BALTIMORE — Since the Baltimore bridge collapse three weeks ago, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) crews from Hampton Roads have been providing help and aid.
Lt. Commander Amanda Faulkner, a spokesperson from the Unified Command overseeing the response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, said members of the USCG currently in Baltimore are stationed out of Elizabeth City, Portsmouth and Yorktown.
She said crews are working 12-hour shifts to meet the demand and help in removing debris, waterway traffic and more.
It’s the heart of the mission for more than two dozen members of the USCG.
"For us, it was definitely the lives, how many lives can we save," said Faulkner. "We have people from the area who are supporting the salvage. And people, who are in the Logistics Section, who make the incident command post runs."
Faulkner told 13News Now that the command has outlined two important dates to restore operations. A deep draft channel will allow 75% of port operations to resume by the end of April and a full reopening is scheduled for the end of May.
On Monday, the FBI launched an investigation to determine if there were signs something could be wrong with the cargo ship when the crew left port.
The response team in Baltimore has 6 groups apart of it, including the USCG, Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland Department of Environment, the state of Maryland, state police and the cargo ship.
The Unified Command is part of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). It allows different agencies with various expertise and jurisdictions to collaborate and provide a joint response.