Democracy Dies in Darkness

Ship had multiple blackouts before striking Baltimore bridge, investigators find

The preliminary report offers the most detailed explanation so far of the problems that precipitated the Dali cargo ship’s destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26.

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Updated May 14, 2024 at 5:31 p.m. EDT|Published May 14, 2024 at 3:43 p.m. EDT
Crews conduct a controlled demolition of a section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the Dali container ship in Baltimore on Monday. The bridge collapsed on March 26 when the Dali lost power and collided into a support column, killing six roadway construction workers. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
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The ship that knocked down Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge suffered two electrical blackouts in port 10 hours before departing on the Patapsco River and later experienced two more blackouts that disabled critical equipment, federal safety investigators said in a preliminary report released Tuesday.

The report, issued by the National Transportation Safety Board, provides the first detailed examination of what went wrong as the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Dali lost power, veered off course and slammed into a critical bridge pier.