VDR Transcript Shows Final Panic Aboard Dali as It Approached the Bridge

The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation and release of data from the 2024 incident in which the containership Dali destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. In April, it posted the transcript of the VDR and crew interviews, which are now getting extensive attention in the Baltimore media.

The full 74-page transcript of the voice conversations was posted following the NTSB’s outline of the information in a March press briefing. Unlike the formal briefing, the actual wording shows the panic, terror, and frantic situation as multiple commands were shouted and the pilots and crew struggled to manage the situation.

It ends with the now fateful call by the pilot to the U.S. Coast Guard. At 0129:37 the senior pilot calls from the bridge of the Dali, “This the Dali. We have a major problem. The Key Bridge is down. I repeat. The Key Bridge is down. ummm Coast Guard. Coast Guard. This is container ship Dali. you copy?” 

In the minutes that follow they frantically try to contact officials, determine what happened, ask if anyone was injured, and start to second guess the situation. There were two pilots, a senior pilot and a trainee, and the trainee lets out what the transcript says is a “quick nervous laugh,” and the pilot remarks “Now this is a problem.”

The transcript followed much of the day including the power failures that prior afternoon while the vessel was at the dock and the subsequent briefing to the master. The master tells the chief engineer to write up the situation in full detail for the office but hours later when the pilots board after midnight they are told everything is good. They have a casual conversation as they prepare to push off. At about 0039 the Dali is underway with two tugs, which are released at 0107 with the captain of the tug Bridget McAllister signing off by wishing the Dali and the pilots a “safe trip.”

The alarms sound at 0124:59 with the pilot asking immediately does the ship still has steering and he is told yes. Immediately they are calling for the bosun and telling him “Go forward fast.” The bosun is told to prepare and later at 0127:14 to drop the anchor.

At 0126 the pilot is heard making the first call telling the port to close the bridge and 30 seconds later he is calling asking if the McAllister tug is still in the area. When he reaches the tug and realizes they are out of distance, he tells the master “hammer down,” to get back fast implying they need immediate help.

In the final moments, the pilot desperately calls out at 0128:59 for full bow thruster to port. The second officer responds, “No. It’s not working.” 

The anchor chain is heard at 0128:59. Six seconds later the transcript lists “sound of groaning/cringing,” which it speculates is the pilot. Nine seconds later the sound of the bridge collapsing is reported while the transcript shows the pilot and the training shouting expletives. 

In the moments that follow the officers, crew, and pilot begin to recover and start responding.  Later in the post-accident interviews, the ship’s second officer speculated if they could have allowed the anchor to be dropped earlier and if it would have prevented the allision. The helmsmen, the transcript of his interview shows, would not speculate and said he had no opinion.