Crews conducted a controlled demolition of the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. (Credit: Reuters)
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Sunday that a container ship caused the accident. Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse Salvage crews plan to refloat the ship Monday, and it is expected to be removed from the Patapsco River channel “within the next few days” in late March.
Moore, a Democrat in his first term as governor, provided an update on progress on securing major shipping lanes to the Port of Baltimore during a television appearance. NBC News’ “Meet the Press” With host Kristen Welker.
“I remember the first morning after the bridge fell, people were saying this could take six to nine months to fix the waterway,” Moore said. “I’m proud that we’re on track. The federal shipping lanes will be reopened. And within a few days, that giant ship, the Dali, will be sailing off the federal shipping lanes.”
“The American people are going to be completely energized by this,” Moore added. “We need to make sure we get it done on time and on budget and expeditiously. That’s our focus.” he added.
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Joint Command announced that salvage crews will refloat the Dali at high tide Monday morning and begin transporting it to its berth in the Port of Baltimore. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The bridge collapse occurred on March 26 when the Singapore-flagged neo-Panamax container ship MV Dali lost power while transiting the Port of Baltimore. After power was briefly restored, a second loss of power prevented the ship from regaining power in time to avoid collision with one of her key piers supporting the main span of her bridge. .
A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report found the ship had electrical problems before the accident, but it’s unclear whether the initial failure played a role in the crash.
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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the Dali River would be removed from the main waterway to the Port of Baltimore within days. (Tierney L. Cross/via Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Due to the collision, catastrophic failure Most of the Key Bridge collapsed, plunging into the Dali River and the Port of Baltimore. The accident killed six highway construction workers who were repairing the bridge road.
The remains of bridges at the Channel and Dali River were engulfed in debris, temporarily closing the main shipping route to the Port of Baltimore.
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On Monday, May 13, 2024, a planned explosion severed a portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s steel truss that rested on the bow of the Dali. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/Getty Images)
After the incident occurred, US Army Corps of Engineers The port worked to open a temporary, shallow waterway to restore partial access to the port, which is a major East Coast hub for roll-on and roll-off cargo such as vehicles and coal exports.
Four temporary channels on the Patapsco River, the deepest of which is 35 feet deep, will allow some ship and barge traffic to resume, removing several vessels trapped in the Port of Baltimore after a collapse, with the deepest channel now free. I was able to set sail earlier. It was closed to allow bridge debris removal to resume.
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The Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse and killing six people. (Kevin Dietch/Getty Images)
Last week, crews used explosives to remove much of the span from the top of the container ship in a controlled demolition operation as part of ongoing efforts to remove the wreckage and fully reopen the port. . Officials said the explosion went as planned and was a key step in forcing the Dali out of the strait.
The joint command in charge of response and recovery operations is Resurface and move Dali. Preliminary measures to refloat the Dali were carried out on Sunday ahead of high tide at 5:24 a.m. Monday, when it would be evacuated to its anchorage in Baltimore Harbor, about 2.5 miles away, with the assistance of tugboats. The move is scheduled to begin.
Debris of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, March 26, 2024. (Michael A. McCoy of The Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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“The refloating and transport sequence was intentionally designed to allow all response personnel around the M/V Dali to maintain control of the vessel from refloating to transport to the local marine terminal and berthing. ”, the Unified Command said.
FOX News’ Greg Wenner contributed to this report.
