New Report Reveals Two Power Outages on Dali Cargo Ship Before Key Bridge Collision
On Tuesday, May 14, a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States revealed that the “Dali” cargo ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore had experienced two power outages before the accident.
In the early hours of March 26, the Singapore-registered “Dali” collided with the 1.6-mile-long Key Bridge, resulting in the death of six people.
The report released on Tuesday found that when the Dali was 0.6 miles from the bridge, the “main circuit breaker providing power to most equipment and lighting on board unexpectedly opened.”
The report stated: “This resulted in the initial loss of all on-board lighting and most equipment, including the main engine cooling water pump (which controls engine cooling water pressure) and the steering gear pump.”
The crew later restored “power on board the vessel,” but when the ship was 0.2 miles away from the bridge, it experienced another power outage.
Although the crew was able to restore power on board once again, they were unable to get the propulsion system back to normal.
Shortly after, the starboard bow of the Dali sailed through the 17th hole of the bridge at a speed of 6.5 knots.
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure announced in a press release last week that they will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the 15th, on the federal government’s response to the bridge collapse.
Witnesses include NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Shailen Bhatt.
The owner of the Dali is the Singaporean company Grace Ocean Private Ltd. At the time, the Dali was leased by the Danish shipping group Maersk, with the ship’s management company being Singapore-based Synergy Marine.