Temporary canal for commercial ships opens in Baltimore

The United States Coast Guard opened a temporary alternative channel for commercial and essential vessels in the Patapsco River, following the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore.

The new 14-foot (4-meter) channel south of the disaster site will allow ocean vessels to access the Port of Baltimore. The opening of the canal comes after another route was opened on Monday, April 1, for boats that clean debris from the bridge; The purpose is that the main road that leads to the city’s port can recover its normal activity.

“I am grateful that just a week after the collapse we have roads and canals that commercial traffic can travel on,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a news conference.

However, bad weather has made recovery operations difficult and slowed down the sections of the bridge that lie in the river, as lightning in the area has prevented work teams from using cranes.

Less than one week out from the collapse of the Key Bridge, we’re making progress on our coordinated operation to remove the wreckage and reopen the Port of Baltimore.

We’re grateful to @POTUS, @USCG, @USNavy, @USACEBaltimore, and all our partners in this mission.

— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) April 1, 2024

The priority is to find the 4 remaining bodies

Moore stressed that, although the possibility of being able to operate normally is still distant, the progress they had made on Tuesday was an “important milestone” in the process to remove the remains and continue opening channels, in addition to the fact that A third, deeper channel was working.

So far, only two bodies have been recovered from the tragic accident of the Dalí freighter that hit the Key Bridge on March 26, causing a collapse in which six construction workers died, all of them Latin Americans who were carrying out their work in the bridge

At a press conference on Monday, April 1, the Democratic governor stated that his top priority was recovering the four remaining bodies, and reopening the shipping channels.

The cargo ship and its crew of 21 sailors have been stranded since Tuesday, March 26, amid some 4,000 tons of debris and pieces of metal.

United States President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Baltimore on Friday, April 5.

Keep reading:

• The Mexican Embassy in the US confirms that there are Mexicans among the victims of the Baltimore bridge collapse
• Baltimore: Why did they suspend the search for Hispanics missing due to bridge collapse?
• Audios from the Baltimore police reveal the moments before the ship collided with the bridge