Key Bridge salvage crews face their biggest challenge yet: freeing M/V Dali from the wreck

The Key Bridge collapse site is being cleaned up, one piece of steel at a time. Unified Command has brought in heavy machinery from across the country to pick up and transport large sections of bridge from the Port of Baltimore canal, which has been partially blocked since March 26.

Now the recovery crews have turned their attention to one of the biggest challenges they have faced to date, known as “bridge section four”.

This large part of the bridge rests directly on top of the M/V Dalí‘s bow. The container ship can only be refloated and moved out of the canal once bridge section four has disappeared.

In preparation for moving the bridge section, cranes lifted and removed 182 containers Dalí was carrying when it lost power and hit the bridge. Now crews must carefully analyze the conditions as they prepare to remove the massive piece of steel and the roadway. Unified Command says: “Crushed containers, hull damage and weight shifts are among the critical considerations crew members must take into account during bridge removal and ship refloating.”

To keep the salvage crews working on this dangerous operation safe, Unified Command uses special equipment to monitor the position and movement of the ship and the bridge wreckage it rests on.

“We have a total of six, what we call, inclinometers that measure the roll at key locations in the span and at key locations of the ship so we can see how it rocks and rolls depending on the tide and the wind,” says Rob Ruthledge. , a contractor working for the Key Bridge Unified Command. “We have a sensor that measures the relative position of the span on the ship so we can see if it starts to slip for some reason. We also have so-called string meters, which can measure voltage in real time while performing operations.

Unified Command says its top priorities at this time, along with the safety of crews and first responders and reopening the port, include supporting the investigation into the crash and filing a missing persons report. Only one victim remains missing at this time. The fifth bridge worker recovered from the Patapsco River was identified May 1 as Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49, of Glen Burnie, Maryland. Gonzalez’s remains were found in a red truck located by recovery teams.

“We remain committed to continuing recovery operations, knowing that behind every person lost in this tragedy is a loving family,” said Col. Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland Department of State Police.

Meanwhile, Unified Command is still working toward its goal of having the entire 50-foot draft Fort McHenry Canal open by the end of May. They plan to open a 45-foot-deep canal by May 10, allowing passage of all but the largest ships serving the Port of Baltimore.

As they work, bridge response leaders remind boaters that the 7,000-foot maritime safety zone is still in effect and the entire site is a “No Drone Zone” established by the Federal Aviation Administration.