We have been following the story of the 984-foot container ship Dali closing Baltimore harbor since the accident in 2024. Here’s the final finding.
The wheels of inquiry, justice and determination often turn slowly but this week the National Transportation Safety Board issued their report on how and why the Singapore-flagged, 984-foot container ship Dali lost power in Baltimore, Maryland and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge that runs across the Harbor.
On Tuesday this week, the NTSB determined, officially, that the terrible accident that caused the death of six bridge workers and closed the vital shipping and commuter vehicle artery for months, was caused by –wait for it—a faulty wire to a simple junction connection.
Quoting from the NTSB report: “The investigation found that wire-label banding prevented the wire from being fully inserted into its terminal block spring-clamp gate, causing an inadequate connection in the 984-foot vessel’s electrical system. When the wire electrically disconnected, a high-voltage breaker opened unexpectedly, triggering a cascade of events that resulted in the loss of propulsion and steering as the Singapore-flagged containership departed Baltimore Harbor.”
Again, from the report: “The Dali, at almost 1,000 feet, is as long as the Eiffel Tower is high, with miles of wiring and thousands of electrical connections,” said NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy. “Finding this single wire was like hunting for a loose rivet on the Eiffel Tower.”
Benjamin Franklin’s ditty on the subject:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost;
for want of a shoe the horse was lost;
and for want of a horse the rider was lost,
being overtaken and slain by the enemy,
all for want of care about a horse-shoe nail
