This is excellent reporting on a complex situation, presented clearly enough for landlubbers. A breath of fresh air after all the speculation in the media and wacko conspiracy theories.
Yeah it's been frustrating to see the dialogue immediately get taken over by political nutjobs trying to blame it on diversity/DEI. It literally only took minutes to find out where ship came from, yet before then half of the political spectrum had already decided that the issue must be that some job did not go to an American white man.
@@stevetaylor8298 Is my opinion, yes, I also saw comments related to the lights that appeared on the bridge when the beams broke, on the lower beams of the bridge there were also electric cables that ensured the lighting of the bridge, but it is possible that the electricity company also used the bridge to cross with power lines, so obviously when they broke, those electrical discharges appeared that looked like microexplosions, it should be noted that those flashes of light appeared after the bridge broke and not before, as they appear in controlled demolitions, but for fans of the sensational, it doesn't matter. I remain of the opinion that it was an accident, possibly the causes that led to the loss of control were caused by improper maintenance of on-board equipment or "unfortunate" decisions such as switching to heavy fuel earlier or an intervention in the electrical panel of the generators at that very moment when losing control for a minute was fatal, but shitt happens
@@stevetaylor8298 >How do you know it was an "accident"? How do you know it *wasnt* an accident? Ship loses power (with black smoke pouring out of the stack, not a good sign at any point), veers into the bridge. If there was intentional sabotage it's going to be pretty obvious. More often than not, this is called "negligence". Untrained employees, poorly maintained ships, etc. Infact, evidently the ship's been losing power *repeatedly* in the past, including while docked...
@@stevetaylor8298 If a terrorist organization or group wanted to make a terror attack on the bridge, they wouldn't plan for something to happen in the middle of the night where traffic and casualty count would be the lowest. Terrorists go for maximum casualty count and shock value.
Was it Sal who suggested that there may have been a significant flow of water from a deep channel to the rear Starboard side that made the ship swing as it did?
Between you and "Whats going on with shipping" we are getting educated, not just a condensed over view or sound bite. thanks for the deeper dive into the machine room and the stand by systems.
I’m an electrical engineer with a sub specialty of emergency power generation and SCADA controls. For over 30+ years now, I’ve worked mostly in the design of emergency power systems for public safety dispatch centers, communications system infrastructure, hospital and healthcare locations and other facilities. For the past 35+ years, I’ve also been a volunteer firefighter/paramedic with heavy/technical rescue and extensive USAR team participation. There are four “UA-cam engineers” that I tend to trust the most for such incidents. Forensic Analysis and Engineering / Casey Jones - Engineer / Building Integrity (and Chief Makoi for maritime matters). Excellent analysis. Thank you.
I was on the Enterprise CVN65 back in the 80's. In the Machinists berthing was right above the #1 prop and as we were doing a flank bell landing planes I was in my bunk not paying any attention to the familiar rumble of the ship doing 35+ knots. There was a card game on the deck between bunks and for about 5 to seven seconds there was sudden strange actual silence of the ship and then a weird bump sensation and a low thump noise and then the sound of the prop going but it was wonky. Every body playing and sleeping asked a sheepish what was that? Someone joked we had hit a whale. Then we started getting reports of flooding on the back 2/3 of the ship. Turns out we had skimmed over and struck Bishops rock. We were lucky had something like an 800 ft crease down the hull, including like 270 ft of opened hull, several condensers and seawater coolers were full of rock, and some nicely broke and bent propellers. We were lucky we didn't have to go swimming or worse. I will always remember the lack of sound as we hit the rock. If it had been a Hollywood movie I am sure there would have been lots of crashing and grinding noise, but the violence our ship suffered was mostly quiet as a mouse.
As an electrician on many power stations, I have seen two main reasons why we get black smoke. 1) On startup, 2) On overload, referred to as ‘black stacking’, where a generator is overloaded to the point where the governor is supplying full fuel but the mechanical load is so great that the engine bogs down!
