First ship uses alternate channel to get around wreckage at Baltimore bridge collapse site

A tugboat pushing a fuel barge was the first vessel to use an alternate channel to maneuver around the wreckage of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which blocked traffic in the vital port’s main channel.

Barges supplying jet fuel to the Department of Defense departed late Monday and were destined for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, but officials said the temporary channel would be open primarily to ships helping with the cleanup effort. Some barges and tugboats that have been stuck in the Port of Baltimore since the collapse are also scheduled to pass through the channel.

Officials said they were building a second channel on the southwest side of the main channel that would allow ships to have a deeper draft, but they did not say when it would open.

Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to visit one of two Small Business Administration centers in the region on Tuesday to help businesses obtain loans to help them deal with damage from bridge collapses.

Crews are carrying out complex work to remove steel and concrete at the site of a fatal bridge collapse after a container ship lost power and hit a pillar. On Sunday, dive teams surveyed parts of the bridge and inspected the vessel, and workers on lifts used torches to cut away the surface of the twisted steel superstructure.

Authorities believe six workers fell to their deaths in the collapse, two of whom were found dead last week. Two other workers survived.

Moore, a Democrat, said at a news conference Monday afternoon that his first priority was to recover the four remaining bodies and then reopen the transportation channel. He said he understands the urgency, but the stakes are high. He said crews described the collapsed bridge’s broken steel beams as a “chaotic wreckage.”

“We found the situation to be more complicated than we initially hoped,” said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gillies.

In the meantime, the ship remains stationary and 21 crew members are currently on board, officials said.

President Joe Biden is expected to visit the collapse site on Friday to meet with state and local officials and learn about the federal response.

Bridge collapses with cargo ship Dali On March 26, the power went out shortly after leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka. The boat sounded a distress alert, leaving police just enough time to stop traffic but not enough to save road construction crews who were filling potholes on the bridge.

this Dali It is managed by Synergy Marine Group of Singapore and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd.Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered Dali.

Synergy and Grace Ocean filed a petition with the court on Monday seeking to limit their legal liability, a routine but important procedure in cases brought under U.S. maritime law. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they are owed.

The filing seeks to cap the companies’ liability at about $43.6 million. The ship itself is estimated to be worth up to $90 million and is owed more than $1.1 million in cargo revenue. The estimate also excludes two major expenses: at least $28 million in repairs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs.

Officials are working to determine how to rebuild the bridge, which was completed in 1977. It carries Interstate 695 around southeast Baltimore and becomes a symbol of the city’s working-class roots and maritime culture.

Congress is expected to consider an aid package to help people who have lost their jobs or businesses due to the prolonged closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more automobiles and farm equipment than any other facility in the United States.