The investigation into the shipwreck in Baltimore, in which six people died, raises many questions. In particular, the four power outages that the ship Dali experienced shortly before the collision.
The National Transportation Safety Board says there were four power outages leading up to the disaster. This is reported by “AP”. The ship suffered four power outages in about ten hours. The first was triggered by an incorrect operation by a crew member during maintenance work. This led to the failure of one of the diesel engines.
A second outage occurred when the backup generator failed. Why this happened is unclear. In response, the crew changed the ship’s electrical configuration, which is considered a routine operation.
As AP reported, a third failure occurred hours later after the ship left the port of Baltimore and entered the Patapsco River. Unexpectedly, electrical fuses blew, resulting in the third power outage. The Dali’s diesel engine switched off automatically because its cooling pumps were without power.
The fourth power outage occurred shortly before the ship reached the bridge. Although the crew was able to restore power, it was already too late. According to the report, the pilot suggested turning the rudder, but because the main engine had failed, the maneuver could not be performed quickly enough. The ship struck one of the bridge’s main support pillars, causing its collapse.
Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told a congressional committee that the first two blackouts were mechanically different from the last two. It is possible that replacing the fuses after the first two failures affected operations the next day.