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Baltimore shipping lane fully reopens after bridge collapse

June 11, 2024

Commercial maritime traffic can now resume at full capacity on the Baltimore shipping route after crews managed to remove tons of debris that had been blocking the vital channel.

https://p.dw.com/p/4gt6I
A ship passing through the Baltimore shipping route
Maritime traffic remained blocked until 50,000 tons were of debris were removedImage: Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/TNS/ABACA/picture alliance

The Baltimore shipping lane, blocked for more than two months following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, reopened fully on Monday.

The reopening of the shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore was announced on Monday after a massive cleanup drive in Patapsco River.

"We are proud of the unified efforts that fully reopened the Federal Channel to port operations," said Scott Spellmon, the commander of the Army Corps of Engineers. 

Full access restored

On March 26, the route was blocked by the wreckage of the bridge which collapsed after a cargo container ship lost control and collided with one of one of the bridge's supporting columns, killing six people who had been working on the bridge road.

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Most of the maritime traffic remained blocked until the US Army Corps of Engineers and navy salvage divers removed about 50,000 tons of debris from the river.

The cargo ship was stuck amid the wreckage for almost two months and was refloated and sent back to the port.

The removal of the Singapore-flagged Dali opened a channel that was 15 meters (50 feet) deep and 122 meters wide. 

The reopened channel will allow the movement of two-way traffic. Additional safety requirements that were in place since the collapse of the bridge will no longer be needed.

The Baltimore port is one of America's busiest ports and is the hub for the automobile industry.  

After US bridge collapse, crane begins clearing wreckage

mfi/kb (AP, AFP, Reuters)