MARYLAND- The Captain of the Port (COTP) established a temporary alternative channel on the northeast side of the main channel in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge for commercially essential ships. This comes after the bridge over the Patapsco River collapsed just under a week ago.
“This marks an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore.” said Captain David O’Connell, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, “By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore.”
No boat or person will be permitted to enter the safety zone without obtaining permission from the COTP or a designated representative. Courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters and U.S. Coast Guard.
This is the next phase toward opening the main channel. The temporary channel is marked with government-lighted aids to navigation and has a controlling depth of 11 feet, a 264-foot horizontal clearance and vertical clearance of 95 feet, according to the Unified Command. The current 2,000-yard safety zone around the Francis Scott Key Bridge remains in effect.
No boat or person will be permitted to enter the safety zone without obtaining permission from the COTP or a designated representative. Those in the safety zone must comply with all lawful orders or directions given to them by the COTP or designated representative said the Unified Command.
Updates like this can be found here.