The port of Baltimore could be up and running at full capacity by the end of next month under a tentative timetable released yesterday by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), a plan which also sees another shipping channel open up later this month.
The port has been largely closed for the last 11 days after the city’s largest bridge was destroyed following a boxship allision, an accident that killed six road maintenance workers.
“These are ambitious timelines that may still be impacted by significant adverse weather conditions or changes in the complexity of the wreckage,” said Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon, USACE commanding general. “We are working quickly and safely to clear the channel and restore full service at this port that is so vital to the nation.”
Salvage teams have managed to open up two shallow shipping channels this week.
“Thanks to the exhaustive work of the Unified Command during the last two weeks, including underwater surveys and detailed structural analysis of the wreckage, we’ve developed a better understanding of the immense and complex work that lies ahead,” Spellmon added.
The delicate operation to remove the bridge, and the badly damaged 9,962 teu Dali containership, was compared by officials to a game of Jenga yesterday.
“With every layer of wreckage that we take out of the water, we have to go back in and survey and assess and determine how the wreckage reacted in order to make sure the next lift will be just as safe,” USACE colonel Estee Pinchasin said.
The Dali blocks only a portion of the main shipping channel on one side. The channel is wide enough for two ships to pass, if debris is removed from the far side, Pinchasin said.
Federal officials are set to release preliminary findings from their accident investigation within days, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recovered a voyager data recorder last week, which showed power failed for just one minute and three seconds as it approached the giant bridge, and that the lead pilot tried to swing the 300 m long vessel clear of a collision by dropping its port anchor to pivot it away.
The disabled ship, managed by Synergy Group and on charter to Maersk, ran into a support pillar and caused much of the bridge to tumble into the Patapsco River at roughly 1:30 am 12 days ago. Just moments before, at 1:26 am, the pilot of the ship called for tugboat assistance, according to the voyage data recorder. At 1:27 am, the pilot made an order to drop the ship anchor.
The head of Lloyd’s of London warned last week that the Dali could prove to be the largest marine pay-out in insurance history.
US president Joe Biden is due to visit the scene today.
