What we know about various investigations stemming from Key Bridge collapse

BALTIMORE — Authorities were quick to respond when a massive cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, collapsing the span and killing six people, and several agencies promptly launched probes into the deadly disaster.

The 984-foot Dali weighed some 112,000 tons loaded with containers when it left the Port of Baltimore early in the morning of March 26. The ship lost all power while approaching the bridge and drifted into one of its support columns, toppling the span.

Here’s what we know about the various investigations:

National Transportation Safety Board

The NTSB’s Office of Marine Safety and Office of Highway Safety are examining what went wrong aboard the Dali and the structural components of the bridge, respectively.

The agency investigates through the lens of safety and with the goal of preventing similar tragedies from occurring, not holding anyone liable.

Investigators have searched the Dali’s engine room for answers about why the vessel lost power. They brought in representatives from the ship’s manufacturer, Hyundai, to help extract data from the electrical system and circuit breakers.

Alarms indicating an inconsistent power supply to refrigerated containers sounded on the Dali before it left the port, according to the City of Baltimore’s lawsuit against the ship’s Singaporean owner and manager.

NTSB investigators have interviewed members of the Dali’s predominantly Indian crew and the Maryland pilots who boarded the vessel to guide it out of port and under the Key Bridge safely. They also questioned Coast Guard watch standers and took statements from tugboat operators.

Two tugs guided the Dali away from the port’s Seagirt Marine Terminal but cast off once the ship was in the main McHenry shipping channel.

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