The most dramatic step yet to free the Dali cargo ship from under the remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is expected to take place Sunday.
On Tuesday, 11 News Investigates broke the news that Unified Command plans to use explosives to remove the steel beams off the ship, and that the crew members will remain on board during the detonation.
Demolition crews are set to use a technique called precision cutting in the process to remove steel beams off the ship.
Earlier this week, Unified Command explained to 11 News Investigates that it’s using controlled demolition because of the sheer size and weight of the remaining bridge truss. The steel truss resting on the deck of the Dali is roughly 500 feet long, 80 feet wide and weighs 8-12 million pounds. Unified Command said in a statement that the steel frame is under a tremendous amount of pressure and tension.
Col. Estee Pinchasin, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, explained how the precision cuts will result in a poof of smoke with a sound similar to loud thunder. She said those watching will be surprised by how anticlimatic the process will look.
“There is not going to be a big fireball explosion, explosive type of effect. These are very discrete, highly focused pressure charges that will be cutting through the steel. What you might see are these poofs of smoke around the wreckage,” Pinchasin said.
Here’s how it works: Cuts are made in the steel beams at specific locations. Then, charges encased in a wrap similar to a large piece of tape are placed into the cuts.
“This is the most efficient way to conduct all these cuts simultaneously and allow the wreckage fall out and away from the ship,” Pinchasin said.
I WATCH: Unified Command’s simulation video explains precision cuts demolition
Recent rainy weather made preparation work slow and dangerous.
“They are very high up in buckets, and even very low waves still impact those folks who are high up with torches who are doing the pre-cutting for the locations where charges will be located,” Pinchasin said.
The charges will detonated at least 10 feet above the ship while crew members shelter in place.
“We are going to look at how the wreckage is sitting on top of the Dali, assess to see if it is secure enough, and if we need to remove any of it, we will. We have the equipment in position to make that happen,” Pinchasin said.
Even though the weight of the steel will be removed from the ship, the Dali will remain stable on the bottom of the Patapsco River for a few days. The U.S. Coast Guard wants to refloat the ship safely on their terms, and not Mother Nature’s.
“I think, from a safety standpoint and environmental protection standpoint, having the vessel violently surge up is not in the best interest of safety or protection of other debris falling off the vessel,” said Baxter Smoak, the U.S. Coast Guard’s chief of operations for the Key Bridge response.
A Baltimore-based company that managed the controlled demolition of the former Tappan Zee Bridge in Tarrytown, New York, is working as a subcontractor to remove steel beams of the Key Bridge off of the Dali.
Authorities said the same technique was used in March 2023 on the Gov. Harry W. Nice Bridge demolition in Charles County.