I'm old Deck Ape who once had a ship lost power just as we were leaving port. It was the scariest feeling. I've been ignoring all the so-called experts, and waiting for you, Chief Makoi to give your calm and rational assessment. Many thanks.
it goes to show that this sort of thing can happen that a cargo ship can loose power and hit a bridge and the number of times that this has happened is shockingly few and far between since it almost never happens due to the number of issues that have to happen in the correct sequence of events for it to happen
As an old engine room snipe I can testify that dropping the load is no fun. We did plenty of casualty control drills but when it happened for real it was a different story. Not to add or detract from anything the Chief has said, the hardest part for us was figuring out WTF just happened.
@@DR_1_1they start by just gathering data and interviews. They have a policy of not analysing anything until that is finished. And they don't tell us anything until they've finished analysing. We probably won't hear anything for months.
Myself I'm an ex USN snipe, or more exacting an Engineman not a BT(boiler tender). Both steam turbines and diesel engines need sufficient time to come up to load carrying temperatures. With that in mind, why wasn't the auxiliary diesel running operational before the ship left the dock. Also anyone trying to use the excuse that tug escorts adds to much cost for the delivery of goods is GREEDY or STUPID.
@@adrianthoroughgood1191 You know this is not a plane crash with everything burned or destroyed, right? Interviews and data can be recorded in a few days, why would it take months? Administrative work? Making up a story that is acceptable for the general public???
The characteristic of a good teacher is to make the neophyte understand lessons which far exceed his level of knowledge. You achieve this with great skill. Merci Chef Makoi.
Thanks Chief! My late father, a Navy Rear Admiral, would not allow me to take our boat out by myself without a “test.” We would ride about two miles from shore. He would disable the boat in some way. I’d have three minutes to solve and repair the boat. If i passed, I was allowed to take the boat out by myself. If I failed, I had a very long swim to shore. Perhaps he went easy on me, he only removed a cotter pin from a prop, and I had Summers of fun. It wasn’t a large boat, but he named it after me. “The Naughty Lass”
As retired mariner myself . That was the best explanation I’ve seen . I have lost all power myself a very sickening and helpless feeling as i am waiting on the chief and engine room crew to get it everything back on line . I know exactly how it feels to be woke up by silence . Keep up the good work Chief
@captziggy1 In the engine room, we have our procedures to do our best to respond as quickly as possible. On the bridge, you are essentially along for the ride except for your calls for tugs and the use of your anchors. I can't fathom the stress that was on the bridge that night. I've been on a vessel that lost steering in a tight area before. Fortunately, it was isolated to a pump and we were able to get the other one online quickly. But the radar plots that day were informative. You see our ship's track go super squirrely. You see every other vessel anywhere near us make clear and obvious maneuvers to stay far away from us. I distinctly remember a RO/RO that usually raced to the pilot pickup point stopping all forward momentum and turning away, giving us the entire area to get straightened out. Fortunately, all of our emergency procedures worked that day. 😊 I've managed to avoid experiencing a dark ship during operations. I've only had to be a part of an intentional one during casualty control testing.
Finally someone with enough knowledge in marine engineering has explained how losing onboard electrical service is different from losing propulsion. Thanks Chief, for laying this out in an understandable manner. I was a marine electrician in the US Navy and it was driving me crazy that no one was explaining this the right way. You can have onboard generated electricity without the main engine, but you can't have the main engine (or steering) without the ship's service generators. Thanks again.
My question is: the simulation shows the ship on track going straight into the channel. So why didn’t the ship’s momentum continue to carry it on course between the bridge pilings instead of making the sharp turn to starboard thereby striking the bridge support after losing power. Even if the ship was encountering a sideways drift from currents as it approached the bridge, the helmsman would already have the helm in a position to overcome those side forces. So wouldn’t the helm and the rudder stayed in that position even if they had lost steering?
kind of surprised by the design. having the main engine producing its own power and being able to maintain operation would seems far much sensible. having 1 switchboard for that and having a more powerful emergency generator able to restart the main engine would seems safer. mixing non-critical power and essential power in the main switchboard is kind of asking for trouble. (having the ability to reroute non-critical power to help also makes sense.) as the chief points out: it takes so much time to isolate and restart that the simulator scenarios are essentially no win scenarios. second trouble is: the design choice of having a very small rudder using the stream of the prop to be effective (even at reasonable speeds) and no battery based emergency power to bridge the gap for starting the emergency generator also seems risky. the real question is: if they need to pay up in ful for all damages, this likely goes beyond the insurance cover. that then would make it worthwhile to invest in better redundancy. but i think they rather keep the cargo rates down, and let the taxpayer fund the rest of the bill.
