Salvage crew at the Port of Baltimore plan on refloating and removing the grounded Dali container vessel within the next ten days, permitting more maritime traffic to resume via Baltimore’s port.
The vessel lost power and eventually slammed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns.
Since the collapse on 26 March, it has been stationary amidst the wreckage.
According to a news release published by the Port of Baltimore, officials expect to remove it by 10 May.
Crew members have identified the areas of interest where they believe the remains of the bodies could be, but they have not been able to access them until now, Roland Butler, Maryland’s State Police Superintendent, mentioned at a news conference.
He stated that the workers involved are generalising areas where they think they ought to be based on sonar images and other mapping methods.
The officials declined, offering a timeline for how long the cleanup will continue and when the victims’ families might expect to be made whole.
Until now, 3,300 tons of debris could be removed from the Patapsco River.
What is confirmed is that every asset that is at the disposal for bringing closure to the families is being used, Governor Wes Moore informed at the news conference.
Last week, the officials opened a provisional deep-draft channel that finally permitted some long-stranded cargo vessels to leave the Port of Baltimore.
Others entered the port through the channel, closed on Monday so crews could focus on extracting the Dali from the wreckage.
A large steel bridge span came crashing down on the Dali’s bow, damaging the vessel and destroying some containers.
Officials declared that removing the bridge pieces would be the next major priority in the cleanup process.
Moore declared that the work is incredibly complicated because cutting the spans into shorter sections might risk destabilising other pieces of the wreckage.
Crew members are, therefore, using the biggest hydraulic grabber available in the nation to assist in that effort.
Once the Dali reaches the port, officials mentioned that they expect to open a 45-foot channel by 10 May that can help accommodate larger cargo vessels.
They plan on fully restoring the port’s 50-foot main channel by the end of this month.
Thousands of truckers, longshoremen, and small business owners have experienced job impacts owing to the collapse, prompting state and local officials to prioritise reopening the port in the hopes of relaxing the economic ripple impacts brought about by the collapse.
Officials have furthermore established different assistance programs for unemployed workers and those significantly impacted by the closure.
