BALTIMORE — Dali, the cargo ship that crashed on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore before collapsing, is expected to be refloated Monday after nine weeks of rescue efforts requiring the use of giant floating cranes And explosives.
The milestone comes nearly eight weeks after the disaster killed six construction workers, paralyzed the Port of Baltimore and shut down I-695.
The Unified Command said Saturday the ship would be refloated from its location in the Patapsco River, where it is stuck under tons of wreckage, to a local marine terminal.
“The refloating and transit sequence is deliberately designed to ensure that all response personnel around the M/V Dali maintain control of the vessel, from refloating, transiting to and berthing at a local marine terminal,” the unified command said.
The entire refloating and transit operation is expected to take 21 hours or more.
When will the Dali be refloated?
The plan is to refloat the 984-foot-long vessel early Monday morning at high tide at 5:24 a.m., the unified command said.
Crews aim to have the ship ready by 2 a.m., which will allow the Dali to catch high tide for a controlled transit.
Nevertheless, preparations begin on Saturday midday with the dropping of anchors, unpacking of the vessel and detailed inspections for any obstructions.
Up to five tugboats will escort the Dali 2.5 miles to a local terminal after it is refloated.
On track to reopen the Port of Baltimore
The refloating is an important step in the delicate and complex salvage effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reopen full access to the Port of Baltimore.
Since the collapse, four temporary channels were opened to allow ships, including some commercial vessels.
A an even deeper channel should open once the Dali has taken off and been removed from the canal.
The main channel, which is 50 feet deep, is expected to reopen by the end of May, the unified command said. A giant hydraulic claw will make this possible by removing pieces of the bridge embedded in the bed of the Patapsco River.
The investigation reveals Dali
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