As an ex British marine engineer, your description was excellent!! Many thanks for taking time out from your busy schedule to put this tragedy into layman's terms.
Thank you for publicly reminding us of what the captain and chief engineer must be going through and for helping maintain a human face on this. Six families are destroyed and these marine officers never meant anyone any harm, so they are suffering too. I hope we all remember that.
This I hate to say, is not all about the dead road crew workers and the feeeeelings of the "victim families" the illegals left in other countries or the crew.. It's about a very consequential accident, with billions in damage that could have been spent on other work of more benefit, and another big American failure. We have gotten into a bad habit of looking at disasters as only mattering in proportion to number of dead people from a disaster. Not cost, dislocations, insurance issues, how the favored get forgiven disaster assistance loan that the unfavored lowly masses are not given forgiveness on. Or in war, focus only on miracle game changing billion dollar war toys the MIC makes and Dead American Heroes!. No focus on cost, the harm of constant war deployments on families and soldiers and sailors , the Armed Forces high suicide rates, failure of adequate for dependents, health care the wounded and hurt inc. the forever maimed and disabled troops.
@@1chrisford how is this an American failure? The ship was not owned or registered to an American interest. If the fuel was contaminated, we don't know how or where the contaminants got into it. The American pilots were not under the influence of any substances... How is this an American failure?
Approaching a close passing through a critical yet delicate structure, with no escort, a single propulsion source, and fly by wire rudder control, I'm surprised the harbor pilot wasn't calling for a little less speed. Otherwise the bridge seems to have responded brilliantly to a crazy cascade of events. Tragic to have lost six guys, but amazing it was kept to only six. Chief, thanks so much for the only competent analysis of this incident that's yet to show up on the net.
Indeed! As a retired shipboard marine engineer officer I find it crazy, as you said, No escort (I assume we're talking tugs) in my day we had tugs standing by when passing through delicate infrastructure, what speed was the bloody thing doing??? I have been on a ship that totally blacked out due to Bad fuel, we had water in the Diesel bunkers, the generators ran on Diesel The main engine on HFO but we usually manoeuvred on Diesel and changed the ME over to HFO after full away on passage, So whilst manoeuvring in Port, including departure, everything was on Diesel, we had shit loads of water in the Diesel fuel, even though luckily! we were Full Away and the ME was on HFO the gennys were on DFO as was normal All the time, All your ME auxiliary equipment on these ships rely on power from the generators, (usually @ 415 volt 3 phase @ 60 Htz) if that goes down everything goes down! You have no ME Lub Oil pumps, No Jacket CW pumps, No SW CLG pumps, No Fuel circ pumps, No Piston CLG pumps (if seperate from JCW) nothing! I'm sure I've forgotten something?! Anyway Sweet FA so your Main Engine(s) are shut down, we were luckily well out into the wide Blue yonder when disaster struck, long story short we got it all sorted and carried on, nice! But this! In Port confines, No Tugs??? Everything still on Diesel for Std By??? What about the "Merry men" up in the bow ready to let the pick go??? Oh we couldn't drop the pick we were going to fast! WTF speed was she doing! 8 knots! A ship that size at 8 knots in harbour confines! That's too bloody fast!!! I'm really looking forward to the results of the Enquiry on this! I'm not a smart Arse just an Old lowly 3EO from British Merchant Navy 70s and 80s Stay Safe Guys
Chief MAKOi provides one of the best first-person perspectives on shipping, particularly on the engineering side. His views should be the bench standard for anyone looking at this incident. There is a lot of commentary, but very few experts of the caliber of Chief MAKOi. Thanks for putting this out there Chief!
I appreciate yr explanations - but there seems to have been a problematic time lag after the 1st pwr loss - with reports that the main computer had to boot back up, but their standby/emergency pwr gen(s) shud have provided instantaneous pwr to the computer without a need to boot back up ! Something fishy.
After the bridge collapsed why were not recorded statements taken by proper authorities ot each crew member as well as the 2 pilots - why talk of written statements (that are subject to being altered/revised after due deliberation with their own legal advice) months from now???
