Questions Swirl About Whether Cargo Ship Had Electrical Issues Before Bridge Crash

Despite conflicting statements, who knew what when about ship’s power failures will be pivotal question in probing the Baltimore Harbor disaster.

A crane removes a container from a ship at the Port of Baltimore's Seagirt Marine Terminal. On March 26, 2024, the Dali, a 95,000-ton Singapore-flagged carrier loaded with 262,000 tons of cargo, was struggling with electrical issues before it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

Conflicting claims say the container vessel Dali was experiencing electrical failures while docked for 48 hours at Seagirt Marine Terminal but was allowed to depart anyway.

The vessel then lost power in Baltimore Harbor and knocked down the Francis Scott Key Bridge early on March 26, killing six construction workers and shutting down—potentially for weeks—the ninth-busiest commercial port in the United States.