Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, deputy commandant for operations for the U.S. Coast Guard, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speak to reporters about the Baltimore bridge collapse at the White House in Washington, March 27, 2024. (Doug Mills/The

Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, deputy commandant for operations for the U.S. Coast Guard, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speak to reporters about the Baltimore bridge collapse at the White House in Washington, March 27, 2024. Buttigieg said that the Francis Scott Key Bridge, built in the 1970s, was "simply not made to withstand a direct impact" from a modern cargo vessel. He noted that ships frequenting the port today are "orders of magnitude bigger" than ships in use when the bridge was built. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)