Chief, thank you for your clear, logical authoritative analysis. You have provided a valuable public service. By far the best treatment I’ve seen yet on this tragedy, and I’ve watched many. I hope you will be invited to appear on international media outlets, and that investigators will avail themselves of your expert opinion.
I was active duty in the US Navy for 10 years as a mechanical operator in the Nuclear Propulsion Program. Your analysis of the event was well worth the time to watch!
I was an electrical operator. Yeah, when all the motors/ fans start coasting down and the lights go out, your heart beat jumps way up. "Gotta keep the lights on and things going roundy-round." Chief Makoi gives a good explanation of the layout of things and some plausible points of the failure.
@@mikefochtman7164 A ship that I worked aboard had an exposed lube oil pump for the main engine. My Chief Engineer introduced himself. Then he took me down to the bottom of the engine room. Then he pointed and said, "Never get that wet. It will cause it to slip. It will cause an interruption in the pressure. The main engine has a sensitive low lube oil pressure sensor and alarm. And as the alarm is going off, the main engine will already begin a main engine emergency shutdown procedure." Months later, I'm about to leave the ship. The Chief comments that I was the first engineer to have never tripped that alarm or accidentally got the pump wet. My reply, "Well Chief, You told me not to, so I didn't." I received the biggest belly laugh in reaction. On that trip, the 2nd accidentally kept a petcock open too long during a test and set off all of those alarms. We were able to respond to the alarms and keep the engine going. I never want to experience those alarms again.
I'm a retired shipyard work and I'm aware that ship will occasionally lose power and run into things. I was surprised after a Google search bridge collapse on how many bridge where destroyed. Thank you for making sense of what & why this happens.
You can't get any more of an expert opinion than the Chief on this incident. I don't bother with the 'experts' in the media of those in our incompetent government. Thank you, Chief!
I agree. So many are total bs. There are a few other good ones. I found my way here from Sal who also does TV interviews at times but is actually a professor and UA-camr
What did the "incompetent " government do to contribute to this disaster? Do you expect them to be expert in every situation and be ready on the spot every time? Wishful thinking. At least you didn't blame President Biden.
How is the for profit media the government? The more you get mad the more money you make. Stop listening to their opinion and get facts. Chief, Sal from what’s going on with shipping and Esysman are the best period!
I blacked out the plant once on the old steam ship Manukai just by changing a light bulb. The lights on the console were 120v and i put in a 12v bulb by mistake. Blew the fuse for whole console. On the MV Belgium I blacked out the plant by having my meter set to amps instead of volts while checking the speed pickups on one of the DGs. A friend of mine was reefer on the MV Manukai and tripped the breaker to one of the online DGs by mistake. He was trying to trip a bank of reefer outlets for repairs. That was during departure. He got fired. Its amazing the things that can black out a plant. Good video thank you.
I am a retired Master Mariner. I have had similar experiences in the late 1970s where under way at sea, the ship suddenly goes black. The cause was in the way the generators delivered the electricity: the two generators actually worked against each other. This occurred once the main engine had worked itself up to normal 112 rpm. The solution after two weeks and finding a port of refuge was easily fixed with a medium size screwdriver! The black smoke results from excess fuel entering the cylinders when motors are failing. On start up the superchargers can never provide enough air for a "perfect" combustion in the first couple of minutes. Things may be a little better nowadays, but the root cause is excess fuel.
Chief MAKOi, I don't know if most marine engineers have your level of expertise. Your's in unquestionably at the highest level. I've been following you for years. The thing that really sets you apart is your ability to logically explain complicated situations to the average person. Kudos to you my friend...
Great video, explanation!! As a Boeing 747 Captain, I completely understand on whose shoulders the responsibility lands… Going through incident and accident investigations are certainly no fun- very stressful, often worse than the incident or accident itself… One thing stands out to me- NONE of the bridge support piers had any kind of impact preventing or absorbing pilings that would have directed a ship away from fragile support structures… With that in mind, one would think that at least two tugs would be required for every ship entering or leaving that harbor prior to passing under that bridge… That just seems like a common sense practice for a worst case scenario, considering the fragility, value and cost of any large bridge…
That's the part I can't fathom, why tugs weren't accompanying the ship past the bridge, given the bridges exposure to a ship malfunctioning. Maybe it's time for more money to be spent on tugs and crews. Avoiding one incident like this would pay for a lot of crews , accompanying infrastructure and boats. There must be other places where trimming costs are putting enormous cost risks on infrastructure.
