The cargo ship “Dali” which caused the collapse of a bridge on Tuesday in Baltimore in the United States.
Singapore's port authorities said on Wednesday that the container ship had passed two inspections in 2023.
The vessel's classification certificates relating to "the structural integrity of the vessel and the operation of the vessel's equipment were valid at the time of the incident", port authorities said.
According to the same source, a faulty fuel pressure control gauge was repaired in June.
Late Tuesday, port authorities said their investigators and those from the Singapore Transportation Safety Investigation Bureau were on their way to Baltimore to support the US Coast Guard.
Also read: Bridge collapsed after cargo ship collision in Baltimore: “No pillar would withstand such a shock”
Built by the Korean Hyundai shipyard in 2015, 300 m long, 48 m wide, 24.8 m high and 15 m draft, the MV Dali “suffered a momentary loss of propulsion” just before hitting the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed and blocked the commercial port, the ninth largest U.S. port in terms of foreign goods handled and value of foreign goods.
Port which directly employs more than 15,000 people and indirectly nearly 140,000 others.
Six missing people presumed dead
This cargo ship was carrying 4,679 containers at the time of the accident, out of a capacity of 10,000, according to its Hong Kong owner Grace Ocean.
The ship left the port of Baltimore on Tuesday at 1 a.m. for a 27-day crossing to the port of Colombo (Sri Lanka), according to the Marine Traffic website.
After informing authorities of a loss of power, the out-of-control vessel struck the Francis Scott Key highway bridge at 1:28 a.m. local time, the Maryland state governor said.
The Singaporean company that operates the Dali, Synergy Marine, said it was being operated by two local pilots at the time of the collision, according to international procedure.
VIDEO.
Bridge collapsed by a cargo ship in Baltimore: “The pile had no chance of resisting”
The ship tried to drop its anchors to avoid the tragedy, according to Singapore maritime authorities.
No member of the crew was injured and there was no pollution noted, Synergy stressed.
Twenty-two crew members were on board at the time of the accident.
Emergency services suspended searches around the Baltimore Bridge on Tuesday evening, with US authorities believing that the six missing people were now presumed dead.
“Based on the length of time the search has been done, the temperature of the water, at this time we do not believe that we will find these individuals still alive,” Coast Guard Vice Admiral Shannon Gilreath said during the 'a press conference.
Tuesday evening, faced with difficult conditions, the authorities preferred to suspend the search before resuming it this Wednesday.