Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images News
US rescuers on Saturday began crane operations and debris removal on a section of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore, Maryland.
Earlier this week, early Tuesday morning, the bridge collapsed after a container ship rented of Maersk (OTCPK:AMKBF) (OTCPK:AMKBY) collided with one of its pillars. The crash left several people missing, six of whom were presumed dead by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The wreck removal operations are conducted by the so-called Unified Command, which is a response team that includes the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Transportation Authority.
“Highly trained demolition crews will begin cutting the top of the north side of the collapsed bridge into smaller sections for safe removal by crane. A crane barge and a working barge are present on the incident to support Saturday’s operations,” he the Unified Command said in a statement.
“Rescue teams will use gas cutters to systematically separate the steel bridge sections, which will be taken to a disposal site,” the Unified Command added.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge serves as the entrance to the Port of Baltimore, which is not operational until further notice. It is the largest port in the United States by volume of automobiles and light trucks, heavy agricultural and construction machinery, imported sugar, and imported gypsum.
While analysts have said the port closure is unlikely to have major effects on the U.S. economy, the sheer volume of the port makes it very important in the supply chain. Shipping companies were forced to change their routes and divert to other ports.
“It will take time to free this section from the collapse. It won’t take hours, it won’t take days, but once this phase of the work is complete, we will be able to move more tugboats, more barges and more boats into the area to speed up our economy,” Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference Saturday.
“It’s not just about Maryland. It’s about our nation’s economy. The port handles more automobiles and more farm equipment than any other port in this country, and at least 8,000 workers on the docks have jobs that have been directly affected by this collapse. Our economy depends on the Port of Baltimore and the Port of Baltimore depends on ship traffic,” Moore added.