Hi Sal! I’m A ship’s Captain (not this one’s obviously - for those who didn’t understand what I meant before editing) and I’ve been to Baltimore (at very same Terminal) many times… What I find strange here is that this vessel has released both tugs shortly after entering the main channel. When I was there last time in 2022 It was mandatory to keep the aft tug’s line attached for as long as vessel passes under the bridge and only then, it would be let go. I’m not sure when and why this regulation has changed, but obviously, it was a mistake. Having a tug acting as a rudder/brake might have been useful at least to minimize the impact if not preventing the accident altogether.

Chief, dont EVER apologize for quality of your video. You literally are doing a better job than MSM.

As a Chief Engineer for 20 years with Maersk Lines, onboard a container ship and watching the video I believe only certain events could have taken place. A ship that size has 4 generators, 3 of them should be running & online to support all the engine room machinery, deck machinery, house load, including both a very large (KW), bow thruster, and stern thruster motor, used during maneuvering in & out of port. In order to lose all three generators, and ships power, would be caused by 2 things only: Drop of fuel pressure, or the machinery electrical computer system failed, both causing the generator main power breakers to open, loosing all power, as seen on the video. I believe the issue was low fuel pressure that could be caused by various machinery failures. One area that will be investigated closely is if the Fuel Oil 'Standby' pump was set in "Auto Start/Stop" position. All critical machinery, including the F/O system, consists of 2 pumps/motors that are designed to automatically start if the system pressure drops below a certain set point. If the Fuel Oil standby pump selector switch was not in the Auto Start/Stop position, when the F/O pump that was on line failed the Standby pump did not start and fuel pressure was lost, causing the generators to starve for fuel and once the electrical automation senses a drop in generator speed, it will trip the main power breaker(s), and all power is lost to the ship. Once a ships power is lost (lights going out the first time), the ship's Emergency Generator comes on & is designed to restart a generator engine & re-supply power to the entire ship (lights coming back on). Shortly after the lights come on the Captain realized he was on a collision course for the bridge, he put the ship in Full Astern, causing full fuel pressure to the Main Engine, (black smoke from the stack). The loss of power the second time (lights went out again), was caused by a power surge to the one generator that was supplying all machinery systems, including the Bow Thruster, which the Captain at a last attempt, requested max power to the Bow Thruster, tripping the power back off. When a ship loses power, it loses all steering until the Emergency Generator starts & supplies power to the Steering Hydraulic pumps. Once the power was lost the second time, the vessel course could not be changed, travelling at 9 knots, and collided with the bridge. Michae E. Buckley III, Chief Engineer Maersk Line Ltd

I live in the suburbs of Baltimore. I want to thank you for such a clear, calm and concise video on this tragedy. It was confirmed a half hour ago that the 6 missing construction workers are presumed dead. No word on how many vehicles were still on the bridge when the impact happened. All of Maryland is in shock right now.

Hi Sam, Great channel. I'm a marine engineer; here's my guess at what has happened. When a ship leaves port there is a requirement to start stand-by generators for the duration of the voyage out. But sometimes there are other issues, a switch board failure, or auto-control issue and you can lose the lot. it has happened to me a few times over the years. Everything goes off-line and the main engines shut down automatically because they have no feed pumps for fuel, lube oil and air. The emergency generator will usually start - a small diesel housed on the upper deck usually behind the bridge. It gives enough power for the nav gear and some ventilation, and enough power to enable the engineers to get the rest of the gear back on-line. That is probably driving the lights we see come back on but not as many as before. The engineers then go round the engine room and control room and manually switch all the gear back on. That can take some time. But because of the emergency the engineers in this case would have to make a terrible decision to start the main engines immediately to go emergency full astern possibly without supporting pumps and almost certainly with some engine damage. Black smoke is always a sign of incomplete combustion. the massive pumps that supply air to the engine room would be off-line and so the engines would be gasping for air. The fuel would burn but without enough air hence the black smoke. in full-astern mode the rudder would be useless. I really hope the anchor team got off the foredeck before the bridge came down on top of them. Cheers

