US Navy Barges, Vessels and a Massive Crane for Baltimore

The United States Navy has sent barges and vessels to the port of Baltimore to remove much of the Francis Scott Key Bridge debris that collapsed in Maryland.  The biggest crane on the East Coast is coming to help lift up to 4,000 tons of a Baltimore bridge dangling from a cargo ship.  The cargo ship that is about the length of three football fields, has as many as 4,000 tons of steel frame hanging on its bow since the ship plowed into the Key Bridge, sending a crew of construction workers plunging to the frigid water below.  The collapse of the bridge early this past Tuesday morning caused by the collision of a freight ship against one of its pillars has caused a blockade of the strategic port of Baltimore for an indefinite period of time.  This closure is caused in part by the accumulation of debris in the Patapsco River, which prevents safe navigation.  Additionally, six workers carrying out repairs on the bridge died in the collapse, of which only two bodies have been recovered.  Divers cannot operate safely due to bad weather and the large amount of debris in the river.

One of the most striking things about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse is that the six road workers who plunged to their deaths early Tuesday morning were all immigrants from Central America. A number of the federal, state and local leaders who have been overseeing the rescue and recovery efforts have been quick to point this out.  “It’s a solemn reminder of the contributions and sacrifices that our immigrant community makes in our state and in our country.”  At the news conference, a few words of solidarity and sympathy to the workers’ families was spoken in Spanish for about 2 minutes, offering assurances to the victims’ families that the government will try to take care of them.

“These men chose Maryland as their home — they lived here, they worked here, their families lived here,” she said. “They represent what makes our country great. They contribute to the very fabric of what it means to be a Marylander.”  Only two of the six highway workers, who were on the bridge patching potholes when the giant container ship ran into the structure, have been found.  Two bodies were recovered from a submerged pickup truck on Wednesday morning.  State authorities identified the deceased workers as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk. 

At this point, the immigration status of the six workers — whether they were in this country legally or were undocumented — is not known. They were from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.  Republican, Del. Ric Metzgar, whose Baltimore County district includes Dundalk, the community at the northern end of the Key Bridge span, where many Central Americans have settled for the proximity to blue collar jobs, said he wished immigrants could have a quick path to citizenship.  “They’re hard workers,” he said. “Let’s be honest — they do the work that we don’t want to do.”