Maryland governor and officials speak on bridge collapse operation
(NBC) - Maryland Governor Wes Moore and others held a news conference Friday to discuss the latest in the operation to remove the bridge wreckage and reopen the port.
He laid out the plan of action and made it clear he was focused on getting the port reopened quickly and safely.
Moore also spoke about the victims of this tragedy.
"On our recovery efforts, as I mentioned yesterday, we need to do more work clearing the channel to move forward. This is a remarkably complex operation, and our focus needs to be on unity of command and unity of effort," stated Governor Moore (D-Maryland).
"Col. Butler, the Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, discussed the conditions in the water makes it unsafe for divers. But as soon as those conditions change, his divers will go back in the water," explained Governor Moore.
"To go out there and to see it up close you realize just how daunting a task this is. You realize how difficult the work is ahead of us. With a salvage operation this complex and frankly with a salvage operation this unprecedented, you need to plan for every single moment, and every time you take action to move a piece of wreckage, you understand that that requires you to reassess the situation," Governor Moore explained.
"And I've been informed by the US Navy, that they are supplying us with four heavy lift cranes. Two have already arrived. One arrives tonight and the fourth is arriving on Monday. One of the cranes is called the Chesapeake 1000. And it can lift about 1000 tons. But the big part and one of the challenges is that the key bridge which sits on top of the vessel right now that that weight is somewhere between three and four-thousand tons," continued Governor Moore.
"So in the coming weeks, we expect to have the following entities inside of the water. Seven floating cranes, 10 tugs, nine barges, eight salvage vessels, and five coast guard boats," stated Governor Moore.
"We also need to ensure that we pass legislation to support the families and the victims of the bridge collapse and everyone else who has been affected by this emergency. I'll be proposing the creation of a permanent state scholarship for the children of surviving spouses of transportation workers who lost their lives on this job," continued Governor Moore.
"Our number one priority of the unified command is to reopen the port of Baltimore. And to do that we've broken that into three phases. Number one phase is reopen the shipping channel. Number two is remove the ship. And number three is to remove the debris from the bridge from the rest of the waterway. We're beginning to make progress on those phases," explained Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath, U.S. Coast Guard.
"And they're all working diligently to figure out that right plan to be able to break that bridge up into the right sized pieces that we can lift," continued Rear Admiral Gilreath.
"Now I want to just say to the 8,000 dock workers out there, we know you're there. We're going to find a way to get you back to work. And we want to find a way also to increase the ability for people to realize that this affects supply chains all over the country. As the governor said it is happening here but it is an American story," stated U.S. Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D-Maryland).
"So I can tell you I'm… We're focusing on moving speedily and getting it done quickly. I want this done quickly. I want it done right. We're committed to getting it done and you can bet on it. We are going to get this done. But this is going to be a long road," explained Governor Moore.
