Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has vowed to “act as soon as possible” to reopen shipping lanes through the Port of Baltimore, currently stalled by the recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
“We intend to act as soon as possible,” Moore said at a news conference Saturday. “We’re going to keep our first responders safe. And we’re not going to compromise on each other. We’re going to do both at the same time.”
Cranes have been set up on the Patapsco River to remove debris from the accident as engineers cut and lift pieces of the collapsed bridge from the scene.
“With a salvage operation as complex and unprecedented as this, we must plan for every moment,” Moore said. “And this work will take time and we will continually assess and reassess the situation.”
Moore said conditions were “unsafe” for rescue divers, but they would be back in the water as soon as conditions changed.
The Baltimore Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning after a Singapore-flagged container ship bound for Sri Lanka lost power and crashed into the bridge’s supports.
In addition to seven cranes, 10 tugboats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five coast guard boats are participating, the paper said. Associated Press.
“It’s going to take some time to clear up this area of collapse,” Moore said. “It’s not going to take hours. It’s not going to take days, but completing this phase of the work will allow us to move more tugs, more barges, more boats into the area and rebuild it.” can be accelerated.”
To aid in recovery, the U.S. government approved $60 million in relief to Maryland. President Biden said Friday that he will visit Baltimore sometime next week.
The port has been closed since the bridge collapse, but is a major shipping hub on the East Coast.
“This is not just a Maryland issue,” Moore said. “This is an issue that concerns our economy.”
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