The entire crew of 22, are India nationals.
[I added some bits of info, including from the conference, that APNews left out of the story.]
National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] 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.
[MV Dali is operated by Synergy Marine in Singapore; there is a branch office in Houston, TX. On March 26th, Synergy Marine reported a crew of 22 (all shipmates and the captain - all are India nationals).]
[Yesterday, March 27th, the NTSB Chair, Jennifer Homendy, reported a crew of 21, plus 2 pilots, total of 23 aboard.]
The vessel was also carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials [HAZMAT] 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 [VDR] 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 [the well-lit main terminal at the Port of Baltimore] at 12:39 a.m. Tuesday and . . .
[Two tugboats operated by McAllister Towing and Transportation, guided MV Dali into the relative top of the channel lane that heads southeast to the Francis Scot Key (FSK) Bridge. At that relative top of the lane, MV Dali was oriented to a heading of 141 degrees and proceeded at 8 knots. The channel avg. max. depth is 55 ft.]
After [MV Dali] entered the channel [and was underway], 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 [MDTA] data from about the same time shows the pilot association [actually: Association of Maryland Pilots] 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 [port bow] 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 [MDTA Police] 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 [7 knots] 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 [MDTA vehicle] 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 [March 26th], 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
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PS. Another Freeper found and posted this story in a reply. I produced the above, from that work; but I hit the wrong button and lost my original workup of the above AND that Freeper's name. Duh. So, no H/T, though I should have one, here.
The MV Dali main propulsion is a MAN-B&W Diesel-Turbo 9S90ME-C9.2 Super-Long-2-Stroke, Electronicaly-Conrolled, High-Torque, 9-cylinder Engine, featuring lower propeller speeds. The engine operates in Forward and Reverse, and is built by two-stroke engine builder Hyundai Heavy Industries.