U.S. Army vet speculates on what went wrong before collapse

A former U.S. Army and Marine Corps veteran who spoke with Fox News Digital said Thursday that the Dali cargo ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge and collapsed may have suffered electrical problems shortly after leaving port. He said it was expensive.

“Any power outage on the ship means there was a problem with the ship’s own electrical system,” Jason Nelson said.

During his last two years in the Army, Nelson was stationed 10 yards from the bridge at Fort McHenry when the ship approached from the southwest, veered to starboard, veered toward the bridge, and eventually crashed into the tower. He said he could clearly see the water flowing into the water. .

“When the ship loses power, you know something important is happening. You see the ship continue to drift,” Nelson said. “When you’re running it, it doesn’t stop for a second. When it comes back on, you see it make adjustments.”

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Nelson argued that the most likely scenario was that the crew performed an emergency maneuver but did not have time to correct it.

“They should have made a loop and then brought it in. If they noticed a problem, they should have stopped it and put it under tug control. So none of that makes any sense,” Nelson said.

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Two pilots were piloting the cargo ship Dali during a power outage on Tuesday when it crashed into a column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge minutes later, causing the bridge to collapse and killing six construction workers. .

The disaster has put the highly specialized role of pilots, who temporarily take over control of ships from regular captains, into the spotlight.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge is seen collapsed into the water early Tuesday morning in Baltimore, Maryland, March 26, 2024. The cargo ship collided with the bridge’s support beam, causing the bridge to fall into the Patapsco River. (Baltimore Fire Rescue)

So far, there is no evidence that Dali’s main pilot did anything wrong. Maritime experts said there was likely nothing the pilot could have done to stop the 95,000-ton vessel from slamming into the bridge.

Harbor pilots, who pilot the huge ships in and out of Baltimore’s harbor, often maintain just a 2-foot clearance above the channel floor and memorize charts, currents, and all other marine variables. Must be.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a large bridge spanning the Patapsco River in Baltimore, collapsed after being struck by a large cargo ship on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, prompting a massive emergency response with multiple people in the water. It was conducted. The Baltimore City Fire Department described the collapse as a mass casualty incident. (Jasper Colt-USA Today)

The ship issued a mayday call, giving authorities enough time to close the bridge to traffic and potentially prevent further deaths. According to a preliminary schedule compiled by the National Transportation Safety Board, the lead pilot lowered anchor, gave commands to maneuver and called nearby tugboats for help.

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But maritime experts say that in the end, there was likely nothing the pilots could have done to stop the 95,000-ton ship from slamming into the bridge.