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

dailymail.co.uk ^ | 03.27.2024 | LAURA PARNABY

[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.

[pops88]

Setup for plausible deniability from what I see.

[TalBlack]

Why would an electrical failure impact the Diesel or any engine for that matter? Having rudder control and propulsion a) dependent upon electric supply or b) not given priority in the backup scheme seems stupid. Really stupid. Full story not out.

[digger48]

That’s a great link for shipping disasters

Very informative site

[OldHarbor]

they never dropped anchor.

It must be the message they want to get out , Steve Bannon leads off his show with that BS in his opening statement.

What made it so ironic is Bannon says, “ Naval Officer “:like he’s some expert and proceeds to lie and say they never dropped anchor.

WTF, I guess Naval Officer Bannon does not know what a friggen anchor chain looks like.

[TalBlack]

As far as I know these big ships have an engineer whose sole job is to audit and work the electrical systems. Haven’t heard a thing about this guy. If there was an electrical problem he’d have known about it.

[linMcHlp]

Chesapeake Bay Approches to Baltimore Harbor - PDF

THE FSK BRIDGE LANE - See: Online Nautical Chart

You may download a Baltimore area nautical chart - PDF.

- - -

The Dali, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea, meeting the designs of the owner Oceanbulk Maritime SA and ocean transport service Maersk:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Dali

was a "single screw” ship.

A single screw boat / ship / vessel is prone to the propellor “walking” (known as paddlewheel effect or asymmetric blade thrust) - partcularly when the vessel is set to run in Reverse motion.

From the rear view of a ship: A right hand prop rotates clockwise when the vessel is set to run in Forward motion . . . and counter-clockwise when the vessel is set to run in Reverse motion.

In Reverse, the stern of the vessel “walks” to port - to the left.

If the hull is "higher in the water," then the screw (the prop) is closer to the surface, and the "walk" efficiency increases.

The Dali, with wind on the port bow - a crosswind - at an attack angle of about 40 - 45 degrees relative to the ship (satellite/top view) centerline when the ship was in the lane approaching the FSK bridge. That wind naturally pushing the bow to starboard.

So, in the crosswind “working” on the very high and large “sail” (the vessel+containers) ship heading southeast, and now including the prop “walking” the stern to port . . . the FSK Bridge support was in the way.

- - -

The ship has 1 stern rudder, plus 1 bow thruster.

When in forward motion (”under way”) with heavy momentum, but single screw in Reverse, the rudder is initially not a significant contributor, but you try anyway - and the helm had BOTH: the ship in Reverse and rudder HARD LEFT, at the last.

The bow thruster not much help - if it was working.

- - -

Dali sister ship: MV Cezanne:

https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9697416

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/photos/of/ships/shipid:5481513/shipname:CEZANNE?order=date_uploaded

See: https://www.marinetraffic.com/getPhoto/?photo_id=4950293&photo_size=800

MV Cezanne appears to have a single rudder. Ship, when light and high in the water - the single prop is more effective at performing the “prop walk” to port, when ship is in Reverse.

- - -

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I watched a video analysis that said that port anchor cut speed from 8.5 knots to 1.5 knots at impact.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"The 1.6-mile Key Bridge PARTIALLY collapsed..."

Aren't we lucky? Imagine how bad a full collapse would have been

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Aren’t winds generally weak in the middle of the night?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"...refrigerated boxes tripped breakers on board the ship on several occasions, and mechanics had been trying to fix the issue"

Do they assign the electricians to the mechanical systems?

[ridesthemiles]

ONE report said they DID DROP ANCHOR-—BUT that built up silt in Bay caused the anchor to ‘NOT GRAB BOTTOM’.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

That’s the starboard side, not the port side.

[ridesthemiles]

A CONTINUING CASCADE OF FAILURES

[ridesthemiles]

“DOCKING” for unloading & reloading is a planned event—and tightly scheduled, IIRC.

Other ships are coming into the area, and they need their slot open to unload/reload.

One TV shot showed 7 or 8 ships already backed up outside the bay.

[dljordan]

“the black box exam should prove that.”

Oh, we sold that in Bombay.

[Capt_Hank]

3 short blasts from horn.... in Reverse

5 short blasts from horn..... Danger

[ridesthemiles]

IMO-—DO NOT REPLACE THE BRIDGE..
EITHER HAVE A PORT OR DO NOT HAVE A PORT.

BOTH COMBINED ARE INCOMPATIBLE with TODAY’S LARGE SHIPS

[ridesthemiles]

EVERY SHIP ENTERING/EXITING ANY PORT IN THE WORLD HAS LOCAL “MASTER PILOTS” WHO ARE AT THE HELM.

THEY know every Rock & sand bar for their PORT.

CAPTAIN is NOT at the helm in port.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"there is nothing that could have been done to that bridge including bolstering the piers which would have prevented the collapse."

The people in Florida disagree...

"FDOT says the [Sunshine Skyway] bridge has an air draft clearance of 175 to 180 feet in height, depending on the tide. The clearance space between the two main pillars is more than 1,000 feet. This gives harbor pilots more room when moving in and out of the bay.

Surrounding those center pillars are large rock islands, made of various-sized rocks, that go down to the sea floor. The main pillars themselves also have steel-reinforced concrete collars around the foundations that are 12 feet thick, FDOT says"

[ridesthemiles]

TIDES ALSO A FACTOR