Containers being removed from ship that struck Baltimore bridge

The Unified Command, the group in charge of the Baltimore bridge collapse wreckage, began removing containers from the cargo ship on Sunday, officials announced.

The purpose of removing the containers on the ship, known as the M/V Dali, is to create access to the part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that fell on top of the ship when it collapsed, according to the Unified Command.

Unified Command, which includes the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland State Police and Witt O’Brien’s representing Synergy Marine, said it will remove the containers this coming week, weather permitting.

Over the weekend, the Unified Command continued to remove wreckage from the site to help increase the channel to allow more container ships through.

"The Unified Command is concurrently progressing on its main lines of effort to remove enough debris to open the channel to larger commercial traffic, refloat the M/V Dali and continue recovery efforts for missing loved ones," Coast Guard Capt. David O’Connell, federal on-scene coordinator, Unified Command, said in a statement. "Every day we are working to achieve these goals safely and efficiently."

Six construction workers were killed when a cargo ship slammed into the Baltimore bridge in the early hours of March 26, causing a near-total collapse of the span in the Port of Baltimore. The bodies of three workers have been recovered, while three others remain missing.