By LEA SKENE (Associated Press)
BALTIMORE (AP) — A boat pushing a barge of fuel was the initial vessel to take an alternate route to bypass the debris of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which had been blocking traffic along the important port’s main shipping channel.
The barge, which was supplying jet fuel to the Department of Defense, left late Monday and was headed for Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base. However, officials have stated that the temporary route is mainly open to vessels assisting with the cleanup effort. Some barges and tugs that have been stuck in the Port of Baltimore since the collapse are also set to pass through the channel.
Officials mentioned they are developing a second route on the southwest side of the main channel that will allow for deeper draft vessels, but they did not specify when it might open.
Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to visit one of two centers that the Small Business Administration opened in the area to help companies obtain loans to aid them with losses caused by the disruption of the bridge collapse.
In Annapolis, a hearing is planned for a bill authorizing the use of state reserves to offer financial help to port employees who are out of work due to the bridge collapse. Lawmakers are working to pass the bill swiftly in the last week of their legislative session, which ends Monday.
Crews are working on removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge’s fatal collapse after a container ship lost power and crashed into a supporting column. On Sunday, dive teams inspected parts of the bridge and checked the ship, and workers used torches to cut above-water parts of the twisted steel superstructure from lifts.
Authorities believe six workers fell to their deaths in the collapse, including two whose bodies were found last week. Two other workers survived.
Moore, a Democrat, stated at a Monday afternoon news conference that his top priority is retrieving the remaining four bodies, followed by reopening shipping channels. He understands the urgency but emphasizes that the risks are significant. Crews have described the jumbled 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,” said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath.
Meanwhile, the ship remains stationary, and its 21 crew members stay on board for now, officials said.
President Joe Biden is set to visit the collapse site Friday to meet with state and local officials and assess federal response efforts.
The bridge collapsed as the cargo ship Dali lost power on 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 have asked a court on Monday to limit their legal responsibility, which is a normal but important step for cases dealt with under U.S. maritime law. A federal court in Maryland will make the final decision on who is at fault and how much they have to pay.
The filing requests to set a maximum of around $43.6 million for the companies' liability. It estimates the value of the vessel itself to be up to $90 million and that it was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also subtracts two main expenses: at least $28 million for repairs and at least $19.5 million for salvage.
Authorities are working on deciding how to reconstruct the main bridge, completed in 1977, that carried Interstate 695 around southeast Baltimore. The bridge became a symbol of the city's working-class origins and maritime culture.
It's expected that Congress will consider assistance packages to help people who lose their jobs or businesses because of the long closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and farm equipment than any other facility in the U.S.
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This report includes contributions from Associated Press journalists Brian Witte in Annapolis; Tassanee Vegpongsa in Baltimore; Sarah Brumfield in Washington; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho.
