The ship that smashed into a bridge support at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March is finally moving.
It has been almost eight weeks since the Key Bridge collapsed, killing six road workers who were repairing the bridge’s deck.
WJLA reported that high tide was just before 5:30 a.m. Monday morning, the time that crews were expecting to refloat the container ship. The Associated Press reported it was the best conditions to get the ship moving.
Update 2:59 p.m. ET May 20: The Dali is back at the same dock where it left on March 26. It will have temporary repairs done before permanent ones can be completed, CNN reported.
The investigation continues into why the ship lost power before crashing into the bridge.
Original report: Tugboats were helping move the ship 2 1/2 miles back to the terminal.
The crew of the Dali, which remained on the ship, got the ship ready for its refloating by securing obstructions, pumping water out and releasing the mooring lines, according to WJLA. It is expected that the crew may have to stay in Baltimore, as their visas expired and immigration officials have to weigh in on the next steps.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the cargo ship lost power twice before it hit the bridge that crossed the Patapsco River on March 26.
The federal agency found that two electrical breakers tripped and took out systems including the pumps that are used to keep the engines running. When the main engine shut down, the ship lost propulsion. The crew got the power back but lost it again when other breakers tripped.
The NTSB said the ship had lost power twice about 10 hours before it left port and before the crash, however, the ship’s captain said the Dali “was in good working order” about an hour and a half before the ship hit the bridge support.
Last week, crews used a controlled demolition using explosives to break apart the portion of the bridge that remained on the Dali, WJLA reported.
Maryland’s governor expected to have the channel fully reopened by the end of May.
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