The Maersk-chartered container ship that apparently “lost propulsion” in Tuesday’s allision with a bridge in Baltimore had been cited for a propulsion deficiency in Chile last June, according to the Equasis database.
The 9,962-teu Dali (built 2015) was written up by port state control officials in San Antonio, Chile, on 27 June for a deficiency in “propulsion and auxiliary machinery”, the database indicates.
The deficiency is further described as “gauges, thermometers, etc”.
There was no detention as a result of the single deficiency detected, records state.
An unclassified Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency report said the container ship “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port and warned Maryland officials of a possible collision before the crash early Tuesday, ABC reported.
“The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation that they had lost control of the vessel and an allision [a ship collision] with the bridge was possible,” the report said.
The allision caused the collapse of the central section of the 1.6-mile bridge and a search-and-rescue operation led by the US Coast Guard continued on Tuesday afternoon for at least six people determined to be missing. The six were believed to work for a construction crew on the bridge at the time of the impact.
Two other people were rescued from the cold river, authorities said, with one uninjured and the other taken to hospital in a critical condition.
A Baltimore City Council member told cable network CNN on Tuesday afternoon that one body also had been recovered from the water.
An investigation into the crash is being led by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which will examine the previously detected deficiency.
NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during an initial press briefing on Tuesday afternoon that her counterparts from Singapore, including staffers from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, were expected to arrive in Baltimore on Wednesday.
The Dali is owned by Grace Ocean of Singapore and operated by Maersk between the East Coast of the US and East Asia, according to Clarksons data.
Maersk said the ship was operated by technical manager Synergy Marine and time-chartered by Maersk, with Maersk cargo on board.
Homendy told reporters that on-board voice recorders would be key to the NTSB’s investigation of the incident, as would the vessel’s operating history.
Investigators had not yet boarded the Dali as Homendy spoke to the media.
“We chose not to board the vessel today to allow some time for search and recovery which we did not want to interfere with,” Homendy said.
She could not confirm or deny whether more people or vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse other than the eight maintenance crew members.
“Really, the focus is on the families,” she said. “Everyone is focused on the rescue.”
