Dali, ship that rammed into Baltimore bridge, cleared two safety inspections in 2023

The ship that rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its complete collapse, underwent two overseas inspections in 2023, the Singapore Port Authority has said.

The Singapore-flagged container vessel named Dali, heading out of Baltimore Harbor bound for Sri Lanka, plowed into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the mouth of the Patapsco River at about 1:30 am on Tuesday.

“The vessel’s required classification society and statutory certificates covering the structural integrity of the vessel and functionality of the vessel’s equipment, were valid at the time of the incident,” the port authority said.

Dali reported a faulty monitor gauge for fuel pressure which was however rectified in June last year.

The cargo ship “experienced momentary loss of propulsion” just before it ran into the bridge moments before it ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed and blocked the commercial harbour.

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About the ship Dali

Dali, constructed by the Korean Hyundai shipyard in 2015, is a 300 metres long (985 feet), 48 metres wide and 24.8 metres tall cargo vessel that left from Baltimore at 1 am on Tuesday to set on a month-long voyage to Sri Lanka’s Colombo.

The ship belongs to Singapore-based Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, which is owned by a Hong Kong group, and was carrying containers on behalf of Danish shipping giant Maersk.

Synergy Marine, the Singapore company that operates the Dali, said it was being controlled by two Baltimore port pilots at the time of the collision.

6 workers presumed dead

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Six workers, who fell into the water, supposedly did not survive the freezing conditions of the river, the US Coast Guard and Maryland State Police officials have said in a statement.

With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident.

However, rescuers have been able to pull out two people safely out of the frigid water, one of whom is hospitalised. The rescued people, along with the six workers, were part of a work crew filling potholes on the road surface of the bridge, officials said earlier.

With inputs from agencies