Gov. Wes Moore said salvage operations involves the use of technology to map the site of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. The governor said Wednesday’s unified command briefing indicated Wednesday’s weather conditions made it unsafe for rescue divers to return to the water. “The water is so murky that salvage divers cannot see more than two feet in front of them,” Moore said.”It’s cloudy because of the 4-5 feet of mud and the loose bottom of the river, divers are working basically in darkness,” said Col. Estee Pinchasin, District Commander for the Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District. “If they use lights, if we lit it up, it would be like they were driving through a snowstorm with their high beams on.”Officials said they are ready and waiting to start lifting non-impacted containers off of the Dali cargo ship, once the weather allows.”We need to lift those undamaged containers off to give us space to safely operate to begin to plan to remove portions of the bridge that are also now embedded in the ship,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said. “On our third priority, which is removing the rest of the debris from the bridge, from the waterway, we are again waiting for another weather window to be able to do that 350-ton lift off the section that’s just immediately north of the deep draft channel.”Authorities said there is 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel on top of the cargo ship. The U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea System Command Supervisor of Salvage and Diving released new 3D underwater images of the site on Tuesday. They show the sheer magnitude of the salvage operation ahead. These images will be crucial for the divers, as the visibility in the water is limited due to the 4 to 5 feet of loose mud in the Patapsco River. Divers are guided via detailed verbal directions as no usable underwater video exists of the wreckage. Two channels have been since opened and underwater images were released showing the scale and challenge that awaits salvage crews.Work is ongoing to open a third channel that will allow larger vessels to pass through the bottleneck, officials announced at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. The channels are primarily open primarily to vessels that are helping with the cleanup effort, along with some barges and tugs that have been stuck in the Port of Baltimore.Crews are undertaking the complicated work of removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge’s deadly collapse after a container ship lost power and crashed into a supporting column. On Sunday, dive teams surveyed parts of the bridge and checked the ship, and workers in lifts used torches to cut above-water parts of the twisted steel superstructure.The Maryland Department of the Environment has been testing the water upriver and downriver from Key Bridge collapse site and has found no contaminants to date.Video below: Officials describe bridge collapse cleanup processAuthorities believe six workers plunged to their deaths in the collapse, including two whose bodies were recovered last week. Two other workers survived.Moore said at a Monday afternoon news conference that his top priority is recovering the four remaining bodies, followed by reopening shipping channels. He said that he understands the urgency but that the risks are significant. Crews have described the mangled steel girders of the fallen bridge as “chaotic wreckage,” he said.”What we’re finding is it is more complicated than we hoped for initially,” Gilreath said.Meanwhile, the ship remains stationary, and its 21 crew members remain on board for now, officials said. President Joe Biden is expected to visit the collapse site Friday to meet with state and local officials and get at federal response efforts.The governor said 33 people were served Tuesday alone by the Business Recovery Centers in Baltimore City and Baltimore County and that the lieutenant governor convened a new intragovernmental economic response team.Video below: 19th-century law could limit bridge collapse payoutThe bridge fell as the cargo ship Dali lost power March 26 shortly after leaving Baltimore on its way to Sri Lanka. The ship issued a mayday alert, which allowed just enough time for police to stop traffic, but not enough to save a roadwork crew filling potholes on the bridge.The Dali is managed by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., both of Singapore. Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali. Synergy and Grace Ocean filed a court petition Monday seeking to limit their legal liability, a routine but important procedure for cases litigated under U.S. maritime law. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they owe.The filing seeks to cap the companies’ liability at roughly $43.6 million. It estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90 million and was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs.Officials are trying to determine how to rebuild the major bridge, which was completed in 1977. It carried Interstate 695 around southeast Baltimore and became a symbol of the city’s working-class roots and maritime culture.Congress is expected to consider aid packages to help people who lose jobs or businesses because of the prolonged closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and farm equipment than any other U.S. facility. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Gov. Wes Moore said salvage operations involves the use of technology to map the site of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The governor said Wednesday’s unified command briefing indicated Wednesday’s weather conditions made it unsafe for rescue divers to return to the water.
