Dali Ship That Collided With Baltimore Bridge Previously Hit a Port's Wall

The Dali container ship that struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning hit a Belgium port's stone wall in 2016.

The large vessel rammed one of the support columns of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m., causing the entire structure to break into several pieces and fall into the Patapsco River, video posted to X (formerly Twitter) showed. The ship then caught fire, and thick smoke could be seen billowing out of it. Local authorities were initially looking for seven people in the river, and two have already been pulled out, according to the Associated Press. It was unclear if the two already rescued were included in the seven.

The disaster drew attention to a separate incident involving the container ship eight years ago when the vessel struck the Antwerp port's wall, according to a report from Vessel Finder, a vessel tracking website.

The port of Antwerp told Newsweek the collision between the Dali and a quay wall occurred on July 11, 2016. The nautical commission conducted an investigation following the incident, the port's statement said.

"We as port of Antwerp-Bruges cannot give any additional information about the cause of the accident. After an incident, a ship can only leave the port once experts have determined that it can sail safely," the statement said. "Vessels are checked on a frequent basis by various authorities and experts, which is a standard procedure."

The Antwerp incident occurred during unmooring maneuvers while the ship was leaving the port and was caused by a "mistake of the Master and pilot on board," according to the Vessel Finder report.

That incident did not lead to any injuries or water pollution but caused damage to the ship's stern and berth, and the vessel had to be detained for repairs. The incident was also reported by The New York Times.

In a press release, Synergy Marine Group, the Dali's management company, wrote that the exact cause of Tuesday's incident has "yet to be determined" and that the Dali has mobilized its "Qualified Individual Incident response service." There were no injuries among crew members and no resulting pollution, according to the report.

Local officials have not provided an update on the remaining search efforts of those affected by the collision. Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace previously said authorities were looking for "upwards of" seven people, though that number could change, the AP reported.

Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told the AP at around 3 a.m. local time that the collision was a "developing mass casualty event."

Newsweek reached out to Synergy Marine Group and the Baltimore Police Department for comment via email.

The ship was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the time of the crash. It was traveling under a Singapore flag.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott wrote on X: "I'm aware of and en route to the incident at the Key Bridge. I have been in contact with @BaltimoreFire Chief Wallace, @GovWesMoore, @JohnnyOJr, and@AACoExec. Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway."

Maryland Governor Wes Moore posted that he is in contact with local and federal authorities and that he has declared a state of emergency to quickly deploy federal resources to the city.

"We are thankful for the brave men and women who are carrying out efforts to rescue those involved and pray for everyone's safety," he wrote. "We will remain in close contact with federal, state, and local entities that are carrying out rescue efforts as we continue to assess and respond to this tragedy."

Update 3/26/24, 9:29 a.m. ET: This story was updated with a statement from Belgium's port of Antwerp.