Recovery efforts at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse reached a “critical step” on Sunday as crews began removing shipping containers from the vessel Dali.

Removal will allow them to access a key portion of the roadway, now perched above the containers on board the 980-foot, Singapore-flagged ship when it lost power and struck the bridge on March 26.

“Removing containers allows for safe access to then remove the pieces of the Key Bridge that lie across the ship’s bow,…