First vessel uses alternate channel to bypass Baltimore bridge wreckage

A section of the damaged and collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

A tugboat pushing a fuel barge was the first vessel to use an alternate channel to bypass the wreckage of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which had blocked traffic along the vital port’s main shipping channel.

The barge supplying jet fuel to the Department of Defence left late on Monday and was destined for Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base, though officials have said the temporary channel is open primarily to vessels that are helping with the cleanup effort.