Before hitting Baltimore Bridge, ship with Indian crew had two power outages

Washington: A preliminary study by federal investigators issued on Tuesday stated that the container ship experienced two blackouts in the moments prior to the accident, which caused a major bridge in Baltimore to collapse in a matter of seconds.

Additionally, the Singapore-flagged Dali lost power twice the day before during maintenance, though the National Transportation Safety Board's report stated that it was still investigating the potential impacts.

It was evident that the ship had run out of power in the moments before the stunning crash, AFP reported.

However, the report is the first in-depth analysis of the circumstances leading up to the accident, which claimed the lives of six construction workers repairing the bridge and shut down the heavily trafficked Port of Baltimore, a vital US gateway. According to an accident timeline, the Dali was only 0.6 miles from the bridge when the first blackout occurred due to an unanticipated tripping of the electrical breakers that supplied most of the ship's lighting and equipment.

The ship started to veer off course after losing steering and propulsion. After a brief period of power restoration, the lights went out once more when the Dali was only 0.2 miles from the bridge.

The crew managed to manoeuvre sharply to port with the assistance of an emergency generator, but without propulsion, the bridge's fate seemed certain.

It also described two blackouts that occurred roughly ten hours before departing Baltimore.

"The first in-port blackout was caused by the mechanical blocking of the online generator's exhaust gas stack. The second blackout in port was related to insufficient fuel pressure for the online generator," it said.

It further stated that the crew had undergone many drug and alcohol tests both before and after the accident, and none had turned up. The FBI began a criminal investigation into the ship in April, and as part of the inquiry, agents boarded the Dali.

Last month, President Joe Biden pledged government cash, said a new shipping route would open by the end of May, and promised to "move heaven and earth" to rebuild the bridge.

In an attempt to free the Dali, which has been pinned beneath the debris since the collapse, workers demolished a portion of the bridge on Monday.