Investigators will probe if dirty fuel caused the Dali container ship to lose power moments before it crashed into the Baltimore Key Bridge bringing it down ‘like a house of cards’
Investigators seeking answers to the devastating destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was rammed by a shipping container in the early hours of Tuesday are exploring the idea that dirty fuel could be responsible.
A shocking new report from The Wall Street Journal quotes naval architect Fotis Pagoulatos as saying that blackouts such as the one experienced by the Dali in the run-up to the collision are rare on ships and extremely dangerous.
It has been widely reported that the Dali suffered a loss of propulsion, causing steering problems in the lead-up to the crash that caused the iconic bridge to collapse like a ‘house of cards’.
What caused these problems will likely be the source of a lengthy investigation.
An officer on the Dali said the engines “coughed and then stopped” before the crash. There was not enough time before the ship hit the bridge to drop the anchors, causing the ship to drift.
“The ship stalled, no steering power and no electronics… The smell of burnt fuel was everywhere in the engine room and it was pitch black,” the officer said.
Six workers who were pouring concrete on the bridge to repair potholes as part of a graveyard shift are still missing and presumed dead.
The Singapore-flagged container ship Dali, en route to Sri Lanka from the Port of Baltimore, plowed into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the mouth of the Patapsco River at about 1:30 am.
A trestle section of the 2.6-mile span collapsed almost immediately into the icy water, sending vehicles and people into the river.
Rescuers pulled two survivors to safety, one of whom was hospitalized. She and the six missing people were part of a work crew filling potholes in the bridge’s pavement, officials previously said
The ship reported a power outage before the impact, allowing officials to stop traffic on the bridge before the collapse
When a ship like the Dali loses power, backup generators kick in, but they don’t perform the same functions as the main power supply, Pagoulatos said.
In 2016, the Dali was involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp.
According to the Antwerp port authorities, the container ship Dali hit a quay on July 11, 2016 when trying to leave the North Sea container terminal.
A 2016 inspection of the ship in Antwerp found it had a structural problem, which was described as “damage to the hull affecting seaworthiness,” according to data published on Equasis, a public database for the shipping industry.
Inspectors noticed a problem with the Dali’s machinery in June, but a more recent investigation revealed no defects, according to shipping information system Equasis.
According to port authorities, the ship was docked for some time for repairs after the incident.
“In general, these accidents are investigated and ships are only allowed to leave after experts have determined that it is safe for them to do so,” a spokesperson for the port of Antwerp told Reuters.
The Belgian nautical commission, which investigates such incidents, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the ship’s owner could not immediately be reached.
The first of the six: Miguel Luna, 49, was the first missing construction worker identified after the collapse
Maynor Suazo, 37, from Honduras, has been named as the other man missing and presumed dead
The MS Dali, owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and operated by Synergy Marine Corp, collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, causing much of its 2.6-mile span to collapse.
Jennifer Homendy, head of the National Transportation Safety Board, told media Tuesday that her team will investigate every aspect of the Dali and its track record.
There was no evidence of foul play, officials said. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described a scene in which twisted metal shot into the air.
‘It looked like something out of an action movie. It was something you never thought you would see,” he said.
Video footage on social media showed the ship crashing into the bridge in the dark, with the headlights of vehicles on the span visible as it plunged into the water and the ship caught fire.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the closure of one of the country’s busiest shipping lanes until further notice would have a “major and long-lasting impact on supply chains.”
The Port of Baltimore handles more auto cargo than any other U.S. port: more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.