None of the local Baltimore TV channels are showing the footage of the ship going dark at 01:24:33. They just keep showing the Dali striking the bridge and the collapse. They are not showing the full story that is available to anyone that can see Stream Time LIVE or Sal's reporting at 0800 EST. I live in the Baltimore TV market and the stations that are still covering this live have not once shown the portion of the video that clearly shows the Dali losing power and going dark. They just keep showing the video after it has regained power. It was too late at that point. Great job Sal on providing more of the full story in a timely manner.

It’s refreshing to see there is still quality content on KZfaq that doesn’t dramatise, states the facts and is respectful to what is a tragedy with real impact to real people. My thoughts go out to all these people. Thank you for your video.

Twenty five years in the Navy and agree 100% - silence is a terrible thing aboard ship. Great analysis, thank you.

The only source of news about what is going on with shipping. Thanks Sal.

I'm old enough to remember when the mainstream news reported like this. Thank you so much.

A few things to add. 1) During a blackout the GMDSS radio equipment will work on battery power. ECDIS (Electronic chart display) and VDR (voyage data recorder) work with their own UPS. The engineroom alarm system has its own batteries, normally together with the GMDSS batteries. 2) The second steering gear is connected to the emergency switchboard, but normally it takes a minute for the emergency switchboard too disconnect from the main switchboard and the emergency generator to start. In this minute the normal generators (if switched on stand-by) have a change to start and power everything. 3) The rudder must have water pressure from propeller to have effect. Without the engine the rudder is mostly useless. 4) When giving astern the vessel will start to turn to port or starboard due to the propeller effect. You can't stop this with the rudder, only with a bowthruster. Dragging one anchor will give the vessel also drag on one side and make it turn.

Great coverage & commentary on this tragic event, thank you

So I'm Longshoreman at the port of Baltimore and was working Dundalk a couple of hours before this happened, I was told by my union brothers that the ship lost power a couple times why we were discharging and loading the ship. They knew the ship had a power problem before it left port and still decided to set sail.

I was in the navy as a Surface Warfare Officer and brought US Navy Warships into port as officer of the deck many times. Losing propulsion/steering in a channel is a WORST CASE scenario and there are often times literally only seconds to recover. The US Navy in fact puts extra redundant engineering equipment online with a 'run it until it breaks' mindset during restricted maneuvering in channels like this to avoid a collision or grounding - it is THAT important. A big ship like this loses control of propulsion/steering and doesn't have tugs to immediately assist they have NO chance to control their movement for some distance/time. Very tragic but thank God it didn't happen during rush hour.

You showed and greatly detailed more in the 7 minutes than the news and officials have all day. Thanks

This is excellent reportage. A credit to you. And, an illustration of how the "siloed" nature of the Internet allows for levels of objectivity and depth of coverage that are no longer even attempted on television and radio. Extremely well done.

Channels like this blow main stream media away. Thanks for being there when the whole world needs you.

This is the best, most accurate, and knowledgable coverage of this anywhere. Every other news outlook is just guessing and asking stupid questions.

I am a heavy tow pilot on the Mississippi between St. Louis and New Orleans and unfortunately this situation is not as uncommon as one would hope. Less than 24 hours after the Baltimore incident the Mississippi was closed to traffic from MM 160-162 for several hours due to the M/V Thunderbird losing power/control in a very congested, commercial area. Luckily there were/are many tugs and fleet boats in this area and the ship was quickly assisted and able to anchor in the middle of the channel without damage to the vessel or any surrounding infrastructure.

Thank you for this video. My dad was a retired merchant mariner (also served in the north Atlantic during WWII), then became a harbor pilot before he finally really retired. I've always loved following shipping. The media asking why it couldn't stop in time or drop anchors to stop it just displayed their lack of knowledge about large ships.

