse depart port ahead of controlled explosion” - The Baltimore Sun May 13, 2024

⚖️States sue to block California’s clean fleets rule⚖️

A coalition of 17 states has sued a senior California official in a federal district court in a bid to enjoin the state from enforcing its clean fleets rule on trucking fleets called Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT). Here is what you need to know:

• Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming are the states named in the lawsuit. The Nebraska Trucking Association is also a plaintiff in the case.

• Steven Cliff, the executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, is the named defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

• The plaintiffs allege that ACT regulations will negatively impact shipping and trucking segments by driving costs and infringing on interstate commerce, an area regulated by Congress and the government.

• The lawsuit is similar to a suit filed against the Environmental Protection Agency that granted California a waiver to enforce its clean fleets rules.

Bottom line: California’s ACT rules require fully zero-emission-vehicles in transportation fleets. This is to fight climate change, the rule’s proponents say. Once the rule enters force, fleet managers and firms will be fined heavily.

CONTEXT: “Coalition of states challenge California’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulation” - Land Line May 15, 2024

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📈 BY THE NUMBERS

⛽ Diesel: $3.848 gal (⬇️from $3.894 last week) - EIA

✈️ Air Cargo Index (April ‘24): 177.2 (⬆️from 170.5 in March ‘24) - FRED

🚢 Global Container Index: $2,876.75 (⬆️from $2,560.60 on 5/9) - Freightos

📰  WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON IN FREIGHT

😑Red Sea crisis a boon for the Russian rail industry: As merchant vessels continue to divert away from the Red Sea-Suez Canal shipping routes due to security risks instigated by Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi militants, European-Asia freight has migrated on land, resurrecting rail transport through Russia.

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