Former merchant marine Cpt. Klaus Luhta, who has guided ships in and out of Baltimore’s port multiple times, says it appears there was a propulsion failure that may have led to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
A former merchant marine captain – who’s traveled in and out of the Baltimore port “a number of times” – explained what happens when a mechanical error occurs on cargo ships.
“When you look at these incidents, typically you’ll look at human error, you’ll look at mechanical error and possibly some sort of security concern. At initial glance, it looks here like it is a mechanical error,” former Cpt. Klaus Luhta said on “Varney & Co.”
“There are some cases where when a ship loses propulsion, you just have no way of controlling it,” he continued. “And this appears to be one of those catastrophes where it was just out of the hands of what anybody could do.”
Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. have confirmed to Fox News that rescue efforts were underway Tuesday following the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge along I-695 in Maryland into the Baltimore harbor following a “ship strike.”
BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE TO BRING TRADE AND TRAFFIC CHAOS
Several vehicles and workers were on the bridge at the time of its collapse. As of Tuesday afternoon, two people were pulled from the water, one in critical condition, officials said. Fox News’ Griff Jenkins reported just before 1 p.m. EST that six people remain unaccounted for.
In an aerial view, the cargo ship Dali is seen after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Getty Images)
The latest update from the Maryland governor’s office has confirmed that the cargo ship lost power and sent a mayday warning before hitting the Baltimore bridge.
The massive container ship named DALI has previously collided with infrastructure while docking, according to reports that show DALI collided with a stone wall at a dock in Antwerp, Belgium, in the afternoon of July 11, 2016.
The container ship suffered damage and was docked for repairs, but no one was injured in the collision, according to The New York Times.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., reacts to a cargo ship crashing into the Baltimore bridge and discusses whether foul play was involved on ‘Mornings with Maria.’
“You’re accelerating the vessel as you leave the port, so that you can maneuver under that bridge and through the channels effectively,” Luhta explained. “So it’s likely that as [an] increase in speed was occurring, there was a propulsion failure. It appears that way from the video.”
Cargo ship crews are trained for events like this, according to the captain, who argued it would be treated as an all-hands-on-deck situation.
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The massive bridge collapsed overnight when a cargo ship lost power and rammed into it.
“These ship pilots are the highest trained vessel operators in the world and in the Port of Baltimore in particular. So they’re trained to deal with these sort of incidents,” Luhta said.
“It sounds from the reports here on Fox that they were able to preserve some life by not allowing vehicles across the bridge, which is a great achievement.”
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Fox News’ Lawrence Richard, Landon Mion, Chris Pandolfo and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
