Salvors working with the Key Bridge Response Unified Command in Baltimore refloated and moved the containership Dali on Monday, May 20, at approximately 07:00 local time.
With the assistance of five tugs and other support vessels, Dali was towed and pushed 2.5 miles (four kilometres), arriving at a local marine terminal at approximately 09:00.
This phase allows all pre-collapse deep-draught commercial vessels to enter and exit the Port of Baltimore.
"The Unified Command continues to clear the remaining wreckage from the Fort McHenry Federal Channel," said the Unified Command in a joint statement. "We're pleased to see the successful refloating and moving of Dali today to its new location. We won't slow down until the channel is fully restored."
The Unified Command anticipates the operational width of the federal channel will soon be 400 feet (121 metres) wide to a depth of 50 feet (15.24 metres). With the removal of the 158-foot (48-metre) wide Dali, Unified Command salvage crews, using crane and barge assets already on site, will work to remove any remaining bridge wreckage.
This effort will continue until the federal channel is restored to its original width of 700 feet (213 metres) and all steel below the mudline is removed.
The Maryland Transportation Authority will continue to oversee the removal of the remaining steel and concrete outside of the federal channel.
The Unified Command said this marks the resumption of commercial vessel transits in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
