Temporary channel opened in Baltimore harbor to aid bridge response / Photo: Kimberly REAVES - US COAST GUARD/AFP
-
Mutual fund returns show shifting leaders across market-cap categories
-
BHEL wins Adani Power projects valued at up to ₹28,000 crore
-
IndiGo holds talks with Embraer over potential order for 100 aircraft
-
India seeks threefold increase in coal stocks to prevent summer power shortages
-
Indian companies report mixed second-quarter results on November 4
-
Indus Towers expands solar-powered network to 50,000 telecom sites
-
KKR secures Indian regulator approval for Gentari Renewables investment
-
Equitas Small Finance Bank rebounds after naming interim chief executive
-
Bharti Airtel revenue expected to grow at double-digit pace in second quarter
-
Titan quarterly profit seen rising as jewellery business drives growth
-
Indian crude-sensitive shares gain after 13% oil-price decline
-
Kuwait finance minister holds economic cooperation talks at COMCEC
-
Stocks and dollar fall as Democratic election gains reshape markets
-
Kuwait marks key events and anniversaries from national history
-
Qatar Tourism joins Pacific Asia Travel Association at London travel market
-
Qatar media bodies discuss support for humanitarian initiatives
Temporary channel opened in Baltimore harbor to aid bridge response
US authorities working on the Baltimore bridge collapse have opened the first of two small, temporary channels to let ships access the site of the incident.
These channels will initially only be open to vessels involved in the Francis Scott Key Bridge cleanup operation, and will not be big enough to allow cargo and container ships to pass through.
The first of the channels opened Monday, US Coast Guard petty officer Carmen Caver told AFP, adding it was "only for commercial vessels that are involved with the salvage."
A second temporary channel is also planned, and will be opened at a later date, another US Coast Guard official said.
The temporary lanes will be used by workers undertaking the mammoth task of clearing the harbor of the steel structure, which was destroyed in a matter of seconds last Tuesday when an out-of-control ship struck it, killing six people.
Authorities hope that removing the bridge -- by cutting it into smaller sections and lifting them out -- will help rescuers recover all the victims' bodies as well as reopen the crucial shipping lane.
On Friday, President Joe Biden is due to visit the port city, which is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Washington, the White House announced.
- No public use -
The first temporary channel will have a controlling depth of 11 feet (3.4 meters), a 264-foot horizontal clearance and vertical clearance of 96 feet, the multi-agency task force overseeing the operation said in a statement.
The temporary channel "is not big enough for any container or cargo ships to pass through," Caver told AFP, adding: "They're working on a plan to make it slowly open to more and more people."
The port of Baltimore is a key hub for the auto industry, handling almost 850,000 autos and light trucks last year -- more than any other US port -- according to Maryland state figures.
It also ranked first for farm and construction machinery, as well as imported sugar and gypsum, and second for coal exports.
The port's ongoing closure is already hitting the US economy, Maryland Governor Wes Moore told MSNBC on Sunday.
"It's impacting people all over the country," he said.
M.Davis--CPN