The Dali ship, which caused the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse two months ago, was successfully refloated Monday morning and was moving toward the Baltimore port.
The Dali appeared to begin moving shortly after 6 a.m., the Associated Press reported, after starting and stopping a few times before making its way out of the collapse site.
The Key Bridge Response Unified Command said on Saturday that the whole process would take at least 21 hours, as crews refloated and started moving the ship. The high tide on Monday morning was expected to bring optimal conditions.
The unified command said that, once the ship was free from the wreckage, up to five tugboats would escort the ship at 1 m.p.h. across the 2.5-mile distance to the local marine terminal.
The ship has remained at the site since the March 26 deadly crash, which saw the dramatic collapse of one of the region’s most frequented bridges and which left six construction workers dead.
Last week, a crew conducted a controlled demolition that sent the crumpled steel section off the grounded container ship and into the water in seconds, marking a crucial step in the extensive process to remove the ship.
On Sunday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said the Dali would be removed from the bay “within days.”
Moore told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” that crews are working to move the ship out of the channel soon, vowing also to have the channel reopened.
“And despite the fact that people said this could take six and nine months, I’m proud that we’re on track, that by the end of May, we’ll have that federal channel reopened and within days, we’re going to have that massive vessel, the Dali, out of that federal channel,” he said.
“And I think for people who are concerned about the cost, my thing is this, the American people will be made whole on this, and we just have to make sure that we had to get it done fast and on time and on budget. And that’s our focus,” he added.
