Bridge destroyed by a containership

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
It's amazing what some well placed explosives can do, be interesting to see what the FBI come up with as to the real cause of the accident.
but I would have thought that the Coast Guard would have been the mob to investigate.

Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Given time no doubt there will be a number of explanations of what occurred that night.
One report will be the truth, just have to wait to see which one it is.

Yes Des, well placed explosives can do wonderful things, pity G. Fawkes was caught.

[Ken Atkinson]

The NTSB preliminary report on the Dali states that that about 10 hours before leaving Baltimore the Dali experienced a blackout during in-port maintenance and shortly before the crash.

The board said the cargo ship had other outages including about four minutes before the crash when electrical breakers unexpectedly tripped causing a loss of power to all shipboard lighting and most equipment when it was 0.6 mile (1 km) from the bridge.

The Dali crew restored power, but another blackout occurred 0.2 mile (about 320 meters) from the bridge, which stopped all three steering pumps. The crew was unable to move the rudder to steer.

The NTSB said it “is still investigating the electrical configuration following the first in-port blackout and potential impacts on the events during the accident voyage.” The report includes the first published investigative findings since the fully loaded container ship Dali caused the highway bridge to tumble into the Patapsco River. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy will testify before a U.S. House committee on Wednesday on the federal response to the collapse.

The report found no issues with the quality of the fuel onboard. In April, the FBI opened a criminal probe into the collapse. Safety investigators recovered the ship’s “black box” recorder, which provides data on its position, speed, heading, radar, and bridge audio and radio communications, as well as alarms.

In-Port Blackouts

The day before the accident, the Dali had experienced two in-port blackouts due to a blocked engine exhaust damper and insufficient fuel pressure. The crew had switched the main electrical bus configuration, which was in use when the ship departed. The NTSB is now investigating the electrical configuration and its potential impacts on the accident voyage.

Fuel Testing

As for fuel testing, the Dali switched to low-sulfur marine gas oil (LSMGO) five days before the accident. Post-accident fuel samples taken from the LSMGO in use and from all fuel tanks complied with international standards and regulations, ruling out fuel quality as a contributing factor to the accident.

Perhaps a tug escort until the pilot is dropped would have been wise after a blackout in port without known cause?

[John Arton]

It was always my understanding that in the event of loss of main electrical power the emergency generator automatically starts and provides electric power to. Certain critical equipment which includes power to steering gear motors, all of should happen in less than a minute.
Rgds
J.A.
https://www.merchantnavydecoded.com/...nboard%20ship.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

I think it all goes back to the technical aspects now controlling ships, having watched bits on TV of when one of those big liners have a problem it would seem to take a while before the problem is solved, is this what they mean by AI? If so Ken's suggestion that a tug should be there at all times when docking or leaving is maybe the answer, in this instance it would have helped.
Des

[Michael Black]

There is a guy on YouTube who goes into the preliminary report in detail, search for jeffostroff. Sorry not sure how to post links.
Regards Michael

[Tony Taylor]

There has been another bridge collision in Texas this time, a barge carrying gas oil has hit a bridge in Texas, about 12 tons gas oil has been spilt,

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Tony.
They seem to have an exrorinary number of gas, oil or chemical spills in the States, only the other day a train was moving along with some of the wagons on fire, could have been a new way of sharing the heat in the winter, plus saving on fuel.
Des

[j.sabourn]

#106, Getting to be a bit like Medical Surgery Des , where the unworkable bit is thrown out and have to wait until a new bit is available. In days past the unworkable bit would be repaired even to just make the next port , where hopefully a replacement would be waiting.
Today’s people on ships to carry on as of old is different and different skills and intentions . A bit like lifeboats originally designed to go somewhere, today are advised to go nowhere after setting off epirb and wait for help to come to you. Most working ships of today wouldn’t have the manpower on board in any case to carry out complicated repairs, thanks to the demanning of ships , some wiseman who proposed such should have received a Pat on the head never mind on the back. Cheers JS

[happy daze john in oz]

If a ship breaks down at sea now that is it, it is out of action.
No onboard engineers to fix it, no spares, no expert crew.
So you sit out in the middle of the ocean waiting for a passing ship.
But if like the busses you wait and wait, then three come along at the same time.