Dali towed away from Baltimore bridge collapse site

Dali, the container ship that struck down Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, has arrived at Seagirt Container Terminal after being refloated on 20 May.

An allision between the 2015-built 10,000 TEU ship and the bridge on 26 March caused the bridge to collapse, killing six construction workers who had been mending potholes on the structure.

Dali, which Maersk Line chartered from Singapore-based owner Grace Ocean, was pinned under the bridge wreckage while authorities planned a method to remove the mangled steel. More than 1 million gallons of water were pumped out in the process.

Minutes before 7 am on 20 May (Baltimore time), several tugs began towing Dali along a two-and-a-half mile stretch towards Seagirt terminal. The move, overseen by Maryland governor Wes Moore, was set in motion after the wreckage was blown up in controlled explosions on 13 May. Of the 4,700 containers on the ship, 182 were removed by cranes as these had become tangled with the bridge wreckage.

As the ship moved at 1 mph, a gaping hole on its starboard, the result of the 26 March incident, could be seen.

Dali will spend several weeks undergoing temporary repairs at the same terminal it occupied prior to striking the bridge, and then transfer to a shipyard for more intensive repairs.

The 21-man crew on Dali have remained on the ship since the incident, as they have been assisting investigators while maintaining the vessel. Investigators are focusing on the electrical power on the ship, which reportedly lost propulsion moments before the incident, causing it to veer off course and strike the bridge.

With sympathy growing for the crew, authorities said they will be allowed to get off the ship once it is docked.

There are plans to reopen Baltimore’s 50-foot deep channel by the end of May. A makeshift channel was created after the bridge collapse, but accommodates only smaller ships.

Source: Container-News

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