(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Progress is being made to clear pathways for ships that need to get past the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the way to the port of Baltimore, but there is still plenty of work to be done.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain David O’Connell, who was the coordinator for the Unified Response to the bridge collapse, said that two auxiliary channels are being opened which would include one at the Northeast section and one at the South.
The way that they are split up is that boats that need ten feet of water or less to operate would go to the North side and boats that need up to fourteen feet of water would be sent to the South side. They’ve said that they are working on getting the rest of the debris pulled out of the water before they can fully operate on the South side.
They also have been working on getting a third port open that would allow ships that need up to twenty-five feet of water, but the debris from the ship wreckage needs to be removed first.
O’Connell said, “I anticipate smaller draft commercial vessels, maybe some small tugs in the next few days.” He continued, “That’s that 13 to 14-foot draft, but that unfortunately, that’s not a lot of vessels. But it certainly is a start on our way to phase three, which will hopefully get us to 20 to 25 foot draft and that would be a lot more commercial vessels.”
The debris removal continues as they pull steel beams and large pieces of metal out of the water in order to make way for these ports and all ships to continue their voyage into the port of Baltimore. This was the first step of many to getting this port back up and running smoothly. O’Connell said that this is an important step in being able to support the marine traffic in Baltimore.
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