The Baltimore-based cruise ship Carnival Legend will operate temporarily out of Norfolk in the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse early Tuesday morning, Carnival Cruise Line announced.
The Legend’s current voyage is scheduled to end on March 31 and will dock in Norfolk. Following the cruise’s return, passengers will be given free bus rides back to Baltimore, Carnival said in a news release. The ship can carry as many as 2,124 guests, according to Carnival’s website.
Carnival said they have informed their current and future guests about the change to the Legend’s port. On Tuesday evening, the Carnival website was not allowing tickets to be purchased for voyages out of Baltimore.
The bridge was struck by a 948-foot Singapore-flagged ship called the Dali, which lost power just before the collision, the Baltimore Sun reported. The Dali was traveling at about eight knots at the time.
As of Tuesday evening, six construction workers repairing potholes on the bridge were presumed dead, Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, told the Baltimore Sun.
The collapsed bridge, spanning the Patapsco River, has severely impacted the flow of ship traffic to the Port of Baltimore. Vessel traffic into and out of the port was suspended, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said, and a Coast Guard report stated that the “Patapsco River channel is fully blocked.” The Port of Virginia will receive some of the diverted traffic, The Pilot reported.
“Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, adding that she’s grateful the President Joe Biden has pledged to reopen the Baltimore Harbor as soon as possible. “As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk.”
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
