Did the cargo ship Dali drop anchor before it hit Francis Scott Key Bridge?

The container ship Dali Wednesday morning, March 27, 2024, at the site where it collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

When the cargo ship Dali lost power and propulsion as it headed out of Baltimore Harbor, the pilot issued several commands in an attempt to stop the vessel before it hit Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Audio recordings collected from the ship's Voyage Data Recorder showed the pilot was heard calling for tugboat assistance several minutes before the crash. He also ordered the crew to drop anchor and pull the rudder, according to NTSB investigators.

Safety board investigator Marcel Muise said data showed the Dali, measuring about three football fields in length and piled high with shipping containers, was moving at about 8 miles per hour when it struck a bridge abutment.

Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots Association, told CNN the Dali pilot took all appropriate steps once he lost control of the ship, "but it happened so quickly and with so little lead time, neither one of those maneuvers were enough." 

The ship was too large and too close to prevent the collision that destroyed the bridge.