Key Bridge collapse

Recreational mariners will once again be allowed passage through the Key Bridge safety zone Sunday by using the temporary channel off Sollers Point, located on the northeast side of the channel off Dundalk.

The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city’s port.

A University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science researcher is raising questions about species leaving the Chesapeake Bay on the hulls of ships.

The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago.

“It’s our port, our city, our channel, our community, and when I say our, I mean everybody,” said Col. Estee Pinchasin, who commands the Baltimore District of the Army Corps of Engineers that is overseeing the collective effort to open the port.

A hydraulic salvage grab that resembles the talons of a giant bird of prey is in the process of being attached to the Chesapeake 1000 crane, another monster piece of equipment that has been an indispensable tool in the removal of thousands of tons of debris left in the Patapsco River after the Key Bridge collapsed.

Exactly four weeks after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, salvage crews removed its biggest piece of debris to date, a section of truss weighing 560 tons, clearing the way to open the deepest and widest temporary channel by the end of this week.

The Banner examines a history of ship strikes on major bridges that led to collapses — and tries to answer the question of who ends up footing the bill.

The city’s attorneys alleged in court documents that Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine Group, the owner and manager of the container ship Dali, respectively, “saw fit to put a clearly unseaworthy vessel into the water.” The companies declined immediate comment, citing the ongoing investigations.

Already stressed local truck drivers are feeling overworked and fearful after the collapse of the Key Bridge — which some said they nearly got caught up in.

Economic response and recovery plans following the Key Bridge collapse must take into account the impact on Maryland agriculture, the state’s largest industry, says Belinda Burrier, a member of the Maryland Farm Bureau Board of Directors and co-owner of Burrier’s Linganore Farm.

Mourners gathered Friday night to celebrate the life of Owings Mills resident Maynor Suazo Sandoval, who died in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

A temporary channel northeast of the main shipping lanes on the Patapsco River has been established and will provide limited access to the Port of Baltimore for commercially essential vessels, the Unified Command, which is overseeing the salvage work on the river, said Friday night.

For the second time in less than a week, recreational vessels will be allowed passage through the Key Bridge safety zone by using the temporary channel off Sollers Point, located on the northeast side of the channel off Dundalk.

Trucks have long cut through neighborhoods around the Port of Baltimore, but residents say the problem is getting worse in the wake of the Key Bridge’s collapse.

Since 2010, more than 100 ships have had engine or other mechanical troubles in the Chesapeake Bay and Patapsco River, including some perilously near the Key and Bay Bridges, a Banner investigation revealed.

The ship’s owner, Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., made what’s known in maritime law as a “general average” declaration.

Jonathan Daniels was in his seventh week on the job as executive director of the Maryland Port Administration when the Key Bridge collapsed. Now he is tasked with overseeing the growing port’s return to regular operations.

“Work zones are temporary, but actions behind the wheel can last forever,” is the message that state officials have for Maryland motorists.

Mexican officials have identified the fourth victim of the Key Bridge collapse whose body was recovered Sunday as that of Carlos Daniel Hernández.