The cargo ship Dali left Baltimore for Virginia on Sunday, nearly three months after it crashed and lost power, causing the bridge to collapse.
The 984-foot Dali began moving with four tugboats shortly before 8:30 am.
In a press release, the U.S. Coast Guard stated that the Dali was sailing independently with a crew of 22 people and six salvage experts.
The Coast Guard supervises the trip and provides a 500-yard zone of safety around the Dali while it is on its journey.
The Coast Guard stated that the Dali will go directly to Virginia International Gateway and unload approximately 1,500 cargo containers to reduce draft. The vessel will then travel to Norfolk International Terminal where it will undergo further salvage and repairs for damage caused by the bridge collapse.
Six construction workers were killed when the ship lost propulsion shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore on March 26.
On May 20, the Dali refloated was guided back to port. The vessel was stuck in the wreckage of the Baltimore Bridge collapse for almost two months. A massive steel truss was draped across it damaged bow.
In an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the ship had two power outages just hours before it left Baltimore. The ship lost power moments before it collapsed and went off course. The agency is still investigating the cause of the electrical failures.
The FBI has also launched a criminal probe.
According to an agreement that was confirmed by a federal court judge last week, members of the Dali crew were allowed home. Since the crash, none of the crew members were able to leave the U.S. The agreement stipulates that the crew members may return home, but they must be available to take depositions.
The collapse has affected the jobs of thousands of longshoremen and truckers, as well as small business owners. Local and state officials have prioritized reopening and restoring the port’s traffic to normal capacity, in order to reduce the ripple effects.
In the first week of this month, the Fort McHenry Federal Channel was reopened after the wreckage had been removed from the 700 foot wide by 50 foot deep channel.
Officials have stated that they hope to rebuild this bridge by 2028.