According to a preliminary report released on Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the shipping vessel involved in the collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March had experienced two power blackouts while docked, a mere 10 hours before the incident occurred.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the ship experienced two power losses while it was in port and two additional power failures just before the crash. These power failures resulted in the shutdown of the ship’s main propulsion system. Unfortunately, the crew was unable to restore propulsion before the ship collided with the bridge.
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- 1 Blackouts before departure
- 2 Blackouts hit moments before the crash
- 3 Recovery, investigation continue
According to federal investigators, the fuel tests did not reveal any irregularities. As a result, their attention has now shifted to investigating the ship’s electrical system.
Blackouts before departure
On March 25, the M/V Dali, a ship based in Sri Lanka, encountered two blackouts while undergoing maintenance at the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore Harbor, according to the report.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a crew member accidentally closed an inline engine exhaust damper for one of the ship’s four diesel generators. As a result, the engine’s exhaust gases were blocked from exiting the vessel, leading to the engine stalling and the diesel generators ceasing to function.
According to the NTSB report, when the Dali’s systems detected the power loss, another generator was activated.
According to the NTSB, the first generator was successfully restored by the crew. Unfortunately, a second blackout occurred due to insufficient fuel pressure, causing a decrease in speed and the subsequent opening of its breaker.
According to the report, crews successfully reopened the exhaust damper for the initial faulty generator, which led to an automatic restart and the restoration of power.
Blackouts hit moments before the crash
The Francis Scott Key Bridge over Baltimore Harbor was hit by the Dali at 1:28 a.m. ET on March 26, resulting in the collapse of a section of the bridge span. The incident occurred during the early morning hours after the Dali experienced two blackouts. The initial blackout caused the engine of the Dali to shut down, leading to the propeller coming to a halt, as stated in the report.
According to the report, the Dali experienced two power outages on the night of the incident while it was leaving the port.
According to the NTSB, the main engine experienced a power loss, leading to its shutdown. The crew managed to restore power initially, but the ship encountered another power loss just as it was approaching the bridge.
According to the report, the crew managed to restore the power on the vessel. However, they were unable to restore the propulsion system.
According to the report, the NTSB is currently investigating the electrical configuration that occurred during the first in-port blackout and its potential effects on the events that took place during the accident voyage.
During its recent voyage in the United States, the NTSB reported no incidents of blackout when the Dali was docked at ports in Newark and Norfolk.
The incident was captured on video, which clearly showed the lights on the Dali suddenly going off and smoke billowing from the ship just before it crashed.
Recovery, investigation continue
The crews on board managed to alert officials about the malfunction, enabling them to quickly close off the bridge to oncoming traffic before the crash occurred. Unfortunately, six men who were working on the bridge at the time were unable to evacuate and tragically lost their lives.
For weeks, the entry into the Port of Baltimore was severely impacted by the crash, as the debris caused a blockade, preventing other ships from entering.
The investigation and recovery efforts are still in progress, and it may take up to two years to complete the final NTSB report determining the cause of the incident.
Recovery teams have made progress this week in removing the section of the bridge that was attached to the Dali, which had remained stuck at the crash site. They achieved this by setting off controlled explosions on Monday.
