A Singaporean-flagged cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday, as confirmed by an analysis of MarineTraffic ship-tracking data. The data revealed that the ship altered its course and veered towards a bridge pillar just before the impact occurred.
The incident, which took place at 1:28 a.m. ET, raised questions about the cause of the crash and the flickering of the ship's lights. Authorities are investigating a possible power failure as a contributing factor in the collision.
The container ship named Dali was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it began changing its course towards the bridge's pillar at 1:26 a.m. local time. Video footage from the scene captured a plume of dark smoke emanating from the ship at 1:25 a.m. ET, moments before the collision.
Notably, the ship's lights were observed flickering at least twice before the impact. The ship's lights went out at 1:24 a.m. ET, then turned back on, and subsequently flickered off and on between 1:26 a.m. ET and 1:27 a.m. ET, just before striking the bridge.
The sequence of events leading up to the collision has prompted further scrutiny into the circumstances surrounding the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board has been contacted to provide insights into the potential causes of the crash and the erratic behavior of the ship's lights.
