Wed, 27 Mar 2024 21:34:24 -0400
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a press conference Wednesday evening to provide an update on the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the Singaporean-flagged cargo ship, the Dali, had been carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials on board, including corrosive flammable cells, lithium ion batteries, and other hazardous materials.
Some of the hazmat containers were breached, and a sheen was identified in the water that will be dealt with by the authorities.
Homendy said the voyage data recorder (VDR) has been recovered. NTSB investigator Marcel Muise said the VDR contains information from midnight to approximately 6 a.m.
Homendy said the investigation would be a “massive undertaking” that is expected two take one to two years. She added that the NTSB will not hesitate to issue urgent safety recommendations during that time frame. A preliminary report is expected in only two to four weeks.
Part of the investigation will be determining what caused the ship to lose power before hitting the bridge. The source of that outage remained unknown as of Wednesday, Homendy said.
Homendy said tugboats were called to help…
