Signs of progress are being made towards moving cargo in and out of Baltimore

One week after the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, when a 32,000-ton cargo ship Dali rammed a bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore, causing it to collapse, the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) said today it is making progress towards resuming some port operations.

On Monday, April 1, it said that the tugboat Crystal Coast, which was pushing a fuel barge to supply fuel for the Department of Defense, transited a temporary alternate channel created by the Key Bridge Response Unified Command, making it the first vessel to use the channel since the bridge collapsed.  

“The Captain of the Port (COPT) established the temporary alternate channel near Sollers Point for commercially-essential vessels,” said MPA officials. “The temporary channel is on the northeast side of the main ship channel in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. This action is part of a phased approach to opening the main federal channel. This new temporary channel is marked with government-lighted aids to navigation. It will be limited for transit at the discretion of the COTP and during daylight hours only. This temporary channel has a controlling depth of 11 feet, a 264-foot horizontal clearance, and vertical clearance of 95 feet.”

And the MPA added on April 2 that the COPT established a second temporary alternate channel on the southwest side of the main channel near Hawkins Point and in the vicinity of the bridge for commercially essential vessels. This channel has a controlling depth of 14 feet, a 280-foot horizontal clearance, and a 214-foot vertical clearance.

“The opening of these two alternate channels and transit of critical response resources, as well as the first commercial traffic movements through the area, is a significant milestone in our response efforts,” said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Baxter Smoak, operations section chief of the Key Bridge Response 2024, in a statement. “Our number one priority remains the opening of the deep draft channel. We are simultaneously focused on opening additional routes of increased capacity as we move forward.”

Another significant effort to keep cargo moving into and out of Baltimore was announced on April 3 by Jersey City, N.J.-based Ports America, a port operator and supply chain logistics services provider.

The company said that Ports America Chesapeake, a public-private partner of the Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Port Administration (MDOT & MPA), is leveraging intermodal partnerships with CSX and Norfolk Southern at the Port of Baltimore, with dedicated rail services to divert export cargo and return Baltimore-bound imports for release.

“Our on-dock railyard at the Seagirt Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) also offers direct services and seamless connections for our customers in the face of the present crisis and is facilitating the flow of export and import cargos through the Baltimore market. Additional rail access is available via local drayage services,” said Ports America. “This week, rail service transporting freight between Baltimore to New York and New Jersey will begin to mitigate temporary service disruption. Additional services are being evaluated and will be communicated with our stakeholders as information becomes available.”