2-4-2024 (BALTIMORE) The Port of Baltimore took a significant step towards resuming commercial shipping operations on April 1, as a temporary channel was opened to free tugs and barges that had been stranded since last week’s bridge collapse. However, officials cautioned that further restoration efforts were hindered by challenging conditions.
The shipping channel at the Port of Baltimore had been obstructed since a fully loaded container ship lost power and crashed into a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26. The incident tragically claimed the lives of six road workers and caused the highway bridge, which encircles Baltimore, to collapse into the Patapsco River.
Recovery efforts at the port faced a critical task: freeing the cargo vessel Dali, which had become trapped beneath steel bridge debris. The ship, carrying 4,000 containers and a crew of 21, had been stranded since the incident occurred.
To illustrate the immense challenge ahead, officials revealed that it took recovery workers 10 hours to cut and remove a 200-ton piece of debris, which they considered “a relatively small lift.” Governor Wes Moore, speaking at a news conference, emphasized the scale of the project, comparing it to the size of the Statue of Liberty. He stressed that even the smallest tasks involved were of monumental proportions.
Underneath the water’s surface, the situation proved to be even more complex than initially anticipated. US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath explained that the twisted steel was entangled and obscured by murky waters darkened by the substantial amount of debris. Determining where to cut the intertwined girders to create more manageable sections for removal proved to be a challenging task.
Given the magnitude of the disaster, officials refrained from providing an estimate for how long it would take to clear the harbor.
Limited ship traffic resumed on April 1 as recovery teams opened a temporary channel on the northbound side of the wreckage. This channel, with a controlling depth of 3.35 meters, allowed some vessels to move in and out of the port. It remained unclear whether these vessels were carrying goods out of the harbor or seeking to reload elsewhere.
Governor Moore stated that a second temporary channel, with a depth of 4.6 to 4.9 meters, would open on the southbound side “in the coming days.” Once the debris is cleared, plans are underway for a third channel with a depth of 6.1 to 7.6 meters, which would accommodate most tug and barge traffic at the port.
On April 5, US President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Baltimore to witness the recovery efforts firsthand, according to White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. The Biden administration has been actively involved in supporting the operations, securing barges and a crane, providing early financial assistance, and working with Congress to ensure that the federal government bears the cost of rebuilding the bridge.