Never seen your channel before today but, I've been watching news and I've seen a couple of your videos now and the information you have is WAY better than the news outlets.

Thanks for the update. Better than anything in the regular news media.

You may not be satisfied Sal, but your coverage of this very sad and very disruptive event is already vastly better than anyone else. Thank you for compassionate, unbiased, factual reporting.

Absolutely the best and most accurate analysis I’ve seen. I wish everyone would watch this and stop with the conspiracy theories!

As a retired submarine officer and licensed professional mechanical engineer, I want to thank you for posting this. Excellent coverage. Bravo Zulu

Man I drove across the key bridge yesterday afternoon. Twelve hours later and it's gone. What a horrible mess.

Thank you for your analysis. National media hasn’t shown this in-depth analysis like you.

First visit to this channel. Intelligent, informative, and concise. KZfaqrs like this are the salt of the earth.

Thank you for not over dramatizing what may have happened, and for just reporting facts known at this point. You just gained a new subscriber.

Thanks Sal. You’re the only person I want to listen to after something like this happened . Professional succinct expert analysis, not wild hyperbole. My thoughts are with the people who have been affected by this terrible tragedy .

Sal: As a lifelong Baltimorean and traveler over the Key bridge countless times, I wanted to thank you for yesterday's excellent coverage and analysis of this tragic event on your channel. Also the live stream last evening with John Konrad provided further expert insight not found on any other media. Really appreciate what you do.

I live in Baltimore. As a historian.... up until a few days ago, Dali was an Italian artist known for "The Broken Bridge and The Dream." Locally, "The Dream" packed up and left on "The Exodus" and now we have a broken bridge.

Your “quick, dirty news” is better than any other ,mainstream news I’ve seen so far. Seriously. Thank you.

Excellent reporting. Being a retired Marine, steam, and diesel engineer. I have a problem with the situation. When leaving Port, you always have a standby generator in the engine room running. If the generator that is online fails, you simply throw a switch and re-power the ship. This obviously did not happen, and the ship was out of power long enough for the automated emergency generator to kick in.

Like others have said, don't apologize for the quality of the video, the quality was 100% fine! Great information thank you for actually reporting on it unlike most media.

Man it always surprises me how often I come to this channel. I do absolutely nothing with boating / ships / water IRL but with the news lately I always end up here. First the submarine implosion, then the whole middle east ship attacks, now this.

My wife’s nephew is in the coast guard and was called up to patrol this. He is there now

Actually, that's not normal for the tugs to leave a ship that size before they clear a major bridge span. By Coast Guard COTP RULES the tugs should have escorted the ship past the bridge. And yes I spent 3 years at a COTP while in the Coast Guard.

Man this channel has become one of the most important on KZfaq. Thanks for the update. Please keep us updated as you have more analysis.

Baltimore Port worker tells ITV News that the Dali ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge experienced total power failures in the two days that it was docked before the crash: “It was having power problems with draining electrical popping circuit breakers and everything with the mechanics that were working on it,” Julie Mitchell, Co-Administrator from Container Royal said. Container Royal monitors the tonnage on all containers that come in and out of Baltimore Port

Don’t worry if it’s not synchronised to the exact second 😉 This is still the best channel on KZfaq for shipping news…. And their accidents 😂

Thank you for the clear explanation. My son was 4 years in USCG. They just got to town so will show him this as he finished up duty in Maryland after patrol from AK to Mexico. Prayers for all, very sad!

Thank U again for your videos - Do note that none of the commentators have yet noted that certain systems did work / people did their jobs and it thankfully saved many many lives. The ship called Mayday prompting people to close bridge vehicle traffic - they quickly closed the lanes of bridge traffic at both sides. You can also see this in the video, at first there is bridge vehicle traffic, and then it stops.

Please don’t apologize. You are giving great analysis on a developing story and using your own expertise. We appreciate your video.

