BALTIMORE, United States (AFP) — The cargo ship that collided with a Baltimore bridge nearly two months ago, collapsing it and killing six highway workers, was refloated on Monday and towed back into port.
Live television images of the operation showed a flotilla of tugboats slowly pushing and towing the M/V Dali away from the remains of the shattered Francis Scott Key Bridge and towards a marine terminal.
The Key Bridge Response Unified Command said the complex operation involved the Coast Guard, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Department of the Environment and other agencies.
It said the Dali, which is still laden with stacks of containers, was refloated at high tide and began the four-kilometer journey into port at a speed of roughly 1.6 kilometers per hour.
The Singapore-flagged ship has been blocking one of America’s busiest ports since it lost power and plowed into a support column of the bridge on 26 March, causing it to collapse and killing six road workers who had been filling potholes overnight.
The 106,000-ton ship had been headed for Sri Lanka at the time of the accident.
Moving the nearly 300-meter container vessel is a major step in reopening the key shipping channel.
The accident shut down the port, though temporary channels have allowed some traffic in and out of Baltimore.
Authorities have been working around the clock to clear the fallen bridge and reopen the waterway after it was rendered impassable due to the wreckage.
Demolition experts used explosives last week to remove parts of the collapsed steel bridge trapping the Dali, which still has its 21-man crew onboard.
Salvagers then drew out up to 4.7 million liters of water previously pumped into the Dali to stabilize it as ballast, before releasing its anchors and mooring lines.
