Workers remove first piece of Key Bridge from ship as salvage operation continues

BALTIMORE — Workers removed the first segment of the collapsed Francis Key Scott Bridge on Sunday as officials work to salvage the mangled remains of the bridge and a cargo ship from the Patapsco River and reopen the Port of Baltimore.

According to a statement Sunday morning from the office of Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, operators had removed a 200-ton bridge piece from Span 19. The Singapore-flagged vessel, the Dali, struck the bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday and has been aground since with a section of the structure weighing its bow.

Authorities will conduct a grounding survey late Sunday to determine how hard the ground surrounding the Dali is, according to Moore’s office.

Several Maryland politicians spoke on Sunday morning news shows about the response to the bridge collapse and the need to make quick progress at opening the port.

Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Moore underlined the national economic burden caused by the closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the nation’s largest for auto and farm equipment volume.

“It’s not just a massive impact on Maryland, this is a massive impact on the national economy,” Moore told Fox News’ Shannon Bream. “It’s impacting the farmer in Kentucky and the auto dealer in Ohio. It’s impacting the restaurants in Louisiana and Tennessee.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that there was no timeline for reopening the Port of Baltimore.

“This is going to be a very complex process,” Buttigieg said. “There are a lot of forces acting on that steel, so it takes a lot to make sure that it can be dismantled safely.”

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said that the federal government intends to pay 90% of the cost of rebuilding the bridge using emergency relief funds, and that he and fellow Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin planned to introduce legislation to handle the remaining 10%. The Army Corps of Engineers will cover “all the costs of clearing the channel,” he said.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat, spoke to the need to help families on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Scot said his administration’s focus is on aiding the families of six construction workers who died after falling into the river when the ship struck the bridge. The city has $300,000 in aid for them to access, including trauma care.

“As I said from day one, my office will be there to support the families in every way possible,” Scott said.

Another priority is helping keep afloat the 15,000 idled workers whose livelihoods are in limbo as the port remains shut. Scott said he would meet with local labor officials and other leaders on Monday to continue those efforts, which include working with the Small Business Administration to offer relief loans to impacted businesses.

“This is going to be a long road,” he said. “This is not a sprint.”

Scott also addressed racist remarks he and other Black Maryland leaders have received from critics who falsely attributed the bridge collapse to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and called him a “DEI mayor.”

“I am a young Black man and young Black mayor in this country,” Scott said. “We know there are a lot of racist folks who think I shouldn’t be in this job. I didn’t want to be out there that night answering questions about DEI. I’m worried about the loss of life.”

The Baltimore bridge catastrophe also was a subject of the NBC satirical show “Saturday Night Live,” which used the bridge collapse to take jabs at President Joe Biden and Boeing during its “Weekend Update” segment.

“This week, Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after it was struck by a cargo ship that was carrying, you won’t believe it — Boeing airplanes,” co-host Colin Jost joked, referring to the aircraft manufacturer’s recent safety-related woes.

“President Biden said Friday that he would visit the site of the Baltimore bridge collapse — because like that bridge, Biden is no longer connecting with Black communities,” said his fellow co-host, Michael Che.

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