The Coast Guard is meticulously allowing vessels to return to port following the Baltimore bridge collapse for the cleanup operation.

• The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse has led to the reopening of the shipping channel in Baltimore, allowing commercial ships to remove debris.
• Strict vessel limits are being enforced by the Coast Guard on a case-by-case basis for each ship.
• The Port of Baltimore is still closed to containership traffic, and ocean carriers emphasized that containerships were not involved in the recent activity.

The Coast Guard has announced that the new channel being established in the southwest channel of the Port of Baltimore will only allow commercial vessels to enter if they have been cleared by the Coast Guard in the removal of debris.

"Carmen Caver, Coast Guard spokesperson, stated that the vessels will be determined on a case-by-case basis and are general work boats, not large containerships."

The new channel will only allow commercial vessels that are 96 feet long, significantly smaller than the 284-foot-long Dali, which caused damage to the Francis Scott Key Bridge after losing control and destroying a crucial piece of infrastructure.

The new ship channel will only allow vessels to pass through if their draft is sufficient to prevent the boat's bottom from touching the water.

The Coast Guard has set a draft of 10 feet for select commercial work vessels assisting in the removal of Key Bridge debris. In contrast, cruise ships have a draft of 22-26 feet, while the Dali and larger "mega ships" carrying over 20,000 containers have a draft of 52 feet.

Since January 2022, there have been nearly 1,000 containership arrivals at Baltimore port, with an average TEU of 7,039, according to Nikos Pothitakis, spokesman for Kpler. The largest container ship to visit the port during this time was the Ever Max, which made two visits in 2023 and one in early 2024.

Major ocean freight companies have clarified that the debris removal effort is not related to typical commercial ship traffic. In a client update, Maersk stated that the "controlling depth of 11 feet" of the alternate channel would not be sufficient to accommodate the oceangoing container vessels used by Maersk and other carriers to call upon Baltimore and other U.S. East coast ports. Maersk, an integrated carrier that chartered the Dali, has continued to service diverted clients' containers, while competitors have declared they are terminating container pickup services at diverted ports.

Aaron Roth, a retired Coast Guard captain and Chertoff Group principal, tells CNBC that although he cannot predict when the channel will be clear for containerships, the creation of the channel is crucial for ensuring safe navigation for work vessels around the Dali.

The assessment of the extent of debris underwater and the area of damage is ongoing, and will impact the timeline for the safe movement of containerships and bulk vessels in the channel.

One sign will indicate when the channel is ready to launch, according to Roth.

"When the Dali is moved away from the port, you'll know the channel is ready to open," Roth said. "Until then, like with the Red Sea, the system will adjust and the economy will absorb it," he added.