Irrespective of the inability of the ship to avoid hitting the bridge, insufficient protection of the bridge piers that can result in collapse from a single point failure by missing or adequately sized dolphins is inexcusable. Collision with a heavy ship in a busy shipping lane is an entirely foreseeable event and should have been taken into account when the bridge was designed. In addition increased size of shipping over the years should have been taken into account and protection reviewed as part of ongoing assessment during the maintenance the bridge. If something can go wrong it will. Therefore negligence by those responsible or designing and maintaining the bridge!
Common sense seems to be sadly lacking in many accidents, like this United flight that ran off the runway the other day and broke off his landing gear while attempting a high sped turn on to the taxiway, because the tower asked him to clear the runway quickly
For anyone out there that has watched a lot of other "experts" try to break this down, this is THE BEST one I have seen. Having retired from the US NAVY as an engineer, he hit every single nail directly in the head. Right down to the part about if there is no propeller wash across the rudder, the ship won't turn. Wel done, sir! Thank you for actually breaking this down so even those unfamiliar with such things could understand it. I have no experience on a container ship, but an engineering plant on any ship operates on the same principles.. I must say I was surprised at the notion that some sort of major maintenance COULD have been going during an evolution like this. That is shocking. I know we don't know what caused this yet, but even the idea of such a thing is very surprising. And... OH BTW. There is nothing that terrifies an engineer on a ship more than going "cold, dark, and quiet" when at maneuvering.
He even covered possible prop walk too! But reverse can’t happen unless the engine is running in reverse. This a an excellent analysis of what probably happened.
It now a fact, that the Dali lost generator power repeatedly ,at dock being loaded, over several days. Not too surprising then,that electrical power was lost soon after leaving dock+ hitting bridge. It's Murphys Law,and every experienced mechanic knows how that goes. The theory is that refrigerated containers,loaded onboard, were tripping generator (s) for some reason. Makes sense that repairs to generator weren't effective.
Other than "cold, dark, and quiet" passing "Cease all pumping, cease all pumping" over the 1MC will give Engineering Dept and the other khakis a cold chill.
I tried watching Two bit da vincs video on the subject, just because I was curious how he would explain it. I only got 1 minute into that video, then I couldn't stand it anymore.
My thought exactly! A true expert in his field with the ability to communicate his knowledge to people who aren't in his field. All I have heard prior to this is some really crazy conspiracy theories.
@@bushmanphotos ahh, he simply explains what can cause this to happen because he is a chief engineer on a ship of this size. He knows exactly what he's talking about, and understand how a ship can react in various conditions. but like he said in the video it's all still just guessing until the official report comes out. There is absolutely no reason for you to be rude.
Actually, this was a planned event. The agent of chaos, a splinter cell of international terror, rigged the systems to cause this exact string of events. Very good planning and perfect execution, that person is now saying " I love it when a plan comes together.". Sad to say, the above statement almost makes sense. We all know that this is an accident, with someone, somewhere, making a mistake. But talk about the worst case in the worst place at the worst time. I do like Chief coverage and viewpoints, they are very valid.
Thank you. I grew up in Baltimore, on the NE side of the Key Bridge, and was about 10 when it opened. It is great to hear the calm voice of an expert in the face of all the hysteria, conspiracy, racism and straight idiocy surrounding this tragic event in my old hometown. I am only a kayaker, but I salute you Chief Makoi!🫡
Greetings Chief engineer, with decades of forensic testing / failure analysis engineering experience, I really appreciate your expert, informative, well stated and expertly presented great videos!
I've blocked numerous channels that were obviously trying to capitalize on this tragedy. I didn't block this one because I knew I'd actually get factual information. Thanks for taking the time to provide it.
