Cargo ship Dali that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge finally moves towards port

The cargo ship, which was blocking one of the busiest ports in the United States, was finally on the move on Monday (May 20) nearly two months after it struck and brought down the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore.

The massive cargo tanker that obstructed transportation in the Port of Baltimore was refloated by the recovery teams marking it a significant step towards reopening the crucial shipping canal. The complex operation helped the authorities to move the roughly 1,000-foot (300-metre) Dali cargo vessel to a maritime terminal.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said on social media platform X that tugboats were leading Dali to a local marine terminal after a successful effort to make the container ship buoyant at about 6:40 am EDT (1040 GMT).

On March 26, the Singapore-flagged ship lost power before it struck a support column of the bridge and caused it to collapse into the Patapsco River. The accident killed six construction workers who had been atop the major transit route.

The demolition experts last week used explosives to remove parts of the collapsed steel bridge trapping the Dali, which still has its 21-man crew onboard.

Now, divers will first inspect the ship to ensure there are no obstructions. Salvagers would next take out up to 4.7 million litres of water that had been put into the Dali to stabilise it as ballast before releasing its anchors and mooring lines.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore told NBC News on Sunday he was "proud that we're on track and by the end of May we'll have that federal channel reopened."

Probe into the accident

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched a criminal probe into the incident in April. The agents even boarded the Dali as part of the investigation.

In a preliminary report last week, federal investigators said that the Dali had lost electrical power several times before crashing into the bridge as it was leaving the port.

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The National Transportation Safety Board, which is also investigating, said on Tuesday the ship had two electricity blackouts in the moments before the disaster.

It also said the crew had been tested multiple times, before and after the disaster, for drugs and alcohol, and that none had showed.

(With inputs from agencies)