Wallenius Wilhelmsen could take a hit of up to $10m after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore last week.
The world’s largest car carrier operator said its Ebitda would be dragged down by between $5m and $10m assuming the disruptions only last a month, as the fallen bridge cut off access to its terminal in the Port of Baltimore and trapped one of its vessels.
In a statement, the company said it was working to minimise impacts for customers.
“Baltimore is a key hub for Wallenius Wilhelmsen and the terminal handles a significant volume of imports and exports of cars and heavy equipment to and from North America,” the company said.
“The suspension of all vessel traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore until further notice has obvious implications, both operational and financial, for the company.”
Wallenius Wilhelmsen said the terminal is accessible via road and is fully operational except for vessel operations.
The company’s ships are being rerouted to Newport News, Newark and Savannah.
It said its 7,934-ceu Carmen (built 2011) remains at berth and is expected to depart when the port’s ship channel opens.
The main channel has been closed since Tuesday last week, when the 9,962-teu Dali (built 2015) slammed into one of the bridge’s main supports, causing it to collapse into the Patapsco River, killing six construction workers.
It remains unclear as to when it will reopen, although a secondary channel for smaller vessels has been established.
Claims from the crash could be record-setting with Barclays estimating they could hit $3bn, although damages could be capped at a fraction of that due to US liability protections for ships.
Baltimore is the busiest port in the US when it comes to automobile cargoes, with Clarksons statistics showing it is responsible for 15% of all US and 4.2% of global car imports.
The small estimated impact on its financial performance led to the shipbroking giant downplaying the impact it would have on ro-ros.
“Given the relatively modest impact announced by the port’s top user, we believe the bridge collapse will have only minor effects on car carrier trade,” analyst Frode Morkedal said.
In midday trading on Wednesday, Wallenius Wilhelmsen shares were up NOK 0.25 ($0.02) to NOK 91.40.
