Latest news with #DALI
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘The Key Bridge is down': Newly released transcript captures the moments before and after the ship's impact
As the National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a newly released transcript of the audio recording from the Dali container ship shows routine conversation then panic. The transcript reveals the moments directly before and after the Dali cargo ship collided with the Key Bridge in the early morning hours of March 26, 2024, as it was leaving the Port of Baltimore. At the beginning of the trip, there was no indication of what was to come. As the ship was still alongside Seagirt Marine Terminal, the ship's crew on the bridge was 'having casual conversation.' Once two local pilots from the Association of Maryland Pilots boarded the DALI to guide its departure from the Port of Baltimore, one asked the master of the Dali, 'Captain, everything's working?' The master replied, 'yeah, everything is in order.' The conversation between the pilot and the training pilot was ordinary. They were talking about where the training pilot lived and when they started the job. The pilot mentioned he had stepped on a staple at home. There was conversation about people wanting sugar in coffee. However, around 1:24 a.m., there were signs of trouble. Around that time alarms began going off, and the Dali lost power. The training pilot then said, 'uh oh.' The pilot began asking if the ship had steering. Over the next minute, there was chaos on the cargo ship as crew members and the pilots worked to respond to the loss of power. Around 1:26 a.m., the pilot began warning to close the Key Bridge. At 1:27 a.m., the training pilot said, 'Security call. Security call. Container ship Dali has lost power. Approaching the Key Bridge — I repeat: The container ship Dali has lost all power approaching the Key Bridge, Dali.' While the crew members unsuccessfully tried to anchor the ship, around 1:29 a.m. the audio recording picked up an 'enormous rumble,' when the Dali hit the Key Bridge. At that point the pilot and training Pilot shouted expletives, saying 'the Key Bridge is down.' Immediately, the pilots were in contact with the Coast Guard, as the quick response from first responders began. Six men, working for a construction company performing routine maintenance work on the bridge, were killed. In the minutes after the bridge collapsed, the pilots on the ship were trying to figure out what went wrong. 'I called [the pilot dispatcher] when we started to drift,' the pilot said. 'But we had good speed,' he added. 'We weren't going crazy… everything was under control.' Lawsuits filed after the collapse accuse Grace Ocean and Synergy, the owners and operators of the Dali, of negligence. In court documents, state officials argued the disaster was preventable and said the operators failed to address issues with the ship prior to leaving the port. The transcript released by the NTSB seems to back up claims in some of the lawsuits filed against the owners and operators of the Dali. 'Investigation has established that the ship experienced two electrical power failures on March 25, hours before she departed from her berth. The ship's owner and operator did not diagnose or correct these electrical system failures. Nor were these failures reported to the United States Coast Guard, as required by law,' court documents said. 'Similarly, these failures were not divulged to the two local pilots from the Association of Maryland Pilots who boarded the DALI to guide its departure from the Port of Baltimore, which was also required by law. In fact, the DALI's master falsely reported to the Pilots that everything was in good working order,' the lawsuit filed by the State of Maryland continued to say. While Grace Ocean and Synergy have reached a settlement with the Department of Justice, in a statement the companies said they 'are prepared to vigorously defend themselves in the limitation of liability proceedings pending before the Federal Court in Baltimore and to establish that they were not responsible for the incident.' Earlier this year, the NTSB said that the Key Bridge was almost 30 times above the acceptable risk or threshold for critical bridges. Have a news tip? Contact Jessica Babb at jessicababb@
CBS News
17-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Baltimore City, County residents share thoughts on cost of living, impacts of Key Bridge collapse
Baltimore City and County residents shared their thoughts on the cost of living and the impacts of the 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in their communities in a recent poll by UMBC. The university surveyed 642 Baltimore City residents and 628 Baltimore County residents between April 1 and April 6, questioning them on a range of topics, including their quality of life and opportunities for recreation. It's been a little over a year since the container ship DALI collided with Baltimore's Key Bridge , causing it to collapse into the Patapsco River. UMBC's survey found that 89% of Baltimore County residents and 79% of Baltimore City residents reported that the loss of the Key Bridge continues to have a significant impact on life in the Baltimore area one year later. The Key Bridge collapse on March 26, 2024, impacted almost all of the Baltimore region, as some businesses saw drops in traffic and limited access to the Port of Baltimore caused supply chain delays. A report by Johns Hopkins University found that nearly half of Baltimore-area residents continued to see impacts for months after the loss of the Key Bridge. According to Johns Hopkins University, some residents reported that it was harder to visit family, get to work or run errands after the bridge collapse. UMBC also questioned Baltimore-area residents on the cost of living. According to the survey, 50% of Baltimore City residents believe that the city is more expensive, while 45% of Baltimore County residents think the county is a more expensive place to live. On the other hand, 32% of city residents think the county has a higher cost of living, and 41% of county residents think the cost of living is higher in the city. The survey also found that 41% of Baltimore City residents think the city is headed in the right direction, and 65% of residents said they can never or sometimes trust their local government. According to the survey, 34% of Baltimore County residents think the county is headed in the right direction, while 60% of residents say they can never or sometimes trust their local government. UMBC's poll also questioned city and county residents about how they spend recreational time in their communities. About 37% of Baltimore City residents said they almost never spend leisure time in the county, and 52% of county residents said they almost never spend leisure time in the city. When asked how the county could encourage city residents to visit more often, 18% of respondents cited improvements to the recreational and leisure activities, and 7% suggested improving transportation and accessibility. The poll also asked what would encourage county residents to visit the city more often, and 42% suggested improving public safety, while 10% suggested improving recreational and leisure activities.
