US Aiming to Resume Normal Baltimore Port Operations by End of May
The U.S. hopes to open a “limited access channel” to the Port of Baltimore by the end of April and to fully reopen the channel by the end of May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said April 4. The limited channel would be 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep, the Corps of Engineers said, and would “support one-way traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore” following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month (see 2403260047).
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The channel would serve “barge container service and some roll on/roll off vessels that move automobiles and farm equipment to and from the port,” the Corps said. Army engineers are “aiming to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel by the end of May.”
The White House on April 8 said its National Economic Council brought together members of the auto, energy, chemical and industrial sectors last week to discuss ways the U.S. can “mitigate supply chain impacts stemming” from the bridge collapse. Auto companies reported “minimal impacts to operations, largely attributed to successful diversion of their cargo to other ports,” the White House said. “Auto sector representatives emphasized the importance of monitoring capacity at alternative East Coast ports, increasing trucking capacity to facilitate moving vehicles back to the Baltimore area in a timely manner, and ensuring the port returns to full operational capacity as soon as possible.”
Industry officials working in the energy, chemical and industrial sectors “also reported minimal supply chain impacts at this time.”