Two of the most capable military cargo ships in U.S. inventory are among the vessels now stuck in Baltimore following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge yesterday. The two members of the Algol class, which are also some of the fastest cargo vessels of their general size anywhere in the world, and two other reserve sealift ships were in port in Baltimore when the incident occurred. Readers can first get up to speed on what happened to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was struck by the container ship MV Dali, with The War Zone’s initial reporting on the incident here.
On October 24, 2022, Sky News published an article titled “Iran’s Secret Cyber Files on How Cargo Ships and Petrol Stations Could Be Attacked.” The article reported that Sky News had obtained a cache of classified documents from Iran that revealed plans to attack critical infrastructure using cyber attacks.
The documents, which Sky News said were written by an Iranian intelligence unit, included plans to:
- Sink cargo ships by manipulating their navigation systems
- Cause explosions at petrol stations by hacking into their fuel pumps
- Disrupt power grids and other critical infrastructure
Two Of The Fastest U.S. Sealift Ships Trapped By Baltimore Bridge Collapse; The blocked entrance to the Port of Baltimore has stranded a total of four cargo ships that are on call to support U.S. military operations.
Replacing Collapsed Bridge Could Take Years, Cost at Least $400 Million
Officials: Baltimore bridge price tag could be at least $2 billion :Buttigieg says some emergency funds available, but Congress will also have to act