CBS News
26-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Maryland leaders to remember Key Bridge collapse victims, first responders
Maryland leaders will pay tribute to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse victims and the emergency responders on Wednesday, marking one year since the tragedy that killed six construction workers. Shortly before 1:30 a.m. on March 26, 2024, the container ship DALI, a 948-foot vessel from Singapore, crashed into a main span of the bridge, which crumbled into the Patapsco River. The construction workers who died were identified as 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 26-year-old Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 24-year-old Carlos Hernandez, Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49, and Jose Mynor Lopez, 35. On this day, Governor Moore and the State of Maryland will hold a Francis Scott Key Bridge Commemoration Ceremony to remember those we lost, honor those who courageously responded, and commemorate the resilience of Baltimore and the entire state. On Wednesday, overlooking the site where the bridge collapsed, which not only killed six but also halted ship traffic to the Port of Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Senator Chris Van Hollen, and Congressmen Kweisi Mfume and Johnny Olszewski, will participate in a Francis Scott Key Bridge Commemoration Ceremony. "(The ceremony is) to remember those we lost, honor those who courageously responded, and commemorate the resilience of Baltimore and the entire state," Maryland leaders said. The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in 1977 and stood for 47 years before it collapsed. On March 26, 2024, investigators said the DALI lost power before crashing into the Key Bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the ship lost power four times in 12 hours before the collision. The NTSB recently blamed Maryland officials for failing to conduct a recommended assessment that would have shown the bridge was vulnerable to a strike . The state helped develop the assessment protocols in 1991. "Frankly, we've been sounding the alarm on this since the tragedy occurred," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. Federal investigators found the chances of a vessel striking the Key Bridge were 30 times the recommended threshold. "We asked had you done this vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge. The answer was no. We then asked, 'Are you doing this vulnerability assessment on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge?' The answer is no," Homendy said. Governor Wes Moore pushed back in an interview with WJZ. "There is not a bridge in this country that could have taken that kind of impact," Moore said. "We are going to make sure we are cooperating with the NTSB to get all the assessments done, but also, I'm going to make sure that those reckless operators are held to account for the tragedy that happened to our state." The NTSB said the critical assessment would have allowed them to identify structural risks with the bridge .
CBS News
25-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
It's been 1 year since Baltimore's Key Bridge collapsed. Where does the rebuild stand?
One year ago, Baltimore's iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in the middle of the night after it was struck by a large cargo ship leaving the Port of Baltimore. The deadly collapse crippled the port - and traffic around Baltimore - for months. Within a matter of months, state and federal leaders collaborated to fund and reconstruct a brand-new bridge, which is expected to be finished by the fall of 2028. On March 26, 2024, investigators said the DALI , a 948-foot vessel managed by Singapore-based company Synergy Marine Group, lost power before crashing into the Key Bridge. Six construction workers performing road work on the bridge died after falling into the Patapsco River. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the ship lost power four times in 12 hours before the collision. Earlier this month, the NTSB faulted the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) for not conducting a critical vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge, which it said could have identified the structure's risk of collapse. The NTSB review found the level of risk for a catastrophic collapse for the Key Bridge was nearly 30 times higher than acceptable risk levels. "The MDTA would've had information to proactively identify strategies to reduce the risk of a collapse and loss of lives associated with a vessel collision with the bridge," MDTA chair Jennifer Homendy said when releasing the board's findings. The Key Bridge construction is expected to cost about $2 billion and it could take at least four years to complete. Here's where we stand: Maryland leaders unveiled the vision of the new Key Bridge in February. The rebuild will visually mimic the original bridge's architecture while having structural improvements. Officials said the new bridge will be taller, to accommodate ship traffic with ease. The cable stay design of the new bridge will allow the federal shipping channel to expand from 700 ft. to 1,000 ft. wide. The base of the bridge will also be raised to 230 ft., which is a 45-foot increase to accommodate ship traffic. The roadway will still be two lanes wide going in each direction. Other pier support structures will be implemented to secure the structure. According to the MDTA , other bridge features include: "Our new bridge will also be constructed in accordance with the most advanced industry standards and the very best in infrastructure design," Maryland Gov. Moore said. "We are going to use the best materials available and employ many Marylanders to build it." In December 2024, Congress passed a deal on a federal spending package , which allocated $100 billion for disaster relief, including the entire cost of a new Key Bridge. At the time, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the efforts to complete the work on a new Key Bridge were "on time and on budget." "The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a national crisis, and meeting the moment would require an act of national unity," Moore said. "Now, we must bring our work to completion by rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge." In the spring, demolition will begin to remove the remaining pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Immediately after that, Gov. Moore said construction will begin. In-water construction of the new bridge, which will connect the I-695 Baltimore Beltway, is expected to begin in the fall of 2025, but that will also require permit verification from the U.S. Coast Guard, according to officials. MDTA anticipates the new Key Bridge to reopen by October 15, 2028 .
