Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) complete collapse after large ship hits it

[Beltway]

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

[kphoger]

Dost thou understand the graveness of the circumstances?

[LilianaUwU]

"Volcano with no fire... Not volcano... Just mountain."
—Mr. Thwomp

[NE2]

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

[Scott5114]

A guy did that on the Usenet misc.transport.road newsgroup back in the day.

Which was the style at the time. Now, to take the Key Bridge cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Now where were we? Oh, yeah. The important thing was a guy on misc.transport.road was creatively snipping one-liners, which was the style at the time.

Oh, uh, I mean, uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef.

[Takumi]

Don't @ me. Seriously.

[Beltway]

The issue isn't that Maryland government failed to tell the Coast Guard what to do — it's that no one acted on clear red flags that should've stopped the ship from moving at all.

The Dali experienced multiple power failures before departure. Allowing a vessel with unresolved electrical faults to navigate near critical infrastructure was a clear risk.

DOJ alleges the ship's systems were configured in a way that prevented quick recovery of propulsion and steering after a power outage — a cascading failure waiting to happen.

The Coast Guard's Certificate of Inspection may not have reflected the ship's actual condition. If Maryland or port authorities had flagged the vessel's issues, they could have requested a port state control inspection or delayed departure.

The Port of Baltimore had the authority to hold the vessel at the dock if it posed a safety risk to infrastructure or navigation.

The Key Bridge was known to be structurally vulnerable to vessel strikes. Allowing a compromised ship to pass beneath it — especially at night — was a high-stakes gamble.

No tug escort was required, despite the ship's size and the narrow channel. That's a procedural oversight that could've mitigated the risk.

The Coast Guard doesn't operate in a vacuum. It relies on local intelligence, including reports from state agencies, pilots, and port staff.

If Maryland had flagged the Dali's condition, the Coast Guard could have acted. The absence of such a warning reflects a breakdown in local vigilance, not a lack of jurisdiction.

Maryland didn't need to "tell the Coast Guard to do their job better." But they did have a duty to monitor, report, and mitigate risks — especially with a bridge that had no margin for error.

The Dali had documented electrical problems before leaving port. That's now part of federal investigations. With power failures already occurring dockside, allowing a vessel of that scale to sail — especially without a tug escort — was reckless oversight. MPA rolled the dice and they got snake eyes -- the casino won and MPA lost.

Maryland port authorities didn't need to diagnose the faults themselves. But they absolutely had the ability — and the responsibility — to delay departure, request a Port State Control inspection, or escalate concerns to the Coast Guard. The state isn't just a spectator here.

The Coast Guard depends on local agencies to raise alarms when something's off. If no one flagged the Dali, it wasn't a federal breakdown — it was a failure in basic vigilance.

Maryland Port Administration (MPA) didn't cause the power failure aboard the Dali, but they were part of a system that let a compromised vessel proceed. When you're managing terminal operations, you're not just coordinating ship movements — you're gatekeeping risk. The moment repeated electrical faults occurred, MPA had options: delay departure, escalate to the Coast Guard, demand tug support. None were used.

So yes — MPA rolled the dice on a ship limping out of port with questionable reliability. And instead of a routine crossing, they got a collapsed bridge, paralyzed supply chains, and a national infrastructure failure.