The briefing said “initial reports” suggested a harbor pilot and assistant who were on board reported “power issues, multiple alarms on the bridge and the loss of propulsion prior to the incident.”
The report said the pilot will undergo “post-accident drug and alcohol testing.”
Homendy said at Tuesday afternoon’s news conference that the vessel data recorder will be “critical” to the investigation. She said agency investigators had chosen not to immediately board the vessel to secure the recorder, to “allow some time for the search and recovery,” but added that she expected to have more information Wednesday.
Similar to the “black boxes” found on airplanes,
voyage data recorders can help investigators to identify the cause of an accident.
Homendy largely declined to answer specific questions about potential causes or contributing factors, including whether the vessel dropped anchor and whether there should have been additional protective structures around the bridge piers. She also declined to say whether the bridge had been flagged for safety deficiencies in the past, saying that it would “take time to dig through.”
The NTSB is expected to investigate “Initial reports” that a harbor pilot on board the container ship Dali said there were “power issues, multiple alarms on the bridge, and the lo…
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