VIDEO: First commercial vessel transits new fourth Baltimore temporary channel

Balsa 91 transits the Fort McHenry Channel [Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visual Information Specialist Christopher Rosario]

Efforts to get the Port of Baltimore up and running again are making progress. According to Coast Guard Sector Maryland, the status of the port is now “Open with Restrictions.” A new, fourth, Baltimore temporary channel to the port, the Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel, is now open and imagery released yesterday showed the first ship transiting the new limited access deep draft channel: the 2013-built. 7,746 dwt Panama-flagged general cargo ship Balsa 91.

This new fourth Baltimore temporary channel has a controlling depth of a minimum of 35 feet, a 300-foot horizontal clearance, and a vertical clearance of 214 feet.

Progress also seems to being made in efforts to remove the vessel whose strike on the Francis Scott Key Bridge caused it to collapse. The Key Bridge Response unified command says that “starting Monday, April 29, operations to remove the M/V Dali will require suspension of transits through the Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel. Once deemed safe, the channel will reopen for commercial traffic.”

“We’re working to strike a balance between enabling temporary access to support commercial activity and undertaking necessary measures to fully reopen the Fort McHenry Channel,” said U.S. Coast Guard Capt. David O’Connell, Captain of the Port and Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Key Bridge Response 2024. “This limited access deep draft channel will provide a window for five of the deep draft vessels currently unable to depart the port as well as some smaller deep draft vessels to transit. Meanwhile, the Unified Command personnel continue to work full speed ahead to safely and efficiently finish operations.”

The current 2,000-yard safety zone around the Francis Scott Key Bridge remains in effect and is intended to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment. No vessel or person will be permitted to enter the safety zone without obtaining permission from the COTP or a designated representative.

Here is the latest MSIB on the new fourth Baltimore temporary channel.