Dali Had Prior Collision and Propulsion Finding Before Baltimore Crash

The Maersk Line Limited-chartered ship lost propulsion before hitting the Interstate 695 Patapsco River crossing shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The collision brought down the bridge and sent a construction crew into the water. Newsweek reported that the Dali’s 2016 collision with a wall in Antwerp, Belgium, was attributed to errors by the ship’s master and pilot.

The nine-year-old vessel was detained in San Antonio, Chile, last June after inspectors found an issue involving its “propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” The Washington Post reported, citing records from the intergovernmental shipping regulator Tokyo MOU.

The ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and operator, Synergy Marine, have faced at least four U.S. federal lawsuits alleging negligence and other claims related to worker injuries on other vessels, The Associated Press reported. Separately, the U.S. Labor Department last year sanctioned Maersk over allegations that it had prevented employees from reporting safety concerns, according to documents published by The Lever.

A July 14, 2023, Labor Department letter concerning an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation said Maersk “suspended and then terminated” a worker in retaliation for reporting unsafe conditions and contacting the U.S. Coast Guard. The letter said the employee had reported a leak and required repairs to a cargo-hold bilge system, alcohol use by crew members, and inoperable equipment, including an emergency fire pump and lifeboat block and releasing gear.

The search for six construction workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed was suspended until Wednesday, the AP reported. Their employer, Brawner Builders, presumed them dead. Local media reported that multiple vehicles fell into the river and that two workers were rescued; one was briefly hospitalized.