Read the N.T.S.B.’s Preliminary Report on the Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Contact of Containership Dali with the Francis Scott Key Bridge
and Subsequent Bridge Collapse
Marine Investigation Preliminary Report
DCA24MM031
2
Dali
2.1 Background and Specifications
The Dali, a 947-foot-long, steel-hulled general cargo vessel (containership),
was built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in 2015. The vessel’s draft on
departure was 39.9 feet fore and aft, with a cargo of 4,680 containers (56,675 metric
tons of containerized cargo). The ship and cargo displaced 112,383 metric tons as
loaded at departure.
Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Limited, the vessel’s owner, owns
55 ships-a mix of containerships (including Dali), bulk carriers, and tankers. As of
March 26, Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group, the vessel manager who
provided the crew and operated the vessel for the owner, managed 55 ships under
Panama, Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, Liberia, and Singapore flags, including the
Dali. The vessel was classed by ClassNK, one of several nongovernmental
classification societies that establish and maintain standards for the construction and
operation of ships. Through construction and later periodic surveys, classification
societies confirm a vessel meets the class’s technical rules.
2.2 US Port Calls in March 2024
Since arriving from Sri Lanka to the United States on March 19, the ship had
made two other US port calls (Newark, New Jersey, from March 19 until March 21,
and Norfolk, Virginia, from March 22 to March 23). On March 23, at 0236, the Dali
moored at the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore Harbor.
2.2.1
Electrical Power Loss on Previous Day
On March 25, about 10 hours before leaving Baltimore, the Dali experienced a
blackout (loss of electrical power to the HV and LV buses) during in-port
maintenance. While working on the diesel engine exhaust scrubber system for the
diesel engine driving the only online generator (generator no. 2), a crewmember
mistakenly closed an inline engine exhaust damper. Closure of this damper
effectively blocked the engine’s cylinder exhaust gases from traveling up its stack and
out of the vessel, causing the engine to stall. When the system detected a loss of
power, generator no. 3 automatically started and connected to the HV bus.
Vessel power was restored when crewmembers manually closed HR2 and LR2.
Generator no. 3 continued to run for a short period, but insufficient fuel pressure
7 The NTSB is not aware of any other vessel power outages occurring in Baltimore or while in
its prior ports, Newark or Norfolk.
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This information is preliminary and subject to change.