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FEATURE INTERVIEW | RESOLVE MARINE & JOEY FARRELL III hen the container ship M/V Dali struck and brought down a section of the Francis Scott Key

SALVAGING M/V DALI

W Bridge in the Port of Baltimore, salvaging the ship was only a part of the problem: Clearing the path of a & REOPENING THE vital trade artery, a trade artery key to national commerce and local employment, was central to the effort.

PORT OF BALTIMORE “The objective wasn’t just dealing with the ship, it was re- opening a critical shipping channel as safely and quickly as possible,” said Farrell. “That meant focusing ? rst on debris removal and navigational access, even while the vessel itself remained constrained.”

No small task considering that this accident involved loss of life and infrastructure, with a scale, visibility and national economic implications that arguably made it one of the most complex maritime casualties ever handled in U.S. waters.

“This was not a traditional salvage case. The scale of the bridge debris, the vessel, and the national importance of reopening the

Port of Baltimore meant every decision had to be engineered, se- quenced, and executed with zero margin for error,” said Farrell.

Resolve Marine was mobilized as part of the uni? ed re- sponse to support wreck removal and channel clearance ef- forts, working alongside federal authorities, engineers, and

Courtesy Resolve Marine other salvage and construction contractors under a complex incident command structure. as quickly and safely as possible, even before ? nal disposition

From the outset, the challenge was not limited to re? oating of the vessel. That meant: or removing a vessel. The DALI was pinned amid massive • Clearing debris to establish temporary and then bridge debris, with thousands of tons of steel truss material permanent channels resting on and around the hull, across the federal navigation • Coordinating lift operations to avoid recontamination channel. Any misstep risked secondary collapse, further ob- of cleared areas struction, or environmental harm. Resolve’s contribution cen- • Working in parallel with dredging and survey teams tered on its core strengths: to certify depths and safe transit corridors • Heavy marine response capability This approach re? ects a broader evolution in modern sal- • Engineering-driven salvage planning vage: success is measured not only by what is removed, but by • Rapid mobilization of specialized vessels, barges, how quickly critical maritime commerce can resume.

and personnel • Experience operating within multi-agency

SALVAGE IN THE PUBLIC EYE command frameworks The maritime industry is largely “out of sight and out of

One of the de? ning characteristics of the DALI response mind” to the general public, that is until something goes terri- was the emphasis on engineering-led sequencing. Before ma- bly wrong. In the case of the M/V Dali, things went spectacu- jor cuts were made or large sections lifted, teams conducted larly wrong, and the incident underscored how salvage has extensive modeling and analysis to determine load paths, sta- changed in a world of instant visibility. Every major decision bility risks, and safe removal sequences. — cutting, lifting, re? oating — was executed under intense

Resolve Marine personnel were involved in planning and scrutiny from regulators, media, and the public.

executing operations that balanced: For Resolve Marine, the Baltimore response highlighted • Structural stability of the remaining bridge debris the importance of preparation long before an incident occurs: • Vessel integrity and residual stresses on the DALI hull trained crews, pre-positioned assets, established relationships • Clearance requirements for phased reopening of the channel with authorities, and the ability to integrate seamlessly into a • Environmental protection and debris containment large, multi-contractor response.

“Before you move anything in a job like DALI, you have to “Salvage today happens in real time, under a microscope,” said understand exactly what loads are being transferred and where Farrell. “You’re working alongside federal agencies, regulators, the risks are. Engineering drove every step of this operation.” and multiple contractors, all while the public is watching. Prepa-

A key operational priority was restoring navigational access ration and coordination matter just as much as horsepower.” www.marinelink.com 45

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