—The Carmen is carrying autos and heavy vehicles and headed for Manzanillo, Mexico, said David Hopkins, a Wallenius spokesman on Thursday. Last year, the shipping line made more than 150 port calls in Baltimore.

“We are currently assessing the practicality and viability of our vessels entering the port during the current limited window,” Hopkins said.

—The five ships slated for departure from the port all require less draft than the 38 feet that the newly opening channel offers. The Saimaagracht needs nearly 35 feet, but only when fully loaded. The Phatra Naree needs 33.5 feet when loaded; the Palanca Rio needs as many as 29 feet; and the Balsa 94 needs just 22 feet.

—The newest channel is available along with three other temporary channels, with depths of 11, 14 and 20 feet. The new channel will be marked with lighted aids and limited to transit at the discretion of the Coast Guard’s Captain of the Port based on weather conditions.

—Vessels must be operated by a Maryland State pilot and escorted by two tugboats at speeds at or below 5 knots because of the channel’s proximity to the grounded Dali. Ships with more than 60,000 long tons of displacement will most likely not be allowed through the channel.

—After shutting down next week, the 38-foot channel will not reopen until around May 10, to allow salvage crews to begin lifting steel off the Dali and using a hydraulic grabber to clear debris from the harbor’s main 50-foot shipping channel. The Army Corps of Engineers expects to reopen the Port of Baltimore’s permanent 700-foot wide, 50-foot deep channel by the end of May.

—The first three temporary channels have been in use by smaller vessels and barges. Domino Sugar, which has a refinery on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore’s Locust Point, posted on Facebook that the sugar barge Jonathan, which regularly delivers shipments of raw sugar to the refinery, returned Wednesday using the 20-foot navigation channel.

“Thank you to the Coast Guard and the entire Unified Command who made this possible,” the manufacturer said in its post.

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(Baltimore Sun reporters Angela Roberts and Dan Belson and photographer Jerry Jackson contributed to this article.)

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