The Port of Baltimore’s shipping channel is fully operational again, response officials

announced Monday, more than two months after a massive cargo ship crashed into the
Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six construction workers and cutting off access to
the crucial shipping artery.

“We’ve cleared the Fort McHenry Federal Channel for safe transit,” Baltimore
District Commander Col. Estee Pinchasin said in a statement Monday. “Although the
overarching goal to restore full operational capacity to the Federal Channel was
successful, each day we thought of those who lost their lives, their families and the
workers impacted by this tragic event.”

“Not a day went by that we didn’t think about all of them, and that kept us going,”
Pinchasin added.

Fully reopening the 700-foot wide channel meant crews had to remove roughly
50,000 tons of wreckage from the Patapsco River, according to a Monday news
release from Unified Command, a group of agencies that led the response to the
collapse.

That response included more than 2,000 people and subject matter experts, nearly two
dozen tugboats, 13 floating cranes and 10 excavators, among other equipment.

The channel, which provides access to an essential international cargo destination,

closed to vessel traffic on March 26, after a 213-million pound cargo ship lost power
and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns, causing the structure to
collapse.

The collapse, which was captured in stunning video, sparked a multi-agency

investigation into what caused the disaster.

Recovery crews worked for weeks to remove debris and recover the victims, who
were from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala – though many had called
Maryland home for years. They were fathers, loving partners, sons and visionaries
who left behind grieving communities and unfulfilled dreams.

The ship, a container vessel called Dali, remained lodged in the channel until it was
hauled away on May 20, after crews were able to remove a piece of the bridge that
had been pinning down its bow. The ship’s removal allowed for the opening of a
temporary 400-foot channel, and cruise ships were able to once again depart from the
port at the end of May.