Cargo Ship Pilot Called for Tugboat Help Before Baltimore Bridge Collapse: NTSB

The ship’s voyage data recorder, containing roughly six hours of data, was found by the Coast Guard.

The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of a container ship after the bridge collapsed in Baltimore, Md., on March 26, 2024. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

The pilot of the cargo ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 radioed for help from nearby tugboats and reported a power loss just moments before the crash, according to federal safety officials.

Speaking to reporters during a press conference on March 27, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the findings were based on audio from the ship’s voyage data recorder, or VDR, which is similar to a “black box” data recorder fitted to airplanes.