An excellent sequencing and breakdown of events. Well done!!! As an ex- Marine Engineering Sailor in the Royal Australian Navy, there's nothing more unsettling than the ship going dead quiet and the lights going out!!!😱
This an excellent appraisal of the possible causes of the loss of control. I have investigated many incidents, none at sea or on ships, and have found that virtually all of them are caused by more than one thing going wrong, it's rare for a major failure to be caused by one problem.
Chief, thank you for your analysis of this mishap. As a petroleum procurement and testing specialist I"m especially interested in the fuel quality on board Dali at the time of the incident.
Very complete breakdown. As a retired aviator, we also have the rock and hard place situations. We also have a saying that I think could apply here. Better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. Replace ground with land and air with sea, same feeling.
Thank you, Chief MAKOi. I appreciate your clear explanations of what might have gone wrong. All I know about seafaring I have learned from Dr. Sal Mercogliano, and now you. I look around my room, right now, and recognize that nearly everything here is thanks to Mariners like you. May God grant Peace and Grace to all involved. Blessings. 🙏
Thank you, Chief! I've been purposefully ignoring a lot of the speculative stories coming out, waiting for someone who really knows what goes on in an engine room. Really appreciate your perspective on this one! Take good care, cheers from Guam!
Great presentation Chief. Refreshing to watch and listen to someone who speaks with authority on subjects like this instead of the usual cacophony of "talking heads", "news" people, and politicians who don't know a bow thruster from an inclinometer.
Thank you Chief MAKOi, your description is the most inpepth summary I've heard. You've clarified how prepared ships crews are and without pointing a finger have suggested what may have happened. I wish competent people such as you were on committees finding answers. Thank you so much. Doug Lewis Stationery Engineer
G'day Chief, Respect! I am a retired Ships Engineer, I have been Chief but on small tourist boats locally in Australia where I live, I was "Deep Sea" on refrigerated, general cargo and the odd vlcc(FPSO) back in the day (70's & 80's British Merchant Navy (as was😂) I only got to dizzy Heights of 3rd Engineer Officer, (old school system of Chief, 2nd, 3rd and so forth) I had a shot at pt A 2nds in 78 @ Liverpool but failed miserably! Didn't have another shot as got married and emigrated to Oz anyway! I really like your vids Chief and have upmost respect, of course you absolutely know your stuff! I absolutely see what you are talking about, So I know a lot has changed since the "old days" and these massive container vessels are ultra manoeuvrable but I would have thought that such a vessel would have had at least a couple of Tugs in attendance??? All the way to the Fairway Bouy and dropping the pilot?, It seems crazy not to do that!? I think last time I was in Baltimore was around 78 on a vessel of about a mere 11000 GRT, I can't remember for sure but pretty sure we'd have had a tug or two in attendance? US pilotages were and I guess very high standard, it's got an old timer like me stuffed how this could have been allowed to happen, is it because standards have slipped??? Surely not!? Would love to hear Your views Chief and anyone elses here and I can take criticism, all the best from 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
They'll also likely consider a different design, perhaps enabling piers to be placed well away from the main shipping channel, and maybe even install concrete protection systems surrounding the base of each pier, so in the unlikely event of a collision, the piers themselves are safe. (It's even possible other ports around the world which have bridges with unprotected in-water piers on their seaward side are currently running modified cost-benefit analyses on adding protection, just in case).
Amazing! I'm a everyday person. I have learned so much from the Chief watching his video this one time. I will continue watching from here on out! Thank you Chief Makoi!
Thank you Chief! This would have to be the best brake down & honest opinions I have seen about this horrible event! Considering there had to be multiple electrical failures of the back up systems has me wondering as it should everyone. I still can not believe they managed to stop all the traffic on the bridge but the poor workers there never got word to get off!
Thank you, Chief. This analysis casts new light on what might have gone wrong. Eventually, the Coast Guard and the NTSB will figure it out, with a lot of help from experts like Chief Makoi.
Very interesting perspective, excellent analysis. Spoiler alert: The Chief invoked the Kobayashi Maru metaphor to frame the situation that the crew and local Pilots were in. This immediately broadened my understanding of the incident. Thank you for an excellent explanation of the accident, considering the obvious unknowns at this stage of the investigation. I randomly clicked on this video and ended up informed and impressed. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
Thank you very much for giving some insight into the VERY complex engine room systems that were in operation. Given, we don't know the actual events, there's no question that fixing the problem was going to take time, and there wasn't enough of it.
