The first cargo ship sailed through the newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore, US, on Thursday after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge four weeks ago, which halted most of the maritime traffic through the city's port, UNN reports citing AP.
Details
Balsa 94, a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier, has passed through the new 12-meter channel and is headed for St. John's, Canada. Balsa 94 is expected to arrive in Canada on Monday.
Later on Thursday, there were two more commercial vessels, including a trucking company headed for Panama.
Their long-awaited flights marked an important step in the ongoing cleanup and recovery efforts as teams worked around the clock to remove thousands of tons of mangled steel and concrete from the Baltimore Harbor entrance.
Five ships that have been stranded for several weeks are expected to finally leave Baltimore through the new temporary channel. Other vessels are scheduled to enter the port, which typically handles more cars and farm equipment than any other port in the country.
Thousands of cargo workers, truckers, and small business owners found their jobs impacted by the bridge collapse, prompting local and state officials to prioritize reopening the port and restoring its capacity to normal, hoping to mitigate the economic ripple effects of the collapse. Officials also launched various assistance programs for the unemployed and others affected by the closure.
The new channel will be open until Monday or Tuesday, and then close again around May 10.
The port's main channel will reopen next month after the stuck Dali vessel is removed from the collapse site. This will restore the normal flow of traffic through the port.
Addendum
The Dali lost momentum and veered off course shortly after leaving the port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka last month.
Six members of the road construction team, all Latin American immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, were killed in the collapse of the bridge. Four bodies were recovered from the wreckage underwater, and two went missing.