Dali, the cargo ship that triggered Baltimore bridge collapse, set for journey to Virginia

The ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and triggered its collapse is preparing to travel from the Port of Baltimore, where it has remained for since the bridge collapsed on March 26, to the Port of Virginia.

The United States Coast Guard said in a news release Monday it will oversee the "safe and secure voyage" of the motor vessel Dali.

During the transit, the Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish, an 87-foot Marine Protector-class patrol board homeported in Virginia Beach, will provide a 500-yard safety zone around the Dali while Coast Guard watchstanders at command centers in the Fifth Coast Guard District, in Portsmouth, Virginia, monitor the ship's movement, the Coast Guard said.

The Dali is scheduled to sail under its own power with a full crew of 22 and six salvage experts from Resolve Marine, according to the news release. Four commercial tugboats will accompany the ship and the salvage vessel Interceptor from Resolve Marine will follow closely behind.

According to the Coast Guard, the Dali is scheduled to go directly to Virginia International Gateway to have roughly 1,500 cargo containers offloaded to reduce draft. It will then transit further to Norfolk International Terminal where it is slated to undergo "continued salvage and repairs from damage caused during the bridge collapse."

Channel reopened:Baltimore channel fully reopened for transit over 2 months after Key Bridge collapse

Visual analysis:How Francis Scott Key Bridge was lost: A minute-by-minute visual analysis of the collapse

Baltimore channel fully reopened for transit

The Fort McHenry Federal Channel was restored to its original operational depth earlier this month, nearly three months after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

The channel was restored to its original dimensions of 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep after 50,000 tons of bridge wreckage was removed from the Patapsco River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced on June 10.

“We are proud of the unified efforts that fully reopened the Federal Channel to port operations,” Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, commanding general of USACE, said in a statement. “The partnerships that endured through this response made this pivotal mission successful.”

The Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command has worked to remove the destroyed Baltimore bridge since the collapse occurred on March 26, when it was hit by the Dali, killing six construction workers.

“Although the overarching goal to restore full operational capacity to the Federal Channel was successful, each day, we thought of those who lost their lives, their families, and the workers impacted by this tragic event,” Col. Estee Pinchasin, Baltimore District commander, said. “Not a day went by that we didn’t think about all of them, and that kept us going.”

Contributing: Julia Gomez, USA TODAY

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].