Chief your explanation is very clear. I am not a sailor myself but through your very comprehensive words i understand what going on in the vessel. Maraming salamat po! Saludo ako sa inyo!
Thanks! I’ve been waiting for your video. I have a lot of respect for your opinion. This incident had a lot of impact on the locality. On a normal weekend I would br crossing that bridge in about two hours. I saw the Dali at the terminal the day before the wreck, it’s hard to imagine how big she is until you see her on the horizon.
I am not a mariner nor profess ANY knowledge of the complexity in the operation of large sea-going vessels...however Cheif Makoi's explanations and possible theories are delivered in an understandable manner to us "Landlubbers". It's a tragedy which hopefully may result in changes to Standard Operating Procedures that might minimize the chances of a reoccurance. I am interested in seeing how this plays out upon the completion of investigations and the input from SEA-GOING Chiefs and Captains. Thank-you Chief Makoi !
Thanks, Chief! I've heard scuttlebutt that suggests they were having trouble with power over the period that the MV Dali was berthed. I don't know if they use shore power, ship's power or a combination of both depending on whatever is going on. But if the scuttlebutt is true, then it seems they would have hired tug assistance. This one is gonna be interesting!
A port employee gave an interview about Dali's power generation failing with overload at berth and port having to take over to continue chill loaded containers.
I am skeptical of assigning too much weight to what one port worker says without further verification/confirmation. Was she talking about just the reefer boxes tripping out or the whole system? They had tug assistance to get off the dock and underway. They released the tugs only after being in the channel making good headway.
Hey Chief! Thanks for weighing in. I figured as much in general terms. I didn't bother watching any other videos as I had all the info I needed before the accident from watching all of your videos. My only thoughts were that it was a catastrophic error, complacency or a poorly trained crew. Sad event. However it is awesome to see a post from you. Hopefully you decide to do more.
@@ChiefMAKOi Has anyone confirmed the ship was stuck in port for two days because of electrical problems before launch? It was reported by the news, but haven’t heard anything 100%.
Thanks Chief. I started on a 1200 lb. steam plant. I never dealt with diesels except for our 250Kw ship's service diesel generator. You are absolutely right that the two worst things on a ship at sea are dark and silence. Your heart goes into your throat. The good thing is that the crew will already be moving before you can sound General Quarters. I feel for the bridge crew. Only another ship driver can appreciate just how fast things can go to hell on the bridge of a ship even if you do nothing wrong.
Thank you Chief for your analysis. I have a slightly different take on the sequence of events. 01:24:33 the first blackout. 01:25:21 lights come back but not all of them. 01:25:47 a few additional lights come on but you must zoom and look closely to see. Look at main deck near the house, main deck forward and forward mast. 01:26:37 the second blackout occurs. But the few lights that came back late (first time) stayed on during the second blackout. My take away - After the first blackout, they got the main switchboard back first. The emergency switchboard came back 26 seconds later, probably automatically. (As you pointed out, the EDG should have come on sooner.) The second blackout was the main switchboard dropping out again, but this time the emergency switchboard was powered by the EDG and stayed on. This might be important. The Captain would likely have started the emergency steering after power came back. But he did not have emergency power until 26 seconds later. The emergency steering gear would not have worked but the steering unit on the main switchboard would have worked. Of course this is only my interpretation of the video. I've been wrong many times before. Haven't we all. Thanks Again.
As an ex-marine engineer, every one of your words rang so very true. Thank you for a considered review of the terrible situation. Hope everyone can hear your wise words.
I was hoping Makoi would make a video on this, great explanation from an expert. So many "conspiracies" came out within a day, and too many people thinking they are awake to what's going on and missing reality.
It sounds like the generators had a fuel contamination problem and the crew attempted to restart them with the heavy bunker fuel, which produced the black smoke. Great presentation of the various systems onboard!
Thank you Chief. Hopefully many more people will see and hear your expert opinion. Absolutely too much misinformation being spread by people who have no idea how ship systems work.
