(USNewsMag.com) – For the first time since March 26th, the Dali, the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse, was successfully refloated on May 20th.
To refloat the cargo ship, crews pumped over 1 million gallons of water out of the cargo ship that had allowed it to remain stable and grounded. On May 13th, a controlled demolition collapsed the largest remaining span of the collapsed bridge across the bow of the Dali.
After starting and stopping a few times, the ship made its way away from the collapse site and toward the local marine terminal. According to the Key Bridge Response Unified Command, five tugboats escorted the ship, which had extensive damage to its bow, at one mph across the 2.5-mile distance after it was refloated.
The ship will remain in the same marine terminal it occupied before the crash to get temporary repairs before moving to the Norfolk, Virginia, shipyard, where it will get extensive repair.
The moving of the Dali comes one day after Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the cargo ship would be removed from the bay “within days,” vowing to reopen the channel into the Port of Baltimore.
According to Port Director Jonathan Daniels, the channel is 400 feet wide and 50 feet deep and, within two weeks, will be back to its full 700-foot width.
The March 26th crash and the resulting collapse of the bridge killed six construction workers. Eight workers filling potholes on the bridge plunged into the water when the bridge collapsed. While two workers were rescued, the bodies of the six remaining workers, including Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26; Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 35; and Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, have been recovered.
The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the crash, examining the events before the ship left the port and if the ship’s crew members were aware of any mechanical problems that could make the cargo ship unsafe.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has also previously stated that the city would take steps “to hold wrongdoers responsible.”
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