New information is constantly coming to light about the ship that lost power, crashed into the Baltimore bridge causing it to collapse. The Coast Guard report says the cargo ship previously underwent “routine engine maintenance” in port.
Specifically, according to an Associated Press report, the ship was also carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials, including corrosives, flammables and lithium-ion batteries. He added that some containers had been tampered with and that a sheen in the water from these materials would be dealt with by the authorities.
What the trip recorder showed
Also, Marcel Muise, the NTSB’s lead investigator, presented a preliminary timeline compiled from the voyage data recorder that includes audio from the bridge and the VHF radio before the crash, which federal and state officials said appeared to be accident.
The ship, Dali, left port at 12:39 AM. on Tuesday and, after entering the channel, signs of trouble came at about 1:25 a.m., when numerous alarms sounded, according to the NTSB. About a minute later, orders were given to change rudder and at 1:26 A.M. and 39 seconds, a pilot made a general radio call for nearby tugs. Maryland Transportation Authority data from about the same time shows the pilot liaison dispatcher called the Transportation Authority’s duty officer about the blackout, the NTSB said.
Record
Shortly after 1:27 a.m., the pilot ordered the ship to drop anchor on the port side of the ship and gave additional steering commands. About 20 seconds later, the pilot radioed that the Dali had lost all power approaching the bridge. At about that time, the state transportation officer on duty radioed two of his units already stationed at either end of the bridge to close the bridge to vehicular traffic. They were already there due to construction.
Around 1:29 a.m., when the ship was traveling at about 8 mph (13 kph), the recorders for about 30 seconds picked up sounds consistent with its collision with the bridge, the NTSB said. A Transportation Authority dashcam also shows the lights on the bridge going out. At 1:29 am and 39 seconds later, the pilot reported to the Coast Guard that the bridge was down.
‘Stop traffic, we have workers in the water’ – The audio after the collapse
Skynews publication brings to light the audio of the moment the fatal bridge collapses in Baltimore. According to reports, the authorities only had two minutes to stop traffic on the bridge.
The audio shows panicked employees announcing to the communications center that the bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore has just collapsed. “One of you to go to the north side. Stop all traffic on the bridge” it says at the start of the audio.
“A ship that has lost navigational control is approaching. So until they fix the problem we have to stop the traffic on the bridge”, is heard from the side of the communication center. The same employee makes a new appeal to close the bridge and asks to check that there is no one on the bridge. “Just make sure there’s no one on the bridge,” he is heard saying.
A few seconds later the following is heard: “The whole bridge just fell! The whole bridge just collapsed.” “Do we know if all traffic has stopped?” asks a police officer. “I can’t get to the other side, sir, the bridge is down,” another replies about 30 seconds later.
At 1:30 a.m., another officer is heard saying “traffic on the main bridge is closed, we have workers in the water.”
The adulterated fuel scenario
“Dirty fuel” is one of several possible factors that may have caused the freighter Dali to lose power minutes before it collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday.
In accordance with Washington Post article, the investigation by federal, state and local authorities into what went wrong at Dali is just beginning. But the deadly events on the Patapsco River overnight shed light on the long-standing problem facing global shipping with dirty fuels.
Also, according to a 2018 report by the Atlantic Council think tank, a “mixture” of industrial products ends up in ships’ fuel, resulting in hundreds of engine failures in recent years, leaving ships without power and adrift on the open sea. sea.
Ship fuels vary
The Dali went dark as it lost electrical power shortly before the bridge was destroyed, and the pilot lost control of the ship as it veered toward the bridge’s support structure.
That loss of power could have been caused by dirty fuel clogging filters leading to the ship’s main generator, said Gerald Scoggins, a veteran chief engineer in the oil and gas industry and CEO of Deepwater Producers in Houston.
It is noted that ships use different fuels for different parts of their cruise. When inside a port, as Dali was before the collision, the ships usually run on a relatively light diesel fuel. This could also be contaminated. Common contaminants include water, dirt and algae, Scoggins said.
Which scenarios do analysts favor?
Ian Ralby, managing director of IR Consilium, a shipping and resource security consultancy, said heavy marine fuel loaded onto ships in port is mixed with so-called cutter stock and is prone to being loaded with contaminants and they are not subject to close regulation. Such dirty fuel could have “plugged all the ship’s fuel lines”.
Also, Ralby, who co-authored the 2018 Atlantic Council report, said waste from refineries and other industrial activities has been illegally put into shipping fuel, known as bunker fuel. In Dali’s case, Ralby said the possibility of a cyber attack should not be discounted. It is also possible that the ship had a purely mechanical failure in one of its critical systems.
The dirty fuel speculation comes from observers with limited direct information about the ship, its fueling history and other possible mechanical problems that could have contributed to the loss of rudder power and control.
Source: in.gr
