BALTIMORE– During the early stages of a federal investigation into the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, investigators are focusing on the power system of the massive container ship that veered off course.
Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said her agency is collecting data with help from Hyundai, the manufacturer of equipment in the ship’s engine room. Testifying before a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday morning, she said investigators have also asked for help investigating the circuit breakers.
“That’s what our focus is now in this investigation,” she said. “That is of course temporary. It could take different paths and paths as we continue this research.”
Homendy said they examined the electrical system. The ship experienced power problems shortly before the crash, as evidenced by videos showing the lights going off and coming back on.
Homendy said the information from the ship’s voyage data recorder is relatively simple, “so the information in the engine room will help us tremendously.”
Investigators are also examining the design of the bridge and how it could be built with better pier protection “to current standards,” Homendy said.
The container ship Dali was leaving Baltimore laden with cargo and headed to Sri Lanka when it struck one of the bridge’s support columns last month, causing the span to collapse into the Patapsco River and sending six members of a roadwork crew plunging to their deaths. .
Divers have recovered three bodies from the underwater wreckage, while the remaining three victims are still missing.
Crews have been working to remove portions of the fallen bridge and unload containers from the stationary Dali. Officials said they expect to open a third temporary shipping channel in late April, which will allow significantly more commercial traffic to pass through the Port of Baltimore. The east coast shipping hub has been closed to most maritime traffic since the bridge collapse blocked access to the port.
Federal security investigators remain on the scene in Baltimore. They conducted numerous interviews, including with the ship’s pilots and crew members, Homendy said during her testimony. She testified at a hearing regarding her nomination to continue serving as board chair for a second term.
She said the board’s preliminary report on the crash will likely be released early next month.
Safety investigators previously established a tentative timeline leading up to the crash, which federal and state officials said appeared to be an accident.
Less than an hour after the Dali left the Port of Baltimore in the early hours of March 26, signs of trouble emerged as numerous alarms sounded. About a minute later, steering and rudder commands were given, and at 0126 hours 39 seconds a pilot made a general radio call to nearby tugboats. Just after 1:27 a.m., the pilot ordered the ship to anchor on the left side and issued additional steering commands. About twenty seconds later the pilot made a radio call reporting that the Dali had lost all power as it approached the bridge.
At around 1:29 a.m., as the ship was traveling at a speed of about 8 miles per hour, sounds consistent with a collision with the bridge were picked up during recordings lasting about 30 seconds.
