Cargo ships blocked after coal carrier explosion near site of Baltimore's Key Bridge collapse

Chevall Pryce and Dan Belson, The Baltimore Sun on Aug 19, 2025

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BALTIMORE — The main channel used by cargo ships to enter and exit the Port of Baltimore was still shut down Tuesday morning as the Coast Guard probed the cause of a Monday evening explosion on board a coal carrier.

No large ships have been able to carry goods in or out of the port since the explosion near the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The coal ship, the W-Sapphire, spent the night anchored and surrounded by tugboats just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. South of the bridge, several cargo ships — some of which were due in the port Monday night — waited.

A Tuesday morning notice from the Maryland Port Administration says that the Fort McHenry Federal Channel will remain closed until the U.S. Coast Guard determines that it’s safe to reopen for ship traffic and schedules new arrival and departure times for the blocked vessels. The agency referred all other questions to the Coast Guard, which did not immediately respond to questions about the closure.

The W-Sapphire needs to be cleared to continue sailing, the Coast Guard said Monday evening. The coal carrier is scheduled to be at sea for over a month, traveling from Baltimore to Mauritius, an island off Africa’s east coast.

Part of the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier exploded Monday evening, causing a fire in a portion of the ship, according to Baltimore City Fire Department. The fireball had burst out of the vessel, which departed a Curtis Bay coal pier at around 6 p.m. Monday, as it passed through the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site.

“The W-Sapphire is on fire in the middle of the channel,” one person is heard saying in recorded marine radio transmissions, shortly before a crew member calls a mayday for a coal explosion.

The 751-foot, coal-carrying ship showed signs of a fire consistent with an explosion, according to Baltimore City Fire Department spokesperson John Marsh.

“Firefighters responded by both land and water, including the department’s fireboats,” Marsh said. “The vessel remained afloat and was being assisted by tugboats.”

All 23 of the crew members were accounted for and uninjured, according to fire officials. The ship had two pilots aboard, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Matthew West. The Coast Guard also assisted in the rescue of the crew and the recovery of the ship, and is investigating the cause of the explosion.

Coal is the Port of Baltimore’s largest export by weight — and it’s considered hazardous cargo. In 2017, a ship carrying coal from Baltimore to Portugal exploded, killing one crew member and injuring three others.

W Marine Inc., the Greek firm that manages the W-Sapphire, did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday morning.

Gov. Wes Moore said Monday night that he was in touch with authorities, and more information about the explosion would be provided “as it becomes available.”

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