Officials expect to have removed the Dali containership from its lodged position in Baltimore port by May 10.
The 9,962 teu ship took out the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 and has been wedged onto the bed of the Patapsco River ever since.
So far, 3,300 tons of debris have been removed from the river and more than 180 containers have been moved off the bow of the stricken Singapore-flagged boxship.
“We’re talking about a massive piece of steel, and on one end, the steel is leaning against a vessel that is the size of the Eiffel Tower. On the other end, it’s leaning against the bottom of the riverbed,” Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, said at a press conference yesterday.
Once the Dali returns to port, officials said they expect to open a 13.7 m channel by May 10 with the aim to fully restore the port’s 15 m deep main channel by the end of May.
The National Transportation Safety Board expects to release its preliminary report on the disaster within one week.
Dali’s voyager data recorder showed power failed for just one minute and three seconds as it approached the bridge, and that the lead pilot tried to swing the 300 m long vessel clear of a collision by dropping its port anchor to pivot it away.