Cargo ship moved from Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse site
DUNDALK, Md. (DC News Now) — Dali, the cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore in March, moved to a new spot Monday at the Port of Baltimore, nearly two months after the bridge collapsed.
The Singaporean-registered cargo ship was moved to the Seagirt Marine Terminal, about 2.5 miles away from the collapse site.
Bridge and roadway wreckage still lies across part of the ship. Dozens of shipping containers and 21 crew members were also still on board.
Baltimore channel to open ‘within days’
It took crews more than 18 hours to get the ship ready for its slow and short journey north to Seagirt around 7 a.m. Monday morning, members of the Unified Command operation said.
Engineers had planned for weeks to get the ship out of the way, marking a major milestone in clearing the channel. Crews also conducted a demolition to move some of the wreckage from the ship last Monday.
“The Unified Command continues to clear the remaining wreckage from the Fort McHenry Federal Channel,” the Unified Command stated. “We’re pleased to see the successful refloating and moving of the M/V [Dali] today to its new location. We won’t slow down until the channel is fully restored.”
The team says it anticipates the federal channel will soon be about 400 feet wide and 50 feet deep. Salvage crews, cranes and barges are already on the water in the area to remove the remaining wreckage.
Cargo ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse had power blackouts hours before leaving port
It’s a good sign for local businesses in the area that rely on port traffic to support operations. Tony Minadakis, owner of Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, said getting channel to open back up is “amazing.”
“You saw everybody come together. You don’t want to necessarily want to go through it again, but it does really show your true colors and it really makes the community come together,” he said. “It’s affecting a lot a lot of people. Seeing them coming together quickly and moving this quick is truly fascinating,”
The Port of Baltimore is expected to see more people start passing through as soon as this weekend when cruises are scheduled to leave from the port ahead of Memorial Day.
It was not clear if there will be any delays or changes to that schedule.
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