Almost two months after colliding with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the MV Dali cargo ship was hauled away from the site and taken to shore Monday.
The Unified Command, a group of local and federal agencies managing the operation, said the Dali was floated around 7 a.m. ET, and tugboards slowly moved it to a local marine terminal.
The Dali will spend several weeks getting temporary repairs at the terminal and then will be moved to a shipyard for more substantial repairs, authorities said.
Twenty-one crew members remain on board the Dali, a nearly 1,000-foot-long NeoPanamax cargo ship weighing 120,000 tons. The ship has a container capacity of 9,971 twenty-foot equivalent units.
Related: Container ship lacked backup system to avoid Baltimore bridge strike
The Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns in the early morning hours of March 26. The collision caused the bridge to immediately collapse, killing six construction workers who were on the bridge and halting maritime traffic through the Port of Baltimore, the busiest port in the U.S. for car shipments.
Federal investigators released a report last week that said the ship went through multiple power failures before colliding with the bridge.
Authorities have opened four temporary channels on the Patapsco River leading to the harbor in response to the incident, allowing shipping operations to continue.
Related: 5 things to know about cargo ship that brought down Baltimore bridge
The Port of Baltimore is the deepest harbor in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, with five public and 12 private terminals. It handled over $80 billion worth of cargo in 2023. It serves more than 50 ocean carriers making nearly 1,800 annual port calls.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was also a major conduit for traffic in the region, with up to 31,000 passenger vehicles crossing it daily.
Federal authorities estimate replacing the bridge could cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion. It could take up to four years to construct a new bridge, with completion sometime in 2028.
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