BALTIMORE — Four days after the devastating collapse of the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge, the cargo ship that hit the bridge remains unmoved in the Fort McHenry Channel. But cleanup efforts continue Saturday, in what Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called a "round-the-clock operation," with the first lift of debris scheduled to be complete by the end of the day.
Moore clarified at an afternoon press conference that it would not be the piece of wreckage currently laying on top of the Dali that would be moved Saturday, and said he didn't currently have a timeline for when that would happen.
Instead, the governor said he is continuing to focus on four priorities:
- Recovery
- Clearing the channel and opening vessel traffic to port
- Taking care of all those impacted by crisis
- Rebuilding the Key Bridge
The governor walked through the status of each directive, starting with what is being done on recovery. Moore made it clear that the channel must be cleared first before salvage operations can continue. He noted that water conditions make it unsafe for rescue divers, mostly due to the bridge debris and wreckage, along with weather and wind conditions.
"Mission first, people always will be the mindset of our work here," Gov. Moore said. "We are going to move as fast as possible while ensuring the safety of our first responders and we will not compromise one for the other."
Moore said as soon as the water conditions change, rescue divers will be back in the water. He also emphatically reminded the public that the aerial space around the bridge is a no-drone zone and told all drone pilots to stay clear of the area.
"This is not a game," the governor said. "Do not test my seriousness on this."
In his latest unified command briefing, Moore said he was assured that the hull of the Dali ship was damaged, but intact, and that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be moving forward with crane operations Saturday.
"North sections of the Key Bridge will be cut up and removed," Moore said. "This will eventually allow us to open up a temporary restricted channel that will help us get more vessels in the water around the site of the collapse."
The governor added that even with 377 people actively engaged in response operations in support of unified command, the work to clear the channel "won't take hours, it won't take days." It's a long-haul mission, Moore said.
"This is not just about Maryland," Moore said. "This is about our nation's economy. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in this country. At least 8,000 workers on the dock have jobs that have been directly affected by this collapse."
The reliance of the nation on the Port of Baltimore is one of the biggest reasons Moore said he must remain focused on taking care of all people impacted by the collapse. He announced that on Friday night the Small Business Administration accepted his request to approve a disaster declaration. Under that declaration, small businesses affected by the disaster can apply for disaster loan assistance from the federal government, with low-interest loans up to $2 million.
"They're going to help us ensure that our small businesses get the cash they need to pay their bills and keep people employed," the governor said.
All applications must be submitted online by Dec. 30, 2024
The disaster declaration also allows Maryland to apply for new federal funding to pay for services and training for impacted workers, and wage recovery, Moore said. The governor said the Maryland Department of Labor is working to get that application submitted ASAP.
Lastly, on the point of rebuilding, Moore pointed out that until the wreckage is cleared nothing can move forward.
"We will clear the wreckage, we will move the Dali, and we will rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge because we are Maryland tough and Baltimore strong," he said before tossing to other Maryland agency officials.
WATCH: Full press conference below:
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