BALTIMORE — The first container ship arrived in the Port of Baltimore since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed more than a month ago.
The MSC Cargo Passion III passed through the temporary 35-foot channel on Sunday carrying nearly 1,000 containers.
“One more milestone today!” the Port of Baltimore said on social media.
Four temporary channels have been opened since the bridge collapsed on March 26.
This fourth channel will only be open for a few days, but at 35 feet deep and 300 feet wide it will allow several ships that are stuck in Baltimore Harbor to get out.
“Around that 35-foot draft is where you're really starting to get some of the inventory coming aboard that had really been some of the hallmarks of the Port of Baltimore,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore. .
The opening of those channels follows the largest of four recent openings on Thursday, which restored 15 percent of pre-collapse commercial activity in the Port of Baltimore. The adjustment will allow large commercial ships that were stuck to leave and others to enter, including those carrying containers, vehicles and farm equipment.
Recreational boats are allowed
Recreational boats will also be able to pass there through the Key Bridge Collapse Rescue Area during specific hours.
Larry Lewis has spent the last 20 years on the water. He says the opportunity to drive past the collapse site is important to recreational boaters, not just charter companies.
“We have boaters and owners that are stuck on the other side of the bridge, and some that are trying to get out to get maintenance and things done,” Lewis said.
Traffic through the temporary channels will be strictly one-way, with departures scheduled from 15:30 to 16:30 and entry from 16:30 to 17:30.
“There's going to be a lot of people out there directing and making this a very safe and orderly move,” Lewis explained.
The rescue effort at the Key Bridge site is ongoing
The US Army Corps of Engineers is leading the rescue effort. The branch said its priority is to clear the main channel across the river to reopen access to Baltimore Harbor.
Massive floating cranes are being used as debris and debris removal continues. Engineers must break the broken bridge into smaller pieces to raise them, and the Navy sonar images revealed remains in the deepest part of the canal.
Governor Wes Moore announced Friday that so far more than 1,300 tons of steel from the former Francis Scott Key Bridge have been removed from the river.
Demolition and debris go to nearby Sparrows Point for processing and recycling.
The main shipping channel schedule remains late May
The US Army Corps of Engineers expects to reopen the main shipping channel, which is 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep, by the end of May.
“There's no way around the fact that, in terms of the impact on the local and state economy, we want to resume 100 percent of pre-collapse activity because it only contributes to so many jobs in the 'economy, it contributes to so much revenue that flows through the city, the county and the rest of the state,' DePasquale said.
With the main channel closed, companies have had to use alternative methods to transport their products.
With nearly half of the main 700-foot shipping channel cleared, rescue crews are now concentrating on the portion of the stretch at the top of the Dali.
2 bodies are still missing
The murdered men at the key bridge collapse they were working for Brawner Builders, filling potholes in the center span of the bridge.
“Most were immigrants, but they were all from Maryland.” President Joe Biden said shortly after the collapse. “Hardworking, strong and selfless. After doing a night shift fixing potholes, they were on a break when the boat hit.”
How a memorial grows on Fort Armistead Road for the six men killed in the crash, recovery efforts to locate the two workers still missing under the wreckage are ongoing. They have been identified as Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, and Jose Maynor López, from Guatemala.
Three of the recovered victims were identified as: Dorlian Cabrera, 26, originally from Guatemala and living in Dundalk; Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, 35, who lived in Baltimore and was from Mexico; and Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38, of Guatemala.
A fourth body was recovered last week. He has not been identified at the request of his family, but is known to be from Mexico.
