On Monday morning, the cargo ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore almost two months ago was finally relocated from the scene of the accident.
The Dali, a container ship measuring 984 feet in length, had been obstructing the entrance to one of the busiest ports in America ever since the collision that occurred on March 26. This collision resulted in the catastrophic collapse of the 1.6-mile-long span and tragically claimed the lives of six workers.
According to officials, the optimal conditions require the transit of the DALI to begin during high tide, which is predicted to occur on Monday at 5:24 a.m. In a statement on Sunday, they stated that the vessel will be prepared at 2 a.m., ensuring that it can take advantage of the highest point of the high tide for a carefully controlled transit.
According to officials, it is anticipated that approximately 18 hours will be required to prepare the ship for refloating. This process, which commenced on Sunday, involves the removal of certain anchors and mooring lines that were attached to the ship following the collision.
According to a plan released on Sunday by the Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command, officials were also anticipating the removal of the water that had been pumped into the Dali to ballast it during the bridge removal. The plan stated that the amount of water to be removed could be up to 1.25 million gallons.
According to officials, the ship is anticipated to be moved to the local marine terminal with the assistance of up to five tugboats. This journey is estimated to cover a distance of approximately 2.5 miles and is expected to take around 3 hours.
Last week, crews carried out a controlled demolition of the Francis Key Scott Bridge. The bridge had been reduced to a chaotic jumble of steel girders, resting on the seafloor and protruding from the water.
