(Baltimore) The container ship that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was refloated at high tide Monday and began to slowly return to port, guided by several tugboats.
The Dali had been stuck at the collapse site for weeks after losing power and crashing into one of the bridge’s support columns on March 26, killing six workers working on the bridge and disrupting the majority of maritime traffic in the busy port of Baltimore.
The ship appeared to start moving shortly after 6 a.m., as crews began pulling it out of the debris. It started and stopped several times before slowly moving away from the collapse site.
With the removal of the massive cargo ship from the mouth of Baltimore Harbor, a newly opened void appeared in the city’s skyline. The container ship’s departure also highlighted progress in cleanup efforts, with teams having already removed hundreds of tons of mangled steel from the collapse site.
Authorities said the Dali would be traveling at less than 2 km/h on the roughly four-kilometer journey back to port, a fraction of the speed it was traveling when it lost power and brought down the bridge.
Officials added that the Dali would likely remain in port for several weeks and undergo temporary repairs before being transferred to a shipyard for more extensive repairs.
Crews began preparing to refloat the ship about 18 hours before it began moving. This process included dropping the anchors and pumping out more than a million gallons of water that kept the ship grounded and stable during the complex cleaning operations.
Crews also carried out a controlled demolition on May 13 to break the largest remaining span of the collapsed bridge, which covered the bow of the Dali.
Dive teams also conducted inspections of the site to confirm there were no obstructions that could interfere with the journey.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who has been watching the refloating process from the water, has scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss the ongoing cleanup and recovery efforts.
The Dali experienced two power outages in less than 10 hours before leaving the port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka, according to a preliminary report released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board. The ship experienced two more power outages as it approached the bridge. These problems caused it to lose propulsion and veer off course at the wrong time.
The FBI has also opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading to the accident.
Members of the ship’s crew have not been allowed to leave the ship since the disaster. Officials said they were busy maintaining the vessel and assisting investigators. Among the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan.
Officials said they could disembark once the Dali docked in Baltimore.
The bodies of six construction workers were found in the underwater wreckage in recent weeks. All of the victims were immigrants who came to the United States to find employment. They were filling potholes during their night shift when the bridge was destroyed.
Authorities plan to reopen the port’s 15-meter-deep channel by the end of May. In the meantime, crews have established a slightly shallower temporary channel.