You’re doing a better job explaining this than mainstream media. You have a new subscriber.

Its amazing that most people and the Baltimore news media didn't talk about what causes the light on the vessel to go out in 1 min. Now there's the #1 source of issue right there.

This is the BEST and most IMPORTANT coverage of the accident. First time I have seen Sal. I know not to expect ANY ACCURATE or FACTUAL news from the main stream media. They have no conceivable understanding of inertia, loads or how huge ships are harder to handle without power than the reporters own phones. Thank you Sal for explaining and showing what happened. I live right on Lake Huron and see ships half as big as the DALI have trouble making way in our shipping channels. Sorry to say but that bridge was designed as a delicate structure without sufficient protection. Just looking at the chart is so enlightening. And the synch job was great. Will be watching as the months and years go on in this saga.

Thanks for this information! I grew up in Dundalk and to us, the Key Bridge was more than just a bridge. It was part of our community and stood as a Colossus as you entered the Inner Harbour! A part of us went down with that bridge this morning. I pray for all those people who were on and around the bridge and their families that are being affected by this tragedy!

All the news outlets should show the two videos you have and it would answer most of the questions regular people have at the time

The news channels told me nothing. This was so informative and clear as to what happened. Thank you!

It's wild how quick the bridge collapsed 😢

Power outage… thanks for such a fast and accurate idea of what happened. I can imagine the panic and confusion in those minutes.

Thanks for kicking this out early, Dr. Sal!

Hello Sam I got the link to your channel from Juan Browne's Blancolario channel. I have to tell you that your coverage of this incident is the best I've seen so far. Surpassing the MSM coverage in every possible way. This is a terrible tragedy for sure but we should be glad that it didn't happen during rush hour or at would have been much worse. RIP To those who perished and condolences to their families.

Thank you for getting these videos out so quickly. In an event like this, you were the channel I turned to for information.

That ship must have completely severed the bridges’ foundational connections. There was a connection point transitioning from the concrete foundation (going deep down into the earth most likely into solid bedrock under the water) and the structural steel supporting the bridge span.. That connection point is (was) most likely huge bolts. These bolts connect the concrete foundations and the steel above. As a structural engineer… that sight is sickening. We design structures to “bend” or otherwise deform. In extreme events like an earthquake (seismic loading) or severe loading from hurricanes or tornados (wind loads) or extreme loading from snow or multiple heavy vehicles on the bridge span (live loads)… the structure in question should deform and bend in a way that is apparent to the users of the structure. It is a way to warn them to take immediate action and flee and get off (or out) of the structure. The worst possible failure is a sudden collapse without warning. Often after major Structural failures like this (think 9-11 World Trade Center collapse or famous dam failures) the building codes, steel, and concrete codes are all “updated” to make subsequent failures less likely. When that bridge is redesigned… the possibility of a shear loading failure (caused by a high speed ship impact) should be accounted for and the engineering designs improved. It will make all subsequent bridge designs more expensive but safer. Pray for the families that lost loved ones in this incident but rest assured the organizations responsibe for that design are paying attention and will mandate improvements in the future. There is a famous engineering story about Soviet Structural Engineers… when they designed a bridge and it was being “load tested” by driving many heavenly laden vehicles onto the span… the engineer who signed off on the design would be standing under the bridge at the time… if the engineer isn’t willing to put his life on the line to demonstrate his confidence in the design… then the public should not be allowed on it either.

For the people that is lost our prayers and condolences. Tks for your time to investigate, share and explain. A major tragedy for all the people affected directly and in logistics a long headache.

Its weird cause I'm happy to see this channel is doing so well but its because of something where lives were lost. But Sal, you're just so concise and good at explaining what happened and your thoughts that you deserve the growth youve been getting.

Why can't CNN interview YOU instead of the many people who have so little information? I mean, the GPS and all, this is the analysis we would all like to see. Thanks for your fantastic videos!

