The likely first step will likely be securing the massive container ship that brought the bridge down on Tuesday. Then, clearing debris from the shipping channel.
Days after a massive container ship slammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the structure to crash into the narrow waterway, clearing debris from the channel so that maritime traffic can resume is an urgent priority.
“It has to be done very quickly,” says David Von Schmidt, a naval architect and engineer. “The regional, if not the national economy, cannot afford any longer than that.”
The likely first step will be making sure that the Dali, the nearly 1,000-foot container ship that smashed into the bridge early Tuesday morning, doesn’t do any more damage, according to Captain John Konrad, CEO of gCaptain, a website that tracks the shipping industry.
Before removing the ship, “They’ll get a salvage company in to secure the ship and make sure hazardous materials … [don’t leak] from the containers, no fires, that sort of thing,” Konrad says.
