BALTIMORE — A temporary shipping channel opened Monday in the Port of Baltimore to clear a path for responders trying to salvage the Francis Scott Key Bridge as well as the ship that struck it.
The Dali, a Singapore-flagged vessel, has been aground in the Patapsco River since March 26, when it struck one of the bridge’s support columns and toppled the bridge. Workers removed on Sunday the first part of the bridge from the ship’s bow, which is weighed down by parts of the downed structure. Officials also conducted a grounding survey to determine the hardness of the ground around the vessel.
On Monday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Kimberly Reaves said officials planned to open a channel in the Patapsco River solely for emergency response vessels. The channel opened later Monday morning, according to the Coast Guard. It is 11 feet deep, 264 feet wide, and have a vertical clearance of 96 feet.
“This is not large in regards to the size of most vessels,” Reaves said of the channel measurements in an email.
The channel will only for be “commercially essential vehicles,” or emergency response vessels, and will be closed off to all other public vessels, she said.
Officials anticipate keeping it open until the “full channel is open,” Reaves said. Emergency responders include police and fire officials in addition to unified command officials with the Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority, and the Dali’s owner and shipper.
The main channel into the Port of Baltimore has been blocked since the Dali struck the bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. on March 26. The main channel is 50 feet deep, requiring any ship carrying cargo to have a draft lower than that to clear it, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Draft refers to the amount of feet that a ship is under water.
Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, both Democrats, said Sunday that their main priority was to reopen the port as soon as possible and support the families of six men who lost their lives when the bridge collapsed. Some 15,000 workers have been idled since the port closed, prompting Maryland lawmakers to draft legislation providing temporary relief.
The city, state, and Baltimore County are also working with the Small Business Administration to extend relief loans to businesses impacted by the closure. SBA administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said Sunday the agency will operate a business recovery center at Dundalk Renaissance in Dundalk starting Monday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The center will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be closed on Sunday.
The federal government also approved on Thursday an initial $60 million to cover the ongoing salvaging operation.
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