BALTIMORE: Two months after it crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge and caused the span to collapse, recovery teams refloated the huge cargo vessel impeding shipping in the Port of Baltimore early on Monday.
Tugboats led the Dali to a local marine terminal after a successful effort to make the container ship buoyant at about 6:40 a.m. EDT (1040 GMT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on social media platform X.
“This marks the resumption of commercial vessel transits in and out of the @portofbalt,” said the Unified Command. Read more: https://t.co/O2zAaoCXC1
— USACE Baltimore (@USACEBaltimore) May 20, 2024
This marks significant step in the Port of Baltimore’s recovery from the boat’s March 26 collision with one of the bridge’s pillars. The bridge’s collapse killed six road workers and hindered traffic through the busiest port for car shipments in the U.S.
The full channel where the Key Bridge once stood with no sign of the Dali for the first time in almost 8 weeks. @wjz pic.twitter.com/mCHtA4mB2x
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) May 20, 2024
President Joe Biden praised the team that freed the ship from its weeks-long imprisonment in a post on X.
“It took the grit of workers and officials coming together to get this done,” Biden said. “That’s Baltimore Strong.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said workers were on track to restore full access to the port this month. Meanwhile, authorities have opened four temporary channels to allow some shipping to resume since the bridge collapse.
Crews removed a a portion of the fallen bridge from the bow of the Dali, using a set off controlled explosions last week. This allowed salvage crews to free the boat for refloating and removal, the Corps of Engineers said.
You can see the damage on the front
end of the Dali from this perspective. It is just a few feet away from Seagirt. @wjz pic.twitter.com/EqSgCWIDYU
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) May 20, 2024
Federal investigators said last week that the Dali had lost electrical power several times before crashing into the bridge.
Maryland state officials estimate it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild the bridge. It anticipates completion by the fall of 2028.
(REUTERS)
