RICHMOND, Va. -- Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) told reporters he had spoken with Maryland's top executive to offer help from the Commonwealth following the overnight Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. The Port of Virginia has already begun taking in some of the international shipping impacted by the Port of Baltimore closure.
Youngkin said, so far, no crews from Virginia have been requested or deployed to Maryland. But, he added state secretaries and agency heads from both Maryland and Virginia have been coordinating resources throughout the day.
That included the Emergency Response Teams and Departments of Transportation who made sure road sign messaging provided warnings to drivers on Interstate 95.
More coordination happened between the Port of Baltimore and the Port of Virginia in Hampton Roads.
Governor Youngkin said the latter would help take some of the shipping traffic and keep trade moving.
"We have our first ocean carrier that was supposed to be heading to Baltimore, making a stop in Virginia and unloading all of their Baltimore cargo here," Governor Youngkin said. "We've got capacity to do it and I think that's really important. But at the top of the list is that we're just we're ready to move when he needs it."
The ship that hit the Key Bridge in Baltimore had left from the Port of Virginia. Youngkin and port officials said there aren't the same concerns for what happened in Baltimore happening in Virginia as the shipping lanes the vessels use in Virginia take them over top of tunnels rather than under bridges.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
