Baltimore(CNN) —After being stuck in the Patapsco River for 55 days, the Dali cargo ship has finally been removed from the site of its crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. This significant step is crucial for the full reopening of the busy Port of Baltimore. According to a news release from the Unified Command, a joint task force comprising multiple government agencies, the ship's removal will now permit "all pre-collapse deep-draft commercial vessels to enter and exit the Port of Baltimore."


The temporary federal channel, currently planned to be 400 feet wide and 50 feet deep, will soon be available for use, facilitating vessel movement. Additionally, officials aim to open a permanent federal navigation channel measuring 700 feet wide by 50 feet deep by the end of the month.


“This marks the resumption of commercial vessel transits in and out of the Port of Baltimore,” the task force stated on Monday. “This truly signifies the next chapter in restoring waterway commerce in this region, which also serves as the economic engine for thousands of workers and their families who depend on commerce traveling through the Port of Baltimore.”


Officials reported that several tugboats began moving the 106,000-ton vessel around 7 a.m. on Monday. The ship traveled at approximately 1 mph to the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore.


By late Monday morning, the Dali was docked at the Seagirt Marine Terminal, the same spot from which it departed on its ill-fated voyage nearly eight weeks ago. Officials stated that the ship will undergo necessary temporary fixes at the terminal before permanent repairs are made. Meanwhile, crews will continue to remove any remaining bridge wreckage from the crash site until the channel is fully reopened.


“We have refloated and moved the Dali – achieving in weeks what many thought would take months,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said on X. “But our work isn’t done. We must continue to clear the full 700-foot federal channel, support the workers, businesses, and families affected by the collapse, and rebuild the Key Bridge.”


President Joe Biden called the removal a “mark of progress and a promise kept.”