Maritime terminal prepares for influx of redirected ships as the Baltimore bridge cleanup continues

BALTIMORE (AP) — The only maritime shipping terminal currently operating in the Port of Baltimore is preparing to process an influx of redirected ships as crews continue clearing the mangled wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Tradepoint Atlantic will unload and process an estimated 10,000 vehicles over the next 15 days, according to a statement from the company. That includes six regularly scheduled ships and nine that have been redirected since the deadly bridge collapse blocked access to the port’s main terminals, which remains closed to traffic in a logistical nightmare for shipping along the East Coast.

Crews opened a second temporary channel through the collapse site Tuesday, but it’s too shallow for most commercial vessels to pass through. The two existing channels are meant primarily for vessels involved in the cleanup effort, which began last week. Work continues to open a third channel that will allow larger vessels to pass through the bottleneck and restore more commercial activity, officials said.

Tradepoint Atlantic will also store and process the steel pieces of the bridge as they’re removed from the Patapsco River — a salvage operation that officials have described as incredibly challenging from an engineering and safety perspective.