There was a loud thud, several plumes of smoke and then a splash as millions of pounds of debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge fell into the Patapsco River Monday evening.
Crews had previously placed linear shaped charges – explosive cutting devices – on the large piece of deck that had been at the front of the Dali, the ship that toppled the deck, since the March 26 collision. When they detonated on Monday, the small explosives cut the steel into pieces that fell into the water.
From nearby Fort Armistead Park, members of the media heard the loud baritone explosion and observed several simultaneous puffs of smoke. The entire detonation lasted less than 10 seconds.
The 984-foot vessel is expected to remain in the river for about two more days while it is inspected. It will then be towed to the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore.
The 21 crew members remained on board, sheltering in place while the explosives were detonated, officials said.
The removal of what officials called Section 4 of the bridge marked a significant milestone in what has been a massive recovery and rescue operation launched after the disaster, which killed six construction workers who were repairing the nests -hen on the span. It was only last week that divers recovered the body of the latest victim.
Rescuers prepared the section of bridge for what Key Bridge Unified Command called a surgically precise operation. They analyzed where to install the small explosives, cut from the steel beams of the farm, laid the charges and then wrapped them in packaging similar to large pieces of duct tape.
The controlled explosion was initially planned for Saturday, but was delayed due to weather conditions which affected preparations. On Sunday afternoon, it was postponed again until the next day. The operation took place on Monday evening, coinciding with low tide, and the eventual refloating of the ship was expected in about two days at high tide.
Anyone within 2,000 yards of the blast site, which included a few Hawkins Point businesses, was asked to wear hearing protection against the noise, which authorities likened to fireworks or thunder.
Crews had previously removed containers and rearranged items on the Dali so that once the ship was freed from the 8 million to 12 million pound section securing it, it would remain stable.
With the bridge section divided into more manageable pieces, cranes will then hoist them out of the water for transport.
Crews are expected to inspect the Dali in the Patapsco River, as well as the surrounding wreck and riverbed. Additionally, crews will seek to continue to avoid damage to a BG&E pipeline, which has been purged of gas, as well as an old water main under the riverbed near the ship.
It is unclear when the ship will make the 2-nautical-mile journey, likely with the assistance of tugboats, back to Baltimore Harbor.
An email obtained last week by the Baltimore Sun from an attorney representing the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean, and its manager, Synergy Marine, told those who have filed complaints against the companies and want to inspect the vessel that the National Transportation Safety Board was expected on board Tuesday and Wednesday. The NTSB and FBI are among the federal and state agencies investigating the bridge collapse.
The email told the claimants they would be allowed on board starting May 20, but that was before the blasting operation was postponed to Sunday and then Monday.
The city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against the shipping companies, saying they should be held fully responsible for the collapse. Additionally, an Essex-based publisher filed a lawsuit, claiming the incident had caused it and other companies a loss of business.
While the removal of the section that was on the Dali marks a major point in the rescue mission, work continues to clear the federal canal in order to fully restore maritime traffic to the port, one of the busiest in East cost.
Temporary canals have allowed some ships to enter and exit the port, but the Army Corps of Engineers plans to reopen the 700-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep permanent canal by the end of the month.
For now, the waters the Key Bridge once crossed remain a salvage site, with huge cranes and other equipment clearing some 50,000 tons of wrecked steel and concrete.
Replacing the bridge is expected to cost nearly $2 billion and take just over four years. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who will seek re-election this fall, has promised the federal government will foot the entire bill.
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