2 April 2024 (Lloyd's List) - SALVAGE teams have established an alternate, low-draught channel on the northeast side of main access channel near the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, restoring limited port access for small vessels for the first time since March 26.
The US Coast Guard-led Unified Command announced plans on Sunday to open a temporary, 3.5 metres (11 feet) deep channel for “commercially essential vessels”. The first vessel to cross the channel on Monday was the tug Crystal Coast, the command said in an update. The tug left the port of Baltimore in the afternoon, heading to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. It is pushing a fuel barge used to supply jet fuel to the Department of Defense, the command said.
The channel has a horizontal clearance of 80.5m and vertical clearance of 29.3m. The command said it was working on opening a second alternate route on the southwest side of the main channel that will allow for vessels draughts of 4.5m to 4.8m.
A 2,000-yard safety zone around the bridge remains in effect and no vessel is permitted to enter it without permission from the USCG Captain of the Port or a designated representative.
“This will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore,” COTP and federal on-scene coordination David O’Connell said on Sunday. “By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore.”
Meanwhile, the Dali’s (IMO: 9697428) owner Grace Ocean Private Limited, and manager Synergy Marine, filed for exoneration from or limitation of liability on Monday.
“The casualty was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care on the part of petitioners, the vessel, or any persons or entities for whose acts petitioners may be responsible,” the companies said in court documents filed in the US District Court for the District of Maryland.
The companies offered an interim stipulation of value of $43.67m.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday, March 26, after the 9,900 boxship Dali crashed into it at a speed of about seven knots.
The bodies of two construction workers who were on the bridge at the time of the tragic allision were recovered. Four more are presumed dead.
Multi-agency operations to remove the wreckage from the collapsed bridge are ongoing, and demolition crews began cutting parts of the collapsed bridge truss on Saturday.
The US Army Corps of Engineers laid out its salvage operations plan on X, saying its priorities were to clear a federal channel, refloat and remove Dali, and clear remaining wreckage. The plan could be updated as more engineering data becomes available, it cautioned.
