MAPPED: Container ship's voyage before slamming into Baltimore bridge, causing collapse

The Dali container ship setting off on a 27-day journey slammed into a steel arch bridge crossing the Patapsco River and outer Baltimore harbor in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The vessel had sailed only 30 minutes before the crash – which caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to completely collapse into the freezing waters below.

The Dali was headed for Colombo, Sri Lanka, where it was scheduled to arrive on April 22, according to the ship-tracking website VesselFinder.

The Dali had recently returned to the United States from a journey to Panama, docking back in New York on March 19. The ship then sailed to Baltimore, where it arrived on Sunday.

The cargo ship left the port of Baltimore at approximately 1am ET on Tuesday. The owners, Grace Ocean Investment, reported two pilots had been on board at the time of the crash.

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They confirmed all crew were accounted for but did not disclose how many people the Dali was carrying when it collided with the bridge.

Shipping giant Maersk confirmed they had chartered the ship to carry its cargo to Sri Lanka.

In a statement issued after the crash, the company said: "We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected."

The Dali was built by the South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries and took its maiden journey in 2015.

The following year it was involved in a minor incident after hitting a stone wall at the port of Antwerp in The Netherlands.

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It was not immediately clear what caused the cargo ship to crash into the bridge long before the busy morning commute in what one official called a “developing mass casualty event” in a major American city just outside of Washington.

The ship crashed into one of the bridge's supports, causing the structure to snap and buckle at several points and tumble into the water in a matter of seconds — a shocking spectacle that was captured on video and posted on social media.

The vessel caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called the crash “an unthinkable tragedy," adding: “Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie."

Sonar has indicated that there are vehicles in the water, where the temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.