The Baltimore Bridge collapse

Baltimore is considered to be a major city of the state of Maryland, and is well known for it’s importance as a seaport and the birthplace of the national anthem. The star spangled banner sits at the mouth of the harbor which offer shops, upscale crab shacks and attractions like the civil war era warship the USS Constellation alongside the national aquarium, showcasing thousands of marine creatures. The current mayor, Brandon Scott, as of twenty twenty two, govern a population of roughly half a million people.

A few days ago, a cargo ship named Dali collided with and took down the Baltimore bridge causing it to collapse leaving six bridge construction workers dead. The Dali’s max capacity with regards to cargo, can carry around ten thousand metal containers but at the time of the unintended collision was carrying around forty seven containers. The Dali was built in south Korea under Hyundai’s heavy industries which is considered one of the largest ship builders. It is also owned and operated by Grace Ocean Private limited powered by diesel engines.

The Dali, charted by shipping giant Maersk, planned a trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, sent a mayday call early Tuesday complaining of a loss of power in combination with no control of steering leading the vessel to collide against one of the Bridge’s columns causing the entire bridge’s infrastructure to collapse in seconds. At the time of the collision, the vessel was moving at eight knots or nine miles per hour. The mayday allowed authorities to cease the movement of traffic henceforth preventing more deaths with the exception of a construction crew whom was filling potholes at the time on the bridge.

In accordance with reports from a variety of agencies including the US Coast guard the Dali passed a June 2023 inspection in Chile, with a faulty pressure gauge being repaired prior to leaving port. No problems were found in September. The Coast Guard has downloaded the voyage data recorder and sent it to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is building a timeline of what led to the crash, and a preliminary report is expected in the coming weeks. Singapore also plans to carry out its own investigation, which it says will be to identify lessons for the future rather than determine liability.

Sources - Nick Perry What to know about the cargo ship Dali AP US NEWS