“The water is so murky that salvage divers cannot see more than two feet in front of them,” Moore said.
“It’s cloudy because of the 4-5 feet of mud and the loose bottom of the river, divers are working basically in darkness,” said Col. Estee Pinchasin, District Commander for the Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District. “If they use lights, if we lit it up, it would be like they were driving through a snowstorm with their high beams on.”
Officials said they are ready and waiting to start lifting non-impacted containers off of the Dali cargo ship, once the weather allows.
“We need to lift those undamaged containers off to give us space to safely operate to begin to plan to remove portions of the bridge that are also now embedded in the ship,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said. “On our third priority, which is removing the rest of the debris from the bridge, from the waterway, we are again waiting for another weather window to be able to do that 350-ton lift off the section that’s just immediately north of the deep draft channel.”
Authorities said there is 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel on top of the cargo ship.
The U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea System Command Supervisor of Salvage and Diving released new 3D underwater images of the site on Tuesday. They show the sheer magnitude of the salvage operation ahead. These images will be crucial for the divers, as the visibility in the water is limited due to the 4 to 5 feet of loose mud in the Patapsco River. Divers are guided via detailed verbal directions as no usable underwater video exists of the wreckage.
Two channels have been since opened and underwater images were released showing the scale and challenge that awaits salvage crews.
Work is ongoing to open a third channel that will allow larger vessels to pass through the bottleneck, officials announced at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. The channels are primarily open primarily to vessels that are helping with the cleanup effort, along with some barges and tugs that have been stuck in the Port of Baltimore.
Crews are undertaking the complicated work of removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge’s deadly collapse after a container ship lost power and crashed into a supporting column. On Sunday, dive teams surveyed parts of the bridge and checked the ship, and workers in lifts used torches to cut above-water parts of the twisted steel superstructure.
The Maryland Department of the Environment has been testing the water upriver and downriver from Key Bridge collapse site and has found no contaminants to date.
Video below: Officials describe bridge collapse cleanup process
Authorities believe six workers plunged to their deaths in the collapse, including two whose bodies were recovered last week. Two other workers survived.
Moore said at a Monday afternoon news conference that his top priority is recovering the four remaining bodies, followed by reopening shipping channels. He said that he understands the urgency but that the risks are significant. Crews have described the mangled steel girders of the fallen bridge as “chaotic wreckage,” he said.
“What we’re finding is it is more complicated than we hoped for initially,” Gilreath said.
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Meanwhile, the ship remains stationary, and its 21 crew members remain on board for now, officials said.
President Joe Biden is expected to visit the collapse site Friday to meet with state and local officials and get at federal response efforts.
The governor said 33 people were served Tuesday alone by the Business Recovery Centers in Baltimore City and Baltimore County and that the lieutenant governor convened a new intragovernmental economic response team.
Video below: 19th-century law could limit bridge collapse payout
The bridge fell as the cargo ship Dali lost power March 26 shortly after leaving Baltimore on its way to Sri Lanka. The ship issued a mayday alert, which allowed just enough time for police to stop traffic, but not enough to save a roadwork crew filling potholes on the bridge.
The Dali is managed by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., both of Singapore. Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali.
Synergy and Grace Ocean filed a court petition Monday seeking to limit their legal liability, a routine but important procedure for cases litigated under U.S. maritime law. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they owe.
The filing seeks to cap the companies’ liability at roughly $43.6 million. It estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90 million and was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs.
Officials are trying to determine how to rebuild the major bridge, which was completed in 1977. It carried Interstate 695 around southeast Baltimore and became a symbol of the city’s working-class roots and maritime culture.
Congress is expected to consider aid packages to help people who lose jobs or businesses because of the prolonged closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and farm equipment than any other U.S. facility.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.