- A cargo ship passed through the newly opened deep water channel off of Baltimore, headed for Saint John, Canada.
- This ended a four-week disruption of maritime traffic caused by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
- Cleanup efforts are underway to reopen the port, with thousands of tons of debris cleared.
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep water channel in baltimore Most maritime traffic through the city’s port came to a halt on Thursday after being stuck in the port since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago.
Balsa 94, a large carrier sailing under the Panama flag, passed through the new 35-foot channel Saint John, Canada, Two more commercial ships arrived later Thursday, including a vehicle carrier bound for Panama.
Their long-awaited voyages mark an important step in the ongoing cleanup and recovery efforts as crews work around the clock to clean thousands of tons of broken steel and concrete from the entrance to the Port of Baltimore.
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Five ships stranded for weeks are finally expected to leave Baltimore through the new, temporary channel. Other ships are about to enter the port, which typically processes more cars and farm equipment than any other in the country.
A cargo ship transits through a newly opened deep water channel in Baltimore after being stuck in port since the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge four weeks ago on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Thousands of longshoremen, truck drivers and small business owners have seen their jobs affected by the collapse, prompting local and state officials to prioritize reopening the port and restoring its traffic to normal capacity So that the economic impact of the collapse can be reduced. Authorities have also set up various support programs for unemployed workers and others affected by the shutdown.
On Thursday morning, Balsa 94 moved through the channel, guided by two tug boats, one forward and one aft. It slowly crossed the fallen bridge and grounded the huge container ship Dali, which collapsed after hitting one of the bridge’s support pillars.
Fragments of the steel span are still blocking other parts of the port’s main channel, which has a controlled depth of 50 feet, enough to accommodate some of the largest cargo and cruise ships on the water.
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The Balsa 94 is expected to arrive in Canada on Monday.
Last month, soon after leaving the port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka, Dali lost power and lost its way.
Six members of the road construction crew – all Latino immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras – died in the collapse. Four bodies have been recovered from the underwater debris while two are missing.
A memorial to the victims near the southern end of the bridge has developed in recent weeks. It now contains six large wooden crosses decorated with the flags of the victims’ home countries and other personal items, including the hardhats and work boots that allowed them to provide for their families and pursue the American Dream . A painted canvas background displays abstract scenes of the bridge collapse and rescue efforts, as well as handwritten notes from the men’s loved ones.
“We want to send a message to the world that we are here and we care,” said artist Roberto Marquez, who visited the memorial Thursday morning. “We’ll keep working here until they’re all okay.”
The new channel will remain open until Monday or Tuesday and then will be closed until approximately May 10. During the closure, crews will work to remove the steel spans from the cast deck and refloat the ship, which will then be guided back into port. , officials said earlier this week.
The port’s main channel is due to reopen next month after the branch was removed from the collapse site. This will allow normal flow of traffic to resume through the port.
But for now, the 35-foot depth is a substantial increase compared to three other temporary channels installed in recent weeks. This puts the cleanup effort slightly ahead of schedule, as officials previously said they hoped to open a channel of this depth by the end of April.
A giant vehicle carrier named Carmen, which is almost as long as Dali, became the third commercial ship to cross the Channel on Thursday afternoon. Viewed from the deck of a nearby passenger boat, it appeared to be flowing rapidly between marker buoys, dwarfing the cranes, barges and other debris removal equipment parked nearby.
Despite the passage of commercial ships, the crew continued the difficult process of removing debris from the collapse site. On Thursday, they were using a crane device to break the fallen roadway into more manageable pieces that could be picked up from underwater with a giant claw.
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In a court filing Monday, Baltimore’s mayor and City Council called for the owner and manager of the bridge to be held fully liable for the bridge collapse, which they said could be devastating to the regional economy. . He said that this port, which was established before the founding of the country, has long been one of the economic drivers For Baltimore and surrounding areas. The loss of the bridge also disrupted a major trucking route to the East Coast.
The filing came in response to an earlier petition by the two companies, which asked the court to limit their liability under a pre-Civil War provision of the Maritime Law of 1851 – a routine procedure for such cases. . A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they are owed.
Meanwhile, both the FBI and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating to determine what caused the ship to lose power and hit the bridge.
