The Dali was refloated at high tide just before 7 a.m., with the help of five tugboats and other vessels. It was then towed and pushed 2.5 miles to its new location at the Seagirt Marine Terminal, arriving around 9 a.m.
With the Dali now out of the way, all deep-draft commercial vessels can once again enter and exit the Port of Baltimore. The Unified Command, in charge of the operation, said, “We’re pleased to see the successful refloating and moving of the M/V Dali today to its new location. We won’t slow down until the channel is fully restored.”
The process to refloat the M/V Dali started on Sunday. It involved releasing some of the ship’s anchors and mooring lines, removing some of the 1.25 million gallons of water pumped onto the ship, and conducting detailed inspections to ensure all obstructions were cleared from the port side.
The Unified Command expects the federal channel to soon be 400 feet wide and 50 feet deep. With the M/V Dali now moved, salvage crews will continue to clear the remaining bridge wreckage until the channel is restored to its original 700-foot width.
The Maryland Transportation Authority will handle the removal of the remaining steel and concrete outside the federal channel. The Unified Command also stated that this progress marks the “resumption of commercial vessel transits in and out of the Port of Baltimore” and is a critical step in restoring waterway commerce in the region.
