Dali Completes Repairs 10 Months After Hitting Baltimore Bridge

 

The containership Dali which became notorious for its allision destroying Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge has completed repairs and is preparing to return to service. The ship was operating under charter to Maersk at the time of the incident and according to the shipping line’s online scheduler, she returns to service on January 17.

Dali spent the past two months at China’s Fujian Hudong Shipyard arriving there on November 13 after a nearly two-month voyage from Norfolk in the U.S. where she had unloaded after the salvage was completed. The shipyard highlights the work was completed 10 days ahead of the initial schedule with the Dali heading out on sea trials on January 12.

The 10-year-old containership (116,851 dwt) registered in Singapore traveled empty to China after offloading its containers in Virginia and undergoing initial repairs. Port officials in China emphasized the close coordination required to bring the vessel into port due to the extent of the damage.

The yard highlights the extensive damage to the vessel required the development of a comprehensive repair strategy and coordination between multiple departments. The repairs to the bow and forward section included the structural damage, the machinery, and anchors, as well as the thrusters. Work was also performed on the number one cargo hold and the yard reports overhauling the hydraulic and electrical control systems. It is unclear how the work addressed the numerous electrical system issues and make-shift repairs identified by investigators and the subject for the civil damage claims in Maryland’s courts.

Maersk’s online schedule shows the vessel arriving in Shanghai on January 17 and then making port calls in Ningbo and Gwangyang before proceeding to South Korea. She will cross the Pacific bound for Panama, Colombia, and Peru where she will arrive in late February.

Maryland’s court schedule called for the civil case to begin taking witness statements and assembling evidence in 2025. The goal was to wind down all the preparations by early 2026 and move to pre-trial ahead of the first of two court cases. The first phase scheduled for June 2026 is to consider the issue of limited liability and then in the second phase assign value to the multitude of claims.