PC 462

The news is that the 35 foot channel will open to traffic on Thursday! I have been amazed with the steady and rapid progress that has been made. When I first saw the wreckage after the collapse, I was wondering if it would be cleared before my cruise in SEPTEMBER!! Simply wonderful and incredible.

The third channel is 20 feet deep and the Pride has a draft of 25 feet, Baltimore won't be an option until the 35 foot channel is opened, possibly at the end of the month of April. Carnival might wait until the main 50 foot deep channel is opened towards the end of May. Hope everyone enjoys the cruise on the 28th! Wish I was going!!

Carnival Pride has a draft of 25 feet. A third channel was opened today with a depth of 20 feet, so we aren't there yet. It is still planned to have a 35-foot channel opened by the end of April, with the full 50-foot channel re-opened by the end of May. If the 35-foot channel is opened, and if Carnival will run through with 10 feet to spare under the hull, then the April 28 and later cruises may leave from Baltimore. If they won't chance the 35-foot channel, it's not likely. A large part of the steel bridge and the concrete roadway are still on the bow of the container ship, and two bodies have yet to be recovered.

Four days later and they're cutting and lifting the northern section. That's quicker than I expected. The idea is to clear a smaller channel (not the main channel) to allow smaller vessels to get into position to work on removing the metal on the ship and in the main channel.

This is true. I have been driving over the Key Bridge when a vessel was passing underneath and would never have been able to see it being off course, unless it was way, way, way off course. Also, the workers were on the side of the bridge away from the approaching vessel, so there would have been no way for them to see it coming. A ship passing under the bridge may have seemed routine to them, and no special cause for concern, or even interest.

I just found this news. The cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was carrying dozens of hazardous material containers, some of which were breached during the collapse, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced Wednesday. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy on Wednesday said the agency was able to obtain the cargo manifest of the ship, named Dali, which was on its way to Sri Lanka when it smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore overnight Tuesday. She said one of the NTSB senior hazmat investigators identified “56 containers of hazardous materials” on Dali, a 985-foot-long vessel. “That’s 764 tons of hazardous materials — mostly corrosives, flammables and some miscellaneous hazardous materials, class nine hazardous materials which would include lithium-ion batters,” Homendy said during a Wednesday press conference. “Some of the hazmat containers were breached.”

Also, Governor Moore spoke with one of the two survivors of the collapse, who told him that a first responder was able to verbally tell him to get off the bridge. The officer was holding traffic and could not leave his post to drive up and warn the other workers.

From your post to God's ears (or eyes!).

I'm booked on the September 22 Pride cruise to Bermuda. All we can do is wait and see.

That is correct. Whether it takes over in Baltimore or Norfolk........

I don’t know. I’m booked for a September departure. From the looks of the channel, I’m expecting to leave from Norfolk. I hope not, but it doesn’t look promising.

That is true. But both of the spans of the Bay Bridge from Annapolis to the Eastern Shore are older than the Key Bridge. One day they will be replaced. In fact, Maryland already has approval for a third span. I hope that higher bridges will be built in the fullness of time.

I would sometimes commute over the Key Bridge, instead of either tunnel, or through downtown Baltimore. It was a longer trip for me, but it was BEAUTIFUL! The clearing of the channel will tell us how seriously the powers that be take the importance of the maritime industry. The port infrastructure needs upgrading. Like the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, which resulted in the rebuilding of downtown with safer modern buildings, water, and sewer, this tragedy could result in the rebuilding of a safer bridge; maybe even a higher bridge that would allow for larger modern cruise ships to access Baltimore.

I mean, it is gone. Completely gone! There are people in the water from cars and trucks on the Bridge. Search and rescue is underway.

Video shows moment a Baltimore bridge collapses after ship collision | CNN

"The entire bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River," said Kevin Cartwright , the director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department.

Unbelievable! I've passed under it many times on Carnival Legend and Carnival Pride.

Still tied up.

If you like snorkeling, the ABC islands are great for that.

Leaving Baltimore there is a wonderful view of Fort McHenry as well as NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship.

My first cruise in 1973 was a day trip from Baltimore to Annapolis on the old Port Welcome. Just a bit smaller than Vision of the Seas, but still a good time.

I noticed Vision of the Seas left Baltimore, met with a pilot boat from Annapolis, and is now anchored east of Annapolis and south of the Bay Bridge. Does anyone know why? It is unusual.

So Greenland looks good. However,

Legend is docked now. Since embarkation is delayed one hour, I suppose departure will also be delayed.