Why were government officials, media so quick to dismiss a cyberattack in Key Bridge accident?

BALTIMORE, MD - When a series of events come together, it is either a coincidence or something is seriously amiss. Just days after a terrorist attack attributed to ISIS took place at Crocus City Music Hall in Moscow, Russia, a cargo ship with mysterious ties to Russia hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which miraculously, however unfortunately, ended up with six construction workers being killed.

It was only some quick work by emergency services personnel that prevented many more fatalities. 

Despite ISIS-K taking responsibility for the terror attack that killed 143 Russians and injured scores more, Russian President Vladimir Putin laid blame on “Ukraine, the United States and everyone else who suits their political narrative,” White House flack John Kirby told reporters, according to USA Today.

Kirby also claimed the U.S. had warned Russia “in writing” about a possible terrorism threat at large gatherings and concerts in Moscow. 

In the Baltimore incident, government officials were quick to dismiss any type of terrorist or cyberattack as being the cause of the accident within a matter of hours before any investigation had taken place. This was before the ship’s “black box” was examined, radio transmissions were reviewed and analyzed, or the captain and crew had been interviewed.

This would be akin to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reporting that pilot error was the cause of a plane crash mere hours after the incident. 

Some individuals with firsthand knowledge of how such massive cargo ships operate have said that numerous backup systems come into play in the event of a power loss, which video of the incident shows. However, the video also shows the ship making a sharp right turn directly into the bridge's support pylon. 

Others have questioned why the ship wasn’t brought out of the harbor with tugs. According to an article in The Telegraph, the writer, who commanded four different ships during a 27-year career, said there was “no reason (other than time and money) why she [the container ship Dali] couldn’t have had a tug attached aft or at least had one close by. This would have given the ship so many more options.”

However, the quick dismissal of the cyberattack angle has led to many questions. Unfortunately, trust in the United States government is at an all-time low, and many people believe the symbiotic relationship between the government and the mainstream media makes it hard to believe anything one is told.

Think of the narrative surrounding the January 6 “insurrection.” At least half the country doesn’t trust the “official” narrative. 

The Key Bridge was a good target for someone seeking to seriously mess with the U.S. economy if that was the primary goal. Many have dismissed any type of terrorism connection because of the timing of the incident, which was shortly after one in the morning. Clearly, if loss of life were the objective in a theoretical terror attack, morning or afternoon rush hour would have been more desirable.

Now, we’re spitballing here, but what if that wasn’t the objective for our theoretical cyber terrorists? 

What if the objective was to seriously screw with the U.S. supply chain? USA Today says between $100 million and $200 million of cargo passes through the Port of Baltimore daily. According to our inept Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, the port closure will cost $2 million in wages per day and 8,000 jobs. 

The Port of Baltimore is the country’s leading vehicle-handling port for autos manufactured overseas and offers the deepest harbor in the Chesapeake Bay. It also sits closer to the Midwest than any other port on the East Coast and is within an overnight drive of one-third of the U.S. population. 

According to Oxford Economics, 4,000 commercial trucks use the Key Bridge daily, and detours will increase delivery times and fuel costs when such prices are on the rise. 

The response has changed from a rescue operation to a cleanup operation. However, given how long it takes for construction projects in the U.S. to be completed, it is still being determined how long it will be before the bridge reopens. It took five years to finish when it was built in the 1970s. 

Oddly, only days before the incident, the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X: 

“ON THIS DAY IN 1977: The Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) opened to traffic as the final link in I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway). Shown here during its construction period that began in 1972, the 1.6-mile Key Bridge crosses over the Patapsco River. Scholars believe the span crosses within 100 yards of the site where Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry on the evening of Sept. 12, 1814. That battle inspired Key to write the words of the Star Spangled Banner.” 

Information received by Law Enforcement Today shows that the Dali is owned by Stellar Marine LLC, which is managed by Synergy Marine Group. The ship is “time chartered” to Maersk, a logistics company. It should be noted that Synergy is still doing business in Russia despite the imposition of sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine. 

Marine Unity represents Synergy in Russia, which is described as “one of the world’s largest ship management companies.” Marine Unity is headquartered in Novorossiysk, Russia, while Synergy is headquartered in Singapore. 

Synergy Marine Group has ties to Russia and several Russian employees, according to SignalHire. 

Some crew members on Synergy ships have expressed concern over being caught up in a “larger political and military crisis” addressing the war between Ukraine and Russia. 

“We, therefore, agree with IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim, who recently said that ‘Shipping, particularly seafarers, cannot be collateral victims in a larger political and military crisis–they must be safe and secure.’ We must ensure that seafarers do not find themselves yet again in a similar situation as during the COVID-19 crisis when they were overlooked by governments. It is thus our duty to ensure that government actions do not have unintended consequences on seafarers.” 

Also, in 2023, Russia blamed the United States for the sabotage that caused explosions on the Russian Nord Stream pipeline. These explosions cut off a major route for Russian gas exports to Europe and dealt a significant blow to the Russian economy. Russia threatened retaliation at the time; however, it never appeared to follow through. Perhaps they were biding their time. 

The FBI has also warned of the terrorist threat facing the United States, with Director Christopher Wray telling a Congressional committee that “I see blinking red lights everywhere,” referring to the so-called “blinking red lights” in the lead-up to the September 11 terrorist attacks. 

An article in The Hill warned that “malicious cyber activity targeting the United States has increased since the beginning of the Ussia-Ukraine conflict, and DHS [Department of Homeland Security] expects that to continue as the war drags on.” 

According to a DHS threat assessment report, “pro-Russia cybercriminal groups, such as Killnet, collaborate to conduct distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and other potentially disruptive attacks against US government systems and our transportation and healthcare sectors.” [emphasis added]

Potential terror attacks, including a cyberattack of such magnitude, in an election year would spell disaster for an incumbent president who is widely viewed as weak and inept. Is that why the government and mainstream media quickly dismissed cyberattacks as a possible reason for the Key Bridge collapse? Given the current state of our government and media, that is a valid question.