Posted on 03/27/2024 12:53:12 PM PDT by rxsid
Dali cargo ship suffered 'severe electrical problem' while docked in Baltimore days prior to bridge collapse crash that saw it suffer 'total power failure, loss of engine failure', port worker says
The Dali cargo ship which smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge suffered a 'severe electrical problem' while docked in Baltimore days before, according to a port worker.
Julie Mitchell, co-administrator of Container Royalty, a company which tracks cargo, told CNN the ship was anchored at the port for at least 48 hours prior to the deadly crash.
'And those two days, they were having serious power outages… they had a severe electrical problem,' Mitchell told the broadcaster. 'It was total power failure, loss of engine power, everything.'
Mitchell explained that refrigerated boxes tripped breakers on board the ship on several occasions, and mechanics had been trying to fix the issue. She said she didn't know whether the problem had been fixed when the ship set off.
...
Mitchell told CNN that major power problems on board large vessels like the Dali are 'not really that common at all', describing the freak incident as 'very rare'.
One officer on the Dali also said that before the crash, the engines 'coughed and then stopped.' There was not enough time before the ship hit the bridge to drop anchors prompting the vessel to drift.
'The vessel went dead, no steering power and no electronics... The smell of burned fuel was everywhere in the engine room and it was pitch black,' the officer said.
When a ship such as the Dali loses power, backup generators kick in but they do not fulfill all of the same functions as the main power, Pagoulatos said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Meaning WHAT?
Those are the powerline structures.
Apparently, the problem was not fixed. I wonder who supposedly "fixed" it....
I'm surprised there are still a LOT of containers stacked on it!
Left and Port both have 4 letters.
That’s how I remember it.
POSH = port out starboard home (in the days before air conditioning.)
everyone
Both of them are in charging of driving the boat - NOT making sure all the systems are operable.
Can't f^&* up the fish f^&*ing.
National Transportation Safety Board officials boarded the ship to recover information from its electronics and paperwork and to interview the captain and other crew members, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a separate news conference. Twenty-three people, including two pilots, were on the ship when it crashed, she said.
The vessel was also carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials including corrosives, flammables and lithium ion batteries, Homendy said. She added that some containers were breached, and that a sheen on the water from those materials would be handled by authorities.
Marcel Muise, NTSB investigator in charge, laid out a preliminary timeline assembled from the voyage data recorder comprising audio from the bridge and VHF radio ahead of the crash, which federal and state officials have said appeared to be an accident.
The vessel, the Dali, left port at 12:39 a.m. Tuesday and, after it entered the channel, signs of trouble came at about 1:25 a.m. when numerous alarms sounded, according to the NTSB. About a minute later, steering commands and rudder orders were issued, and at 1:26 a.m. and 39 seconds, a pilot made a general radio call for nearby tug boats.
Maryland Transportation Authority data from about the same time shows the pilot association dispatcher called the transportation authority’s officer on duty about the blackout, the NTSB said.
Just after 1:27 a.m., the pilot commanded the ship to drop an anchor on the left side of the ship and issued added steering commands. About 20 seconds later, the pilot issued a radio call reporting that the Dali had lost all power approaching the bridge.
At about that time, the state transportation officer on duty radioed two of its units already stationed at each end of the bridge saying to close the bridge to vehicle traffic. They were already there because of the construction.
Around 1:29 a.m., when the ship was traveling at about 8 mph (13 kph), recordings for about 30 seconds picked up sounds consistent with it colliding with the bridge, the NTSB said. A Transportation Authority dash camera also shows lights on the bridge going out.
At 1:29 a.m. and 39 seconds, the pilot reported to the Coast Guard that the bridge was down.
Muise said experts will review the entire voyage data recording and develop a detailed transcript.
At least eight people initially went into the water when the ship struck the bridge column, and two of them were rescued Tuesday, officials said.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before it collided with Baltimore bridge, officials say
https://apnews.com/article/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-03-27-2024-6a95340e5daeff6551fc999d23feb278
Red bouys to the right when returning from the sea. "Red, right, returning".
Port wine is red
It was a horrible accident. Murphy’s Law states that if anything is possible to go wrong, it will go wrong, and at the worst possible time. The bridge was built (1977) before the advent of modern mega-containerships and even before the Tampa Bay Skyway Bridge allision (May 9, 1980). In light of how vulnerable this bridge was to ship allisions, there should have probably been an escort tug or two with the ship until she cleared the FSK Bridge. In the absence of any local regulation requiring escort tugs, Murphy’s Law prevailed.
Would reversing the propeller at full power cause the same smoke?
It seems if they could get in reverse at full power they would also be able to steer and avoids the bridge. The whole situation is so suspicious.
You are correct at 1:27:04 the port anchor was dropped.
Like most, I listen to early sources, that made this same invalid point.
It never hurts to be corrected when your wrong.
bttt
True: you're
No, no. Check out pictures of the sunshine skyway bridge and the area around its critical piers.
Im saying it is possible to protect bridge piers from large shipping.
If we can build big ships that take down bridges, we are more than capable of building more robust structures than ships to protect said bridges. That was the context of the sub-conversation I was replying toward.
This Bridge is Named in Honor of
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY
Author of The Star Spangled Banner
September 14, 1814
"Then Conquer We Must for Our Cause It Is Just
and This Be Our Motto: 'In God Is Our Trust.'"
Erected by The National Society
United States Daughters of 1812 * April 21, 1924
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