(BALTIMORE) — Unified Command officials continued to evaluate the containership Dali on Thursday in preparation for refloating the vessel and clearing the federal channel. The ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 while exiting the Port of Baltimore, causing the bridge to collapse.
Unified Command officials have evaluated sonar and lidar imagery but are awaiting results from a dive survey before proceeding with plans to refloat and move the ship to Seagirt Marine Terminal in the Port of Baltimore.
This diver inspection is a necessary and vital step in the complicated process of reopening the Fort McHenry Federal Channel in a manner that mitigates risk to the vessel once it’s carefully refloated and moved from its current position.
To permit safe diver access to the Patapsco riverbed next to the vessel, Unified Command cranes must first remove submerged and unstable wreckage from the controlled demolition. Safety also dictates the securing or removal of severely damaged containers and overhanging wreckage from the initial bridge collapse onto the deck of Dali. This process is already underway and should be complete in the days ahead.
During the complex operation of refloating Dali, Unified Command will continue removing wreckage in the central part of the Fort McHenry Federal Channel. More than 365 vessels have transited the four Port of Baltimore temporary alternate channels, the first of which was opened six days after the bridge collapse. These transits for commercial and recreational vessels will continue during the ongoing process to refloat Dali and the salvage operation to clear the federal channel.
Nearly 50 percent of the 700-foot-wide Fort McHenry Federal Channel had already been cleared to an operational depth of 48 feet before the controlled demolition to remove debris from atop the ship. The federal channel is expected to be fully capable of supporting all commercial vessels in and out of the Port of Baltimore to a minimum operational depth of 50 feet in the weeks ahead.
The current 2,000-yard safety zone around the Francis Scott Key Bridge remains in effect and is intended to protect personnel, vessels and the marine environment. No vessel or person will be permitted to enter the safety zone without obtaining permission from the captain of the port or a designated representative.
The temporary flight restriction extends for 2 nautical miles in radius from the center of the bridge and from the surface up to and including 1,500 feet above ground level.
– Key Bridge Response Unified Command
