Ship that destroyed Baltimore bridge is moved from crash site for 1st time - MASHAHER

The cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore nearly two months ago was moved from the crash site for the first time on Monday morning.

The Dali, a 984-foot container ship, had been partially blocking the entrance to one of America’s busiest ports since the March 26 collision that triggered a catastrophic collapse of the 1.6-mile-long span and killed six workers.

PHOTO: Tugboats maneuver the damaged container ship Dali through the Port of Baltimore and into the Seagirt Marine Terminal, May 20, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Francis Scott Key Bridge is seen after the cargo ship 'Dali' was moved to the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Md, May 20, 2024.<p>(Army Corps of Engineers ) — PHOTO: Francis Scott Key Bridge is seen after the cargo ship ‘Dali’ was moved to the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Md, May 20, 2024.
(Army Corps of Engineers )

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“Optimum conditions call for the transit of the DALI to commence at high tide, predicted to be Monday at 5:24 a.m.,” officials said in a statement on Sunday. “The vessel will be prepared at 2 a.m., allowing it to catch the peak high tide for a controlled transit.”

PHOTO: The damaged container ship Dali is maneuvered into the Seagirt Marine Terminal, May 20, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Officials said they expected to spend about 18 hours getting the ship ready to refloat. The process, which began on Sunday, included removing some anchors and mooring lines that had been attached to the ship after the crash.

Officials were also expecting to remove some or all of the 1.25 million gallons of water that had been pumped into the Dali to ballast the Dali during the bridge removal, according to a plan released by the Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command on Sunday.

MORE: What we know about Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

Up to five tugboats were expected to help move the ship about 2.5 miles to the local marine terminal, officials said. That trip is expected to take about 3 hours, officials said.

Crews had last week done a controlled demolition of much of the remains of the Francis Key Scott Bridge, which had been turned into a tangle of steel girders that rested on the seafloor and rose out of the water.