(Washington) The container ship that caused the collapse of the Baltimore bridge at the end of March and which remained stranded will be removed on Monday, a step towards unblocking access to this important port in the United States, authorities announced over the weekend.
The Governor of the State of Maryland, Wes Moore, welcomed the work on Sunday on NBC News, hoping that the canal would be “reopened” “by the end of May”.
On March 26, the Dali, a 300-meter ship flying the Singaporean flag, suffered damage and ran into the Francis Scott Key highway bridge, which collapsed in a few seconds like a house of cards.
Six workers carrying out repair work on the bridge, all Latin American immigrants, were dead. Since then, the Dali has still partly blocked the access channel to this important port for trade on the eastern side of the United States.
Authorities leading the salvage operation said the Dali would be ready to be refloated from noon (12 p.m. Eastern) on Sunday, before being moved at high tide on Monday, an operation scheduled for 5 a.m. 24 in the morning.
Tugboats will transport the Dali at a speed of about 1 mile per hour (1.6 kilometers per hour) to a nearby marine terminal, which is expected to take three hours.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge served as an important highway for the northeastern United States, connecting the capital Washington and New York.
As for the Port of Baltimore, it is a hub of new vehicle trade in the United States, with nearly 850,000 cars and trucks passing through it last year, more than any other American port.