Important to point out that when you decide to back down, you induce a loss of steering as there is no longer prop wash over the rudder.

Amazing video & analysis, which you posted fairly early after the accident. So glad you put this together. Not a single thing to appologize for. As others have said, we did not get this good of an analysis from MSM

thank you sir for providing a A#1 class video regarding this tragic event. i suspect this is the very best coverage of this that is online or in the news. this is so well done i have passed it on to others who don't have the time to 'find' this incredible view. gain, thank you, job well done.

No use bothering with national media when it comes to Shipping. Thanks for getting the facts out there and keeping the speculation to a minimum.

WoW. Great video. Just discovered your channel because of this incident. Very detailed and easy to understand. Best place to get good info on what’s going on so far. Good job.

Thank you for this content. This is probably the most complete explanation for the events that I've seen so far.

Hervorragende Analyse des maritimen Events! Als pensionierter Kapitän der Handelsmarine mit 15 Jahren Erfahrung als Kapitän von ULCCs und ERZTRÄGERN (475.000 DWT) ist der Verlust der Stromversorgung das Worst-Case-Szenario für jeden Kapitän! Danke für die Infos.

Thx for posting useful info instead of repeating the same 5 soundbytes that mainstream media is pumping out. Also, for those in the comments section not familiar with how diesel engines work, thick black smoke is an indication that the power requested (throttle position) is higher than what can be produced either due to lack of intake air, an overload condition, etc. Basically, it's what I would expect to see if they went FULL reverse and the demand from the prop(s) is higher than what the engine can produce. It's simply "unburnt fuel".

Watched this & your other vid this morning & learned more than I could've had Inwatched the news all day. Thanks!

you are the best, my first stop for shipping news and clarity.

Having tugs accompany ships until they're clear of obstacles like bridges might be a good idea.

THANK YOU. This video settled about a dozen arguments in Twitter.

I had a hard time finding this channel again. I couldn't get into my KZfaq history atm. You just got a new subscriber. You did a better job than all MSM.

@3:47 She doesnt begin drifting until power is returned, but before smoke begins belching from the stacks? Doesn't that conflict with the thesis that the drifting would have been caused by suddenly putting the prop into reverse? And why would the crew need to reverse to slow progress if the ship was still on a safe heading when power was restored?

Thanks Sal for all you do. Am old enough to remember the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This definitely has brought those memories back. Thoughts and prayers for those involved in Baltimore.

Reports are that the ship issued a MayDay, when it lost power, which resulted in closing the bridge and stopping more vehicles from going onto the bridge. Which minimized the number of vehicles on the bridge.

Thank you for such a clear/concise report/briefing on this tragic incident. Your report/briefing is a welcomed relief

Yours was the first report I saw, fantastic coverage! You have done a great job

Much better than all the news channels that are guessing/speculating! Thank you Sal

You are doing a great job. Dont need to be perfect, better to get out your analysis than wait.

Thank you for this update. It cleared up some questions I had based on other reporting. Absolute worst thing to happen at a very bad time. Really appreciate all your videos, aleays informative.

No apologies, this is outstanding coverage that we aren't getting anywhere else. Thank you!

Hardly haphazard Sal! Very professional - on short notice. I saw your earlier episode - you've got your finger on the pulse of this - and share insights all the others miss! Thanks Sal!

Thanks very much for this excellent analysis . Loss of power in a narrow shipping channel is the most dreadful thing , one can imagine especially with a vulnerable structure in close proximity . As it appears, the crew acted in a text book fashion , to take way off the ship , but the distance to the pylon was perhaps too short to do that , considering the initial speed and the mass of the ship. My heart goes out to the people on the bridge at the time of it's collapse .

I appreciate what you do so much Sal. Keep it up!

