The authorities leading
the recovery operation in Baltimore have declined comments on the timeline for
the next steps including the removal of the Dali only saying
that systematic preparations were underway and that they remain on target to
open the full channel by the end of the month.
The Baltimore Sun newspaper however is
reporting that it obtained an email showing the vessel will be moved to the
dock on or about Tuesday, May 14, and handed over to investigators.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the vessel will be moved to the Seagirt Marine
Terminal in the effort to reopen the channel. William Doyle, chief executive of
the Dredging Contractors of America reports dredgers will be standing by in
case they need to remove mud to free the Dali.
The Baltimore Sun
reports that lawyers and investigators involved in the various lawsuits
including one from the City of Baltimore have been told they can schedule
visits to the ship after the NTSB. The
newspaper reports there will be two groups taken aboard with the vessel
available starting May 20. They are being warned that the bow areas
of the vessel may not be accessible as the recovery operation will still be
underway.
It is unclear if the
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) plans to return to the ship….. The paper
says the law was passed after a series of steamboat accidents but was invoked
as recently as the 2019 dive boat Conception case where a fire killed 34 people
off the coast of California.
The U.S. House of
Representative's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has also
scheduled a hearing for May 15 to discuss the federal response to the bridge
collapse. They have scheduled witnesses from the U.S. Coast Guard, Army
Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration and the NTSB.
With the sections of
the bridge removed from the Dali and then the vessel removed
from the area, Doyle says dredgers are prepared to complete the task of
restoring the channel. Salvage crews will continue to remove the debris from
the bridge while this week they recovered the body of the last of the six
missing workers from the road crew.
The Port of Baltimore told The Wall Street Journal
that it already has requests from about 20 vessels expected at the port in the
week following the reopening of the channel. They reported that containerships, car carriers,
and bulkers are all scheduling return visits to the port. Two cruise ships that
are also scheduled to be sailing from the port are expected to switch back from
temporary operations from Norfolk.
Update: The Unified Command reports the
controlled demolition has been delayed till Sunday late afternoon due to
weather concerns. After that they plan
an inspection of the Dali and possibly dredging before the vessel can be
removed to the Baltimore berth