Baltimore bridge collapse: Crane arrives at crash site to aid cleanup - The Washington Post
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The Chesapeake 1000 crane, which can lift 1,000 tons, is docked at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point, Md., on March 29, near the wreckage of the collapsed Key Bridge. (Brian Witte/AP)

Baltimore bridge collapse Crane arrives at crash site to aid cleanup

2 min

A crane described by officials as one of the largest on the Eastern Seaboard arrived in Baltimore on Friday as efforts got underway to clean up the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed earlier this week after it was struck by a cargo ship. Officials have emphasized that reopening the Port of Baltimore, where vessel traffic is suspended indefinitely, is their top priority. Before the bridge wreckage can be removed, authorities are assessing its mangled metal above and below the water’s surface to determine where it can be cut into pieces.

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The steps necessary to reopen the Port of Baltimore involve clearing debris from the channel, then moving the Dali cargo vessel that struck the Key Bridge and eventually removing the rest of the bridge debris from the waterway. At a news conference Friday, Gov. Wes Moore (D) gave no timeline and called the effort “a remarkably complicated situation.”
The powerful floating crane, called the Chesapeake 1000, can lift 1,000 tons and is one of four heavy-lift cranes that will help with extraction efforts, Moore said. Other equipment will include seven floating cranes, 10 tug boats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats.
Adam Ortiz, the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic regional administrator, said Friday that officials are monitoring the Patapsco River for any sign of pollution, but at the moment “there is no indication of active releases from the vessel nor of the presence of materials that are hazardous to human health in the water.”
Moore said he will ask state lawmakers to create a scholarship fund for the children of those who died in the bridge collapse. The bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, were recovered Wednesday. Four others, including Miguel Luna and Maynor Suazo Sandoval, are still missing and presumed dead. Two people were rescued.
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The steps necessary to reopen the Port of Baltimore involve clearing debris from the channel, then moving the Dali cargo vessel that struck the Key Bridge and eventually removing the rest of the bridge debris from the waterway. At a news conference Friday, Gov. Wes Moore (D) gave no timeline and called the effort “a remarkably complicated situation.”
The powerful floating crane, called the Chesapeake 1000, can lift 1,000 tons and is one of four heavy-lift cranes that will help with extraction efforts, Moore said. Other equipment will include seven floating cranes, 10 tug boats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats.
Adam Ortiz, the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic regional administrator, said Friday that officials are monitoring the Patapsco River for any sign of pollution, but at the moment “there is no indication of active releases from the vessel nor of the presence of materials that are hazardous to human health in the water.”
Moore said he will ask state lawmakers to create a scholarship fund for the children of those who died in the bridge collapse. The bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, were recovered Wednesday. Four others, including Miguel Luna and Maynor Suazo Sandoval, are still missing and presumed dead. Two people were rescued.
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