BALTIMORE– Maryland Governor Wes Moore celebrated the removal of a colossal container ship just under eight weeks after the deadly collapse of a bridge in Baltimore, but emphasized Tuesday that the work is not done.
“I am very moved by the fact that I can now look out over the Patapsco River and no longer see the Dali. It’s a beautiful sight,” Moore said at a news conference, pointing to the collapse site behind him. “But I won’t be satisfied until I can look over the same spot and see the Francis Scott Key Bridge standing again. That is the completion of the mission.”
Tugboats escorted the damaged Dali back to the Port of Baltimore on Monday, nearly two months after the ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, killing six construction workers and halting most maritime traffic through the port. came to a standstill. Crews have already pulled thousands of tons of mangled steel from the water.
The Dali suffered a power outage about 10 hours before it left port en route to Sri Lanka and again shortly before it crashed into the bridge, National Transportation Safety Board investigators said in their preliminary report. The FBI has launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading to the crash.
More than 500 commercial ships have already sailed to the Port of Baltimore via alternative channels in recent weeks, but on Tuesday a 400-foot-wide (120-meter-wide) channel with a depth of 50 feet (15 meters) will open for 24/7 operations, it said Admiral Shannon Gilreath of the US Coast Guard. Officials aim to reach a width of 213 meters by the end of the month, he said. Work will continue to remove the rest of the debris under the water in the canal, he said.
Moore thanked the members of the Unified Command, noting that it was not predetermined that they would be able to move so quickly and safely, recover the bodies of all six victims and quickly launch support programs.
“These milestones didn’t just happen,” Moore said. “Change doesn’t just happen. Change is made to happen. And this team made it happen.”