FBI opens criminal probe into Baltimore bridge collapse: AP source

https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-opens-criminal-probe-baltimore-bridge-collapse-ap-source

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The probe, first reported by the Washington Post, centers on the 985-foot container ship, the Dali, looking at least in part into whether the crew left the Port of Baltimore knowing the vessel had serious system problems.
Authorities are looking into the events leading up to the moment the ship lost power before slamming into one of the bridge's support pillars, the Post reported, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the FBI confirmed the bureau "is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity."

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Could that be the problems with the reefer containers tripping the ship's breakers?

Looks like they're investigating prior maintenance issues. Looking to see if know issues were being negligently ignored.

Seems like a good use of investigative resources.

TexasRebel said:

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Looks like they're investigating prior maintenance issues. Looking to see if know issues were being negligently ignored.

Seems like a good use of investigative resources.

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There were reports of an orange man on the ship just prior and during the accident. Can't be too careful.

TexasRebel said:

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Looks like they're investigating prior maintenance issues. Looking to see if know issues were being negligently ignored.

Seems like a good use of investigative resources.

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That can also have an effect on insurance coverage.

Sounds like the NTSB struggling with the investigation so they brought in some muscle. Stands to reason they'll dangle criminal immunity and visas in front of that Indian crew and have them singing whatever hymn they tell 'em to turn to.

aggiehawg said:

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Quote:

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The probe, first reported by the Washington Post, centers on the 985-foot container ship, the Dali, looking at least in part into whether the crew left the Port of Baltimore knowing the vessel had serious system problems.
Authorities are looking into the events leading up to the moment the ship lost power before slamming into one of the bridge's support pillars, the Post reported, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the FBI confirmed the bureau "is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity."

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Could that be the problems with the reefer containers tripping the ship's breakers?

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I looked into the refrigeration units on containers. Hybrid systems do seem to be common on ships.

If ship controls and auxiliary loads are run by the same power unit that's just poor engineering.

However, if one of the power units was having trouble and the crew shifted the load by rigging up a quick-fix just to get underway… that's criminal. Solutions like that are okay to get into port, not out.

Thank you for that clarification. Informative.

Burdizzo said:

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FBI opens criminal probe into Baltimore bridge collapse: AP source

https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-opens-criminal-probe-baltimore-bridge-collapse-ap-source

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Preview of their findings:

"The FBI has determined that the Dali hit the bridge because of racism. Mandatory DEI training is already underway for all Baltimore harbor employees to ensure this never happens again."

TexasRebel said:

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Looks like they're investigating prior maintenance issues. Looking to see if know issues were being negligently ignored.

Seems like a good use of investigative resources.

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Why would the FBI do that?

We have other agencies much better suited to look into it that would actually understand everything about ships...

Bocephus said:

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Burdizzo said:

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FBI opens criminal probe into Baltimore bridge collapse: AP source

https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-opens-criminal-probe-baltimore-bridge-collapse-ap-source

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Preview of their findings:

"The FBI has determined that the Dali hit the bridge because of racism. Mandatory DEI training is already underway for all Baltimore harbor employees to ensure this never happens again."

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The bridge will also undergo DEI training while it is being repaired, at which time it will be renamed the Dr. Malcolm X King-Floyd Bridge.

Ag with kids said:

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Bocephus said:

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Burdizzo said:

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FBI opens criminal probe into Baltimore bridge collapse: AP source

https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-opens-criminal-probe-baltimore-bridge-collapse-ap-source

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Preview of their findings:

"The FBI has determined that the Dali hit the bridge because of racism. Mandatory DEI training is already underway for all Baltimore harbor employees to ensure this never happens again."

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The bridge will also undergo DEI training while it is being repaired, at which time it will be renamed the Dr. Malcolm X King-Floyd Bridge.

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Then it will get struck by lightning and collapse again

Fuel was ok so Maersk should be off the hook there. Two blackouts whilst alongside were not reported to USCG and class so looks like C/E, Captain and Synergy Superintendent will be on the hook big time.

The cover up is always worst than the crime. In this case the cover up killed 5 people.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/us/baltimore-bridge-collapse-ntsb-report/index.html

Looking at this report.

Looks like the first blackout while alongside was cause by human error. A crew-member was doing maintenance on the exhaust scrubber for the only generator they had online. During this process the exhaust damper got closed causing the generator to shut down probably due to high exhaust gas temps.

