Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore provided an update this week on the massive cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of the catastrophic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on March 26th.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Moore revealed that crews have made remarkable progress, extracting a colossal amount of steel debris from the Patapsco River over the past three weeks. The governor likened the 1,100 tons of wreckage removed so far to a weight approximately five times that of the iconic Statue of Liberty monument in New York Harbor.
“Incredibly, our teams have not suffered a single injury while undertaking this herculean task of removing 1,110 tons of tangled steel from the riverbed. It is an extraordinary accomplishment,” Moore stated.
However, one of the critical next steps is reopening the vital main shipping channel by late May at the latest. Moore indicated this hinges on successfully dislodging an immense 300-ton steel structure that currently remains perched atop the cargo vessel that struck the bridge.
Efforts are underway, with crews having already carefully lifted about 40 shipping containers off the ship’s deck. A temporary channel has also been established nearby to allow recreational boat traffic to pass through the area authorities have termed the “Key Bridge Response Safety Zone.”
The governor was flanked at the briefing by former Governor Bob Ehrlich and Baltimore County Senator Johnny Ray Salling, highlighting the united bipartisan efforts to secure federal disaster relief funds. Moore confirmed plans to travel to Washington D.C. again this week to continue coordinating assistance.
“Let me assure all Marylanders – regardless of whether you are a Republican or a Democrat – that we are 100% committed to working together to help our state recover and rebuild as rapidly as possible,” Ehrlich stated.
Moore echoed that spirit of cooperation, “This is a crisis impacting all Marylanders, not just one party or the other. It is a national emergency, and we will find solutions through nonpartisan collaboration.”
While the painstaking clearing of wreckage presses on, the governor underscored that providing closure for the victims’ grieving families remains the top priority. Tragically, search teams recovered the remains of a fourth victim on Monday.
The briefing followed the FBI’s confirmation on Monday of their boarding the cargo ship Dali as part of an active criminal probe into the incident. Separately, Baltimore’s Mayor Brandon Scott partnered with two law firms to “initiate legal action against those culpable” while mitigating harm to city residents.
Legal teams for some victims argue the ship’s owners are exploiting an “antiquated 1851 maritime law” as a loophole to limit their liability exposure solely to the shipwreck’s remaining value.
The ill-fated cargo vessel Dali had departed the Port of Baltimore on March 26th loaded with goods bound for Sri Lanka when it collided with a Key Bridge support, sending the roadway span crashing down and killing six workers.
Federal transportation safety investigators have indicated a key focus will be determining if the Dali experienced any engine or power system failures preceding its fateful final voyage.