BALTIMORE — Investigators on Tuesday were trying to determine what caused an explosion aboard a cargo ship laden with coal as it departed Baltimore’s harbor for East Africa.
Officials said no one was injured in the blast Monday evening, which prompted a mayday call when it was reported near the site of last year’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Video of the explosion showed flames shooting high into the air, followed by a large plume of dark smoke billowing over the Patapsco River.
The Port of Baltimore’s main shipping channel was closed Tuesday morning.
“The U.S. Coast Guard is the lead agency in the response and will determine when the channel can safely reopen, as well as the timing of vessel arrivals and departures,” port officials said in a news release.
The 751-foot (229-meter) merchant vessel W-Sapphire was en route from Baltimore to East Africa, according to marine tracking websites. It was expected to arrive in the Port of Mauritius in about a month. Built in 2012, the ship is currently sailing under a Liberian flag. Officials said it was transporting coal.
There were 23 crewmembers and two pilots aboard at the time of the explosion, according to Coast Guard officials.
Baltimore Fire Department spokesperson John Marsh said the agency responded to a fire below deck.
There were no reports of property damage beyond the ship, according to the Maryland Department of Emergency Management.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said his office was closely monitoring the situation.
The Coast Guard established a 2,000-yard (1,829-meter) safety zone around the site of the explosion.
“Reports state the fire has been extinguished and plans for the vessel are being formulated,” the agency said in a statement.
Officials didn’t provide a timeline for when the federal shipping channel was expected to reopen.
It was closed for months after the deadly bridge collapse in March 2024, which killed six members of a roadwork crew and effectively brought port operations to a standstill. The bridge was destroyed when the container ship Dali lost power and crashed into one of its supporting columns.