Your “haphazard” is better than any “news outlet” best efforts right now. Well done!

ref silence aboard ship: I was in the USCG and we took our 210' to the yards. Mostly we had shore power....but once... they had to cut off everything.. Nothing aboard ship was running.. we were in drydock. Not even the emergency lighting was hooked up. It was the darkest, loneliest, sensation ever... short of having it happen underway. It was then I decided ... "if we ever go down, I am not gonna be below decks." Afterwards.... every time we "had to go out but didn't have to come back".... in extra heavy weather... I made sure to stay on the bridge (my post) or at least not 'below' as much as possible. I did not like the idea of death at sea...but if it came..... i did not want to be in steel blackness. So, yeah..... even in port.... in drydock..... that silence gets to you.

Sal, you have the best coverage on the Internet of this horrible accident.

This was extremely insightful. Wayyy better than anything in media.

Thank you for this! It's the best coverage I've seen.

Wondering if going full astern to reduce speed added to the problem. Natural thing to do is to try reduce as much speed as possible to lessen the force of impact. However, most ship's have a right hand turn propeller so when going astern the bow (front) of the ship will turn to starboard (right hand side) and in this case caused the ship to collide with the bridge foundation structure. It may of been better to try steer the ship using the forward speed once power came back on, and this may have kept the ship in the navigation channel thus preventing the collision. This is all in hindsight, easier to look at things after all the chaos is over.

So my old Air Station is flying this case. The loss of life here is tragic in that the people on the bridge were repairing pot holes. I suspect they with the electical power loss, they also likely lost steering. Emergency steering is also not in stand-by when underway. Also the emergnecy steering is not very robust... Requirements are as follows... The auxiliary steering gear shall be of adequate strength and capable of steering the ship at navigable speed and be capable of putting the rudder over from 15° on one side to 15° on the other side in not more than 60 seconds at one half of the maximum ahead service speed or 7 knots, whichever is the greater. It is not going to have the same level of responsiveness as compared to standard operational steering. Also, tugs would not have had enough time to be made up to get the vessel to a stop. This vessel is a 95,000 ton vessel moving at 8 knots... it likely going to take 2 -3 NM to stop & all the while, losing rudder authority. The disruptions to east coast shipping is going to be huge as well as the disruption to vehicular traffic in Baltimore. It will likely be 10-14 days before the channel is open (best guess) and may also be delayed in that investigations are also going to be need to be done. We will always have a need for Foreign shipping, but I think there are 2 things to keep in mind. 1. We need to make sure the "Port State Control of Shipping" by the USCG remains robust. This is where the USCG inspects foreign flagged vessels to ensure they are safe to operate in US waters. This is a IMO program 2. This further highlights the need for a stronger US Merchant Maine fleet. I would suggest the US just had is Evergiven event. John B Hall, USMMA '95 USCG Marine Casulaty Investigator 95-98 USCG HH 65 pilot 99-'06

You Did Great And Thank You For Showing What Information You Have!

Hell of a way to commence year #3 of What’s Going on With Shipping. I see another wave of subscribers have found your channel. Keep up the good work Dr. Sal.

News is all over the place. Sal=straight to the point reporting! Thanks Sal!!!!

Never heard of your channel before, but KZfaq suggested it! Thank Goodness! MSM is WORTHLESS for accurate information! I'm now subscribed.

Thanks Sam, for giving us that in-depth review. A very sad event for all the people who lost loved ones. I work for a company that designs large ships and the general public has no idea of what goes into one of these behemoths. I will keep watching. We will learn from this tragedy.

Thank you Sal. Concise professional evaluation priceless.

*I LOST POWER* crossing the English Channel at 4am to France in a Force 5 - giant ships everywhere and the engine and power just went - we could swap over to batteries and then work on the engine, it was pretty terrifying I have to say The engine had drained the fuel tanks unevenly for some reason and when the starboard tank was dry it took a gulp of air and needed to be bled

Mr. "Dependable" for the latest! Thanks Sal!

Nice job Sal. I’ve been a subscriber for about 2 months now and enjoy your analysis 👍