The second power loss while alongside occurred when the standby generator came online due to the first power loss and later shut down due to low fuel pressure causing the generator to shut down. This was likely caused by human error as well (valve misalignment).

The idea that there was known issues with the power system might be a red herring.

Based on this preliminary report, we might be looking at human error as the most likely cause. This is a known risk when you are shutting down systems for maintenance while underway or right before getting underway. It may be the case that something was misaligned or misconfigured during maintenance and set off a chain reaction when getting back underway.

The preliminary report favors the shipowner here, imo. There's no guarantee that limitation gets busted. If human error materializes as the most likely cause we'll see them try and make the case that the crew was unseaworthy, which may be a harder sell.

We probably looking at human error. This may come down to one low level guy doing preventative maintenance not putting something back like it was supposed to be.

They didn't call and report and submit a 2692 which is a massive no no. If you lose propulsion or power, you've got to report it. That will hang the crew without a doubt. Gotta report them all. I mentioned when this happened about the culture on foreign flagged ships and the crews hiding things from owners and operators so it doesn't surprise me they wouldn't report these things either.

It may still be an open question whether the power losses while alongside caused by human error were considered a reportable marine casualty within the meaning of the regs.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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It may still be an open question whether the power losses while alongside caused by human error were considered a reportable marine casualty within the meaning of the regs.

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There's only one way to guarantee you don't get caught in a cover-up situation and that is to call it in. The USCG will call you back and straight up tell you if they want you to fill out a 2692. As Captain, there's absolutely no reason not to protect your career by calling something like this in. None. If there's so much as a .1% chance the USCG may be interested in it, I am calling it in.

Port of Baltimore fully reopened for shipping.

CHANNEL

74OA said:

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Port of Baltimore fully reopened for shipping.

CHANNEL

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Two months and two weeks later?

Yep, the Corps of Engineers/Navy/Coast Guard-led team did a terrific job of clearing roughly 50,000 tons of gigantic bridge debris from the channel bed.

That's the channel for shipping, not the bridge for car/truck transportation.

CanyonAg77 said:

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rynning said:

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Anyone want to go on record for guessing the dates that ships will be able to pass through and when the new bridge will open?

I say April 19, 2024 and November 2, 2027.

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Open channel, May 31, 2024.

Bridge open, April 15, 2030

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Winner?

Well, I am a world renowned expert on shipping and engineering.

Tucker interviewed the El Presidente of El Salvador recently.....

The POES pointed out how much losing the USA has been doing since it's peak age. For instance building great structures like Empire State Building or Hoover Dam and it only taking a year or two. Comparing this to the World Trade Center taking some 12 years. His comments were in context of how corrupt our govt. process/processes are. He pointed at the high speed rail in California and that cost for 600 meters of unusable track. He wonders if the Francis Scott Bridge will ever be replaced.

What caused this accident?

The State of Maryland now claims they have evidence that multiple factors were involved.

-The initial power loss was caused by a loose electrical connection in one of the main switchboards, and that loose connection was caused by a "serious and longstanding vibration problem on board the ship."

So they are saying that vibration of the ships hull at certain speeds caused electrical connections to vibrate loose over the course of time, and this was an issue known to the shipowner.

-After the initial loss of power, the ship's crew failed to restore power because the pump that supplies fuel to the number 3 and 4 generators tripped off line as a result of the initial power loss and needed to be manually reset. So when the standby generators started up they were starved for fuel and died.

It also sounds like there may have been an issue with the crew not knowing that the electric fuel pump needed to be manually reset after a power loss.

This fuel pump problem comes into play because the crew made a major modification to the fuel system and may have concealed that modification from Class (NK). So in otherwords the ship had an unclassed modification to the design of a critical fuel system.

The ship wasn't designed this way but was something they had rigged up for some unknown reason. They rigged up a circulation / transfer pump to supply fuel to the generators. This siystem they rigged up wasn't tied into the auto-start on power loss. It had to be manually reset and this caused a delay in getting power back causing loss of propulsion / steering and them hitting the bridge.

tldr; A latent defect in electrical switchboard, human error, and fuel supply problem likely contributed to this accident.

Whoever said swiss cheese above was right. Multiple failures lined up at the worst possible moment.