02:00 PM EDT, 03/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- A container ship crashed into a key Baltimore bridge early Tuesday, prompting Maryland Governor Wes Moore to declare a state of emergency and authorities to suspend vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.

The ship named "Dali" collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at about 1:30 a.m. local time, according to Synergy Marine Group, the operator of the vessel. Response boat crews from the US Coast Guard were deployed to the incident for an "active search and rescue" after the 948-foot containership carrying the Singapore flag collided with the bridge, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

A search for six members of a construction crew that was on the bridge was underway, Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said during a press conference Tuesday. Two other workers, part of the crew fixing potholes, were rescued from the Patapsco River, according to CBS News.

Dali was chartered by Maersk at the time of the incident, the Danish shipper said in a statement. It said no Maersk crew and personnel had been onboard the vessel. Consol Energy ( CEIX ) shares fell more than 7% as Consol's Baltimore Marine Terminal is used for loading coal into large ocean-going ships in the area. Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore will halt receiving exports on Tuesday, port authorities reportedly told Bloomberg.

Dali was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to the VesselFinder website.

"We had a ship that was coming in at eight knots, so coming in at a very, very rapid speed," Moore said at the press conference. Once a Mayday distress signal came in, cars were stopped from coming over the bridge, he said.

The Maryland Port Administration said vessel traffic was suspended into and out of the Port of Baltimore until further notice. "This does not mean the Port of Baltimore is closed. Trucks are being processed within our marine terminals," it said. Moore said there was no estimate of when vessel traffic at the Port of Baltimore would be able to resume.

The 1.6-mile Key Bridge opened in March 1977 as the final link in I-695, known as the Baltimore Beltway, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority. The facility also includes the Curtis Creek Drawbridge, including the bridge and approach roadways, running about 10.9 miles in length.

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