Dali in the Port of Rotterdam in 2018
History
Name	Dali
Namesake	Salvador Dalí [5]
Owner	Stellar Marine LLC (2015–2016) [1] Grace Ocean Pte. Ltd. (2016–present) [3]
Operator	Maersk (charterer) Oceanbulk Container Management (2015–2016) [1] Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd. (2016–present) [1]
Port of registry	Majuro, Marshall Islands (2015–2016) [1]   Singapore (2016–present) [1]
Ordered	14 May 2013 [4]
Builder	Hyundai Heavy Industries ( Ulsan, South Korea) [2]
Yard number	2678 [2]
Laid down	10 October 2014 [2]
Launched	27 December 2014 [2]
Christened	5 January 2015 [5]
Completed	5 March 2015 [2]
Identification	IMO number:  9697428 MMSI number: 563004200 (2016–present) Call sign: 9V5283 (2016–present) [1]
Status	Grounded in the Patapsco River after striking a bridge.
General characteristics
Class and type	Neopanamax container ship
Tonnage	95,128  GT 52,150  NT 116,851  DWT
Displacement	148,984 t (146,631 long tons) [4]
Length	299.92 m (984 ft)
Beam	48.2 m (158 ft 2 in)
Draught	15.03 m (49 ft 4 in)
Depth	24.8 m (81 ft 4 in)
Installed power	MAN-B&W 9S90ME-C9.2; 41,480 kW (55,630 hp)
Propulsion	Single shaft; fixed pitch propeller
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity	9,971  TEU

MV Dali is a Neopanamax container ship built in 2015 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea. On 26 March 2024, by then operated by Synergy Marine of Singapore, she collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, causing a catastrophic structural failure of the bridge.

Description

Dali is a Neopanamax container ship ^[6] with a length overall of 299.92 metres (984 ft), beam of 48.2 metres (158 ft 2 in), moulded depth of 24.8 metres (81 ft 4 in), and summer draft of 15.03 metres (49 ft 4 in). Her gross and net tonnages are 91,128 and 52,150, respectively, and her deadweight tonnage is 116,851 tonnes. Her container capacity is 9,971 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). ^[2]

Dali is propelled by a single low-speed two-stroke crosshead diesel engine coupled to a fixed-pitch propeller. Her main engine, a 9-cylinder MAN-B&W 9S90ME-C9.2 ^[7] unit manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries under license, is rated 41,480 kW (55,630 hp) at 82.5 rpm. ^[2] Her service speed is 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). ^[5] For maneuvering, Dali has a single 3,000 kW (4,000 hp) bow thruster. Electricity is generated onboard by two 3,840 kW (5,150 hp) and two 4,400 kW (5,900 hp) auxiliary diesel generators. ^[4]

Construction

On 14 May 2013, ^[4] Hyundai Heavy Industries was contracted to build two container ships based on the "Hyundai 9000 wide beam" design that was modified by relocating the wheelhouse from three-quarters aft to a more forward position to increase the container capacity from 9,034 to 9,962 TEU. ^[6] A further two similar ships were ordered for CMA CGM and four for Maersk later in 2013. ^[4]

The construction began in Ulsan, South Korea, in July 2014 and the hull with the yard number 2678 was laid down on 10 October 2014 and launched on 27 December of the same year. ^[2] On 5 January 2015, Dali and her sister ship Cezanne were named for painters Salvador Dalí and Paul Cézanne. ^[5]

Service

Dali was delivered to Stellar Marine LLC, a subsidiary of the Greek shipowner Oceanbulk Maritime SA, on 5 March 2015 and registered in Majuro, Marshall Islands. In October 2016, she was sold to Grace Ocean Pte. Ltd. and placed under the management of Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd., both based in Singapore where the ship was also reflagged. ^[1] The ship has been chartered to the Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk since it was delivered in 2015. ^[6]

While in the port of San Antonio, Chile, in June 2023, port state control inspection revealed a single deficiency related to "gauges, thermometers etc." in the ship's machinery, subsequently clarified as a monitor gauge for fuel pressure which was rectified prior to departure. ^[8] The ship was not detained, and at the follow-up inspection in the United States, three months later, no problems were identified. ^{[1] [4] [9]}

Incidents

Port of Antwerp 2016

On 11 July 2016, Dali collided with the berth at the container terminal in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, causing significant damage to her stern and transom. ^[10] The berth was also damaged and closed for cargo handling operations. No injuries or water pollution were reported. ^[11]

Francis Scott Key Bridge 2024

On 26 March 2024, Dali departed the Port of Baltimore in the United States, bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka, while under charter to Maersk, ^[3] with a crew of 22 ^[13] and two pilots. ^[14] Shortly after leaving the port, the ship lost power, but was able to broadcast a mayday call. ^[15] Soon afterwards, she collided with a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the major part of the bridge to collapse, with one span falling onto the ship's forecastle. ^{[16] [17]} None of the 24 on board were seriously injured. All moving traffic had left the bridge, but six construction workers died. ^{[18] [19] [20]} The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting the investigation of the data recorder and interviewing the crew. There are 56 containers on board with 764 tons of hazardous materials, ^[21] among the total load of nearly 4,700 shipping containers. ^[22]

See also

• Lake Illawarra, the bulk carrier that collided with the Tasman Bridge in 1975
• Marine Floridian, the tanker that collided with the Benjamin Harrison Bridge in 1977
• Summit Venture, the bulk carrier that collided with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980

References

External links

• Media related to IMO 9697428 at Wikimedia Commons