The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a criminal probe into the Baltimore bridge crash and collapse that left six workers dead, the Francis Scott Key Bridge downed, and the Baltimore harbor closed earlier in April. The investigators are reportedly in the early stages of their investigation and are focusing on the internal systems of the ship, such as the power system shut off, causing the massive cargo vessel to veer off course and crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Particularly, the FBI’s criminal probe will investigate whether the crew of the cargo ship Dali knew that their vessel’s internal systems were not properly functioning when their ship headed toward the bridge. Such is what the Washington Post reported, saying that the investigation “will look at least in part at whether the crew left the port knowing the vessel had serious systems problems, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.”
Continuing, the Washington Post reported that the investigators are still reviewing the series of events that led to the Dali slamming into one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s support pillars, plowing through it and taking down the bridge. The WP reported, “Authorities are reviewing the events leading up to the moment that the Dali, a 985-foot Singapore-flagged ship, lost power while leaving the Port of Baltimore and slammed into one of the bridge’s support pillars, said the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe.”
Further, the Washington Post added that the FBI did not give many details when asked to comment on the criminal probe, saying only, “The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court authorized law enforcement activity.”
The FBI’s investigation comes alongside another probe from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy, testifying before the Senate, said that the NTSB is still working with Hyundai, which manufactured the ship’s engine equipment, to examine what went wrong in the engine room, as it appears to have been what shorted out, causing the ship to lose power and crash into the bridge.
Homendy said, explaining that cooperation, “We have had the manufacturer of equipment in the engine room to look closely at the electrical power system. We’re continuing to look at that. We’ve asked for additional assistance from the manufacturer who returned from overseas this week with experts to look at the circuit breakers.”
Then, explaining why investigators are working with Hyundai to examine the ship’s power and brake system, she told lawmakers, “This is technology that exists on the vessel. It is components on the vessel, so we do need the expertise of Hyundai to help us in getting that information. Can we have outside experts as part of that? Yes. We have the internal expertise as well, but we do need to get the manufacturer who has come here to assist us both with the circuit breakers and the electrical power system, so we are working together.”
Noting that NTSB investigators have, in their preliminary investigation, found that the electrical system appears to have been at fault, as evidenced by the ship’s blinking lights right before the crash, Homendy said, “That is where our focus is right now in this investigation. Of course, that’s preliminary. It could take different roads, different paths as we continue this investigation.”
The Daily Mail adds that other investigators are looking into the design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and its collapse. Particularly, they are examining how such a bridge could be built with more effective and substantial pier protection to stop a ship like the Dali from crashing into it in a similar scenario. That could involve barriers to prevent ships from reaching the pillars, as an engineer told Fox News Channel that other, modern bridges have to protect from similar incidents.
Watch the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
"*" indicates required fields