US Enemies Can Exploit Baltimore Bridge Collapse, Supply Chain Disruptions - Intel. Report

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Foreign adversaries of the United States could exploit the recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and ensuing supply chain disruptions, according to an intelligence report obtained by ABC News.

The bridge collapse has "reduced the resiliency of US port and shipping operations" and created "opportunities for foreign adversary exploitation," the report quoted the document as saying.

The intelligence report notes that in the aftermath of the bridge collapse in the port of Baltimore, any further supply chain disruptions will be unsurmountable.

"Additional supply chain disruptions will be more difficult to overcome since the standard procedure of partially rerouting ad hoc cargo through the Port of Baltimore is no longer feasible," the document said.

At the same time, the document said that there have been so far no indications that adversaries have made any attempts to exploit the situation.

In the early hours of March 26, a commercial Singapore-flagged cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore soon after it departed the port for Sri Lanka's Colombo. The bridge collapsed, sending at least eight people from a construction crew working on the bridge into the water. Ship traffic in the port of Baltimore was suspended until further notice following the bridge's collapse.

US officials have yet to provide a timeline for the complete restoration of the bridge, which took five years to build in the 1970s.