The cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge remains stuck in the Patapsco River, though actions are being taken to remove the various containers and bridge fragments pinning the vessel in place.
A new video shows the Unified Command/US Coast Guard removing shipping containers from the Dali, which crashed into the Key Bridge on March 26.
This process will continue throughout the week depending on the weather.
Removing the containers will allow the Unified Command to prepare to clear the portion of the bridge that is still on top of the ship, which is an integral step toward eventually removing the Dali completely and reopening the Fort Henry Channel.
“The Unified Command is concurrently progressing on its main lines of effort to remove enough debris to open the channel to larger commercial traffic, refloat the M/V Dali and continue recovery efforts for missing loved ones,” said U.S. Coast Guard Capt. David O’Connell. “Every day we are working to achieve these goals safely and efficiently.”
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, an estimated 50,000 tons of steel and concrete make up the wreckage of the full collapsed width of the Key Bridge.
Marine traffic remains minimal through the channels and to the Port of Baltimore, with 32 vessels passing through the temporary alternative channels near the Key Bridge collapse site since Sunday.
The destroyed vessel had 764 tons of corrosive, flammable material and batteries, as reported by NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy, who also said that some of the containers were breached due to the crash. One of the hazardous substances that leaked into the Patapsco River was sheen, which is used in paint.
Two temporary routes have now been established for smaller commercial and essential ships and barges, including a 14-foot channel along the south of the collapse site and an 11-foot channel along the northeast side. These passageways allow more marine vessels access to the Port of Baltimore.
On Thursday, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced that they will open “a limited access channel 280-feet wide and 35-feet deep, to the Port of Baltimore within the next four weeks- by the end of April.”
Despite steps toward recovery from the crash being made, three workers from the Dale are still missing, and are presumed to be dead.
On Friday, the third body was found at the site, that of Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38, who worked in construction on the ship,
