BALTIMORE – Dali, the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge before collapsing, will be refloated Monday after nine weeks of salvage efforts that included gigantic floating cranes And explosives.
The milestone comes nearly eight weeks after the disaster killed six construction workers, paralyzed the Port of Baltimore and cut off I-695.
Unified Command said Saturday that the ship would be refloated from its location in the Patapsco River, where it was trapped under tons of wreckage, to a local maritime terminal.
“The floating and transit sequence has been deliberately designed to ensure that all auxiliary personnel around the M/V Dali maintain control of the vessel from floating, transit to and berthing at a local maritime terminal,” said Unified Command.
The entire rescue and transit operation is forecast to take 21 hours or more.
When will the Dali be refloated?
The plan is to refloat the 300-meter-long ship early Monday morning at high tide at 5:24 a.m., Unified Command said.
The crew aims to have the ship ready by 2 a.m. so that the Dali can catch the high tide for a controlled passage.
Nevertheless, the preparation starts on Saturday afternoon with the releasing of the anchors, the deballasting of the ship and detailed inspections for any obstacles.
Up to five tugboats will escort the Dali 4 miles to a local terminal after it is refloated.
On track to reopen the Port of Baltimore
The refloating marks a huge milestone in the delicate, complex salvage effort led by the US Army Corps of Engineers to reopen full access to the Port of Baltimore.
Since the collapse four temporary channels have been opened to admit ships, including some commercial ships.
A An even deeper channel is expected to open after the Dali has been loosened and removed from the canal.
The main 50-foot-deep canal is still scheduled to reopen in late May, Unified Command said. A giant hydraulic claw will make that possible by removing pieces of the bridge that are embedded in the bottom of the Patapsco River.
Research finds Dali
