Containership Dali, which in March hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing its complete collapse and the loss of six lives of maintenance workers who were on the bridge at the time, is preparing to leave its repair yard in Norfolk, Virginia some time during the next few weeks and head to China, according to filings made in a federal court, reported by the Baltimore Sun.
Before the vessel departs, the US Department of Justice will “perform inspections and testing” on the Dali it said in a court filing. The testing started on September 5th and could run through to September 14th. The DOJ did not describe the nature of the tests and inspections that it was planning.
There were reports that the DOJ would be seeking court claims which could involve the recovery costs of clearing the Baltimore channel and/or the cost of replacing the bridge, which is scheduled to be back in full operation by 2028
Maryland last month awarded a $73million contract to construction company Kiewit for the first phase of the replacement project which has ultimately been projected to cost between $1.6 to $1.8 billion. A new bridge will be in place by 2028.
All the containers on the damaged vessel were offloaded in Norfolk, Viriginia, by late August. A court filing reports that the vessel is looking to leave for China on September 17th. The DOJ said that it would inform the court if any issues arose with it completing its inspections by that date.
Currently the court has a September 24th deadline for the filing of claims. However, the Baltimore Sun reported seeing an email in which the cargo owners were asking the court to extend the deadline to January 24th 2025. The cargo owners were reported to be arguing that the boxes were still in transit and might not reach the owners before the September deadline. The cargo aboard at the time of the incident has been valued at about $42m, according to reports.
Several claims have also been filed for other compensations, including on behalf of the City of Baltimore. Meanwhile, businesses in Baltimore are seeking claims for interference with their operations and lost revenues as a result of the collapse of the bridge.
When the Dali arrives in the Far East it is likely to undergo extensive repairs, including adding a new bow to the ship.