BALTIMORE-
Baltimore officials plan to open a deeper channel for commercial ships to enter and exit the city’s harbor starting Thursday, a significant step toward reopening the major shipping hub that has remained closed to most traffic. since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed last month.
The new canal will be 35 feet (12 meters) deep, which is a substantial increase over the three other temporary canals established in recent weeks. This slightly advances the cleanup effort than planned, as officials previously said they hoped to open a canal of that depth by the end of April.
Five of the seven cargo ships that have been stranded in the Port of Baltimore will be able to pass through the new canal, including a loaded car transporter, officials said Tuesday, marking one month since the deadly disaster. Other ships are scheduled to enter the port, which typically processes more cars and farm equipment than any other in the country.
“Four weeks ago, our way of life suffered a huge blow with the collapse of the Key Bridge,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during a news conference.
The freighter crowning the bridge had lost power and veered off course shortly after leaving the port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. The Dali remains grounded in the rubble as crews work to remove huge pieces of shattered steel that crashed onto the ship’s deck.
Six members of a road works team died in the collapse. Four bodies have been recovered from the underwater wreckage and two remain missing.
Officials said salvage teams have cleared enough debris – more than 2,900 tonnes so far – to open the new canal to “commercially essential vessels” from Thursday until the following Monday or Tuesday. The ships will be required to have a Maryland pilot on board and two tugboats to escort them through the channel.
The passage will then be closed again until about May 10 as crews work to remove steel from the Dali and refloat the ship, which will then be guided back to port, officials said.
The port’s main channel, with a control depth of 50 feet (15 meters), will reopen next month after the ship has been removed. That will basically restore shipping traffic to normal.
“We are going to work efficiently and safely and we are not going to choose between the two,” the Maryland governor said. Wes Moore said during the press conference.
In a court filing Monday, Baltimore’s mayor and city council called for the owner and manager of the Dali to be held fully responsible for the bridge’s collapse, which they said could have devastating economic impacts on the region. They said the port, which was established before the nation’s founding, has long been an economic driver for Baltimore and the surrounding area. The loss of the bridge has disrupted a major East Coast trucking route.
The filing came in response to an earlier petition on behalf of the two companies asking a court to limit their liability under a pre-Civil War provision of an 1851 maritime law, a routine procedure for such cases. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much you owe.