
VIDEO: Dali refloated and relocated
Written by Nick Blenkey
Dali crew has remained on board the ship, which has been alongside at terminal since May 20 [Screengrab from WUSA9 video]
The Key Bridge Response Unified Command reports that salvors refloated and moved the M/V Dali at approximately 7 a.m., this morning. Video streamed by local media showed the Dali refloated, under tow and then alongside at the Port of Baltimore’s Dundalk Marine terminal, still with a portion of highway across its bow.
The whole operation appears to have gone completely according to a plan details of which were released Saturday.

That plan said that optimum conditions called for the transit of the Dali to commence at high tide, predicted to be Monday at 5:24 a.m. The vessel was to be prepared at 2.00 a.m., allowing the Dali to catch the peak high tide for a controlled transit.
The entire sequence of getting the Dali refloated (prior to high-tide transit) was set to begin roughly 18 hours beforehand, starting midday on Sunday.
Example checklist items in this 18-hour countdown included:
- Release of some of the anchors and mooring lines currently attached to the M/V Dali (nearby tugboats on standby).
- De-ballasting of part or all of the 1.25 million gallons of water pumped onto the M/V Dali, to compensate for the weight removed during the May 13 precision cutting.
- Detailed inspections confirming all obstructions have been removed on the left (port) side of the M/V Dali by Unified Command dive survey teams.
With the Dali refloated and removed, the way is now open to move ahead on clearing the remainder of the 700-foot-wide Fort McHenry Federal Channel, Nearly 50% of the had already been cleared to an operational depth of 48 feet before the controlled demolition. The federal channel is expected to be fully capable of supporting all commercial vessels in and out of the Port of Baltimore to a minimum operational depth of 50 feet in the weeks ahead.
The removal of the Dali closes one chapter of the story that began March 26, when the giant ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, initiating its collapse. However, attention is now likely to focus on the limitation of liability lawsuit filed by the vessel’s owner, and challenged by the City of Baltimore. Another as yet unanswered question is how long will it be until the Dali’s crewmembers are allowed off the vessel.