According to Reuters, on 1st April, the port of Baltimore opened a temporary channel, allowing the release of some tugs and barges previously stranded due to the bridge collapse last week. However, officials noted that broader efforts to restore commercial shipping were still hindered by persistent challenges.
Background
On Tuesday, 26 March, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed following a collision with the container ship MV Dali, creating a major impact in US trade and port operations.
The shipping channel in Baltimore has been obstructed after a fully laden container ship experienced a power failure and crashed into a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last Tuesday. The incident resulted in the tragic death of six road workers and led to the collapse of the highway bridge into the Patapsco River.
A joint recovery effort led by the U.S. Coast Guard and the state of Maryland is focused on swiftly reopening the port of Baltimore, the largest in the U.S. for “roll-on, roll-off” vehicle imports and exports of farm and construction equipment.
The primary objective is to free the cargo vessel Dali, which became trapped under debris from the steel bridge collapse, leaving 4,000 containers and a 21-member crew stranded since the accident. According to U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath, the task beneath the surface is proving to be even more complex than initially anticipated, as the twisted steel is obscured by murky waters darkened by the volume of debris.
As officials refrain from estimating a timeline for harbor clearance, they created a temporary channel with a controlling depth of 11 feet (3.35 meters) on the northbound side of the wreckage.
The first vessel to navigate through this channel was a tugboat pushing a barge supplying jet fuel to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Another temporary channel with a depth of 15 to 16 feet (4.6 to 4.9 meters) on the southbound side is expected to open in the coming days, as mentioned by officials.
To note, nearly a week after the Baltimore bridge collapse, the 22 Indian crew members of the Dali, a 948-foot container ship involved in the incident, are still stranded on board.