This is a great analysis. It's based on what's going on, and what happened. There's actually a lot going on, and each thing needs to be analyzed with what went on, and how you respond. This is RCF analysis, which the NTSB goes by. People who don't know just point at the bridge, and lack of dolphins. EVERY accident, there is something to learn. It's never just one thing, and you shrug. Rules and procedures are often written in the blood of those who suffered. You look backwards from the ultimate failure, and identify little decisions which if they can't prevent it, buy precious time, or introduce additional safeguards. You try and account for human reaction in the chain, in stress procedures can be hard to follow. Make the decisions simple. Safety deals in rules. Rules are finite. Exceptions (do this unless, don't do this unless...) are infinite. They can pile up rapidly and overwhelm peoples' ability to make decisions. If flying, you check your fuel every trip, not unless you just got it. A common exception is people thinking they're familiar enough not to read them. Or it won't be a problem until our next port, where we can take care of it there. It's not just one thing. Safety failures often are small, and they multiply other failures. When you skip over something, then things you don't know about enter the picture. If the person down the chain does the same thing. Nothing is 100% safe. You get a safe system by making subsystems that are 95%+ safe (some may be worse), but by failsafe and redundancy you get that to 99.999+%. The flip side of that is, things failing becomes MORE likely, because they add more components. A good example is, I had a radio tag that had something like a 60% chance of being read per chance. Had to read it to allow movement. Seems bad. But you do that read 12 times, it becomes like 6N (99.9999%) or something very reliable. And obvious solution may not be obvious. The bridge they're rebuilding will have a wider channel. The channel was double the depth of one side of the port. You put things that start making stagnant spots in the current, you'll get tons of silt piling up.
Salamat Po Chief! Former Navy 1200 psi steam engineer. We used to say HDQ - hot, dark and quiet when we dropped the load. Thanks for your interesting videos!
Well done Chief! I was a Chief ERA in the Canadian Navy and I know just how quickly things can go "sideways". Of course, I've never sailed on a container ship, my experience is Steam Y100 plants and CODOG. I've never used heavy oil so I really don't know much about that stuff except it's thick and needs heating in order to burn. Following your video was a learning experience for me and your thoughts, I'd say were bang on. I've heard other folks talk and say that electrical power is provided from the main engines and really don't believe that since you need a constant speed source. Don't know how many times I've made black smoke in the boiler room, I've even blown out a small fire with too much air ha ha! I've even had a wave go over the ship and right into the blower intakes and put out the fires. This will definitely be a learning experience for all and make changes for future regulations.
This is excellent reporting on a complex situation, presented clearly enough for landlubbers. A breath of fresh air after all the speculation in the media and wacko conspiracy theories.
The only reliable expert I'd watch over some "experts" spewing their nonsense. Great video Chief!
Try Sal at What's Up With Shipping. Chief knows him.
Yeah, Sal
he spews just as much nonsense as the rest of them... he has no idea what happened and more fool you for not realising that.
Why's everyone so tribal on who's the better expert lmao
Yeah it's been frustrating to see the dialogue immediately get taken over by political nutjobs trying to blame it on diversity/DEI.
It literally only took minutes to find out where ship came from, yet before then half of the political spectrum had already decided that the issue must be that some job did not go to an American white man.
This is the most competent comment on this accident that I see on social media. Thanks Chief 👌
You're making me blush! 😊
How do you know it was an "accident"?
@@stevetaylor8298 Is my opinion, yes, I also saw comments related to the lights that appeared on the bridge when the beams broke, on the lower beams of the bridge there were also electric cables that ensured the lighting of the bridge, but it is possible that the electricity company also used the bridge to cross with power lines, so obviously when they broke, those electrical discharges appeared that looked like microexplosions, it should be noted that those flashes of light appeared after the bridge broke and not before, as they appear in controlled demolitions, but for fans of the sensational, it doesn't matter. I remain of the opinion that it was an accident, possibly the causes that led to the loss of control were caused by improper maintenance of on-board equipment or "unfortunate" decisions such as switching to heavy fuel earlier or an intervention in the electrical panel of the generators at that very moment when losing control for a minute was fatal, but shitt happens
@@stevetaylor8298 >How do you know it was an "accident"?
How do you know it *wasnt* an accident?
Ship loses power (with black smoke pouring out of the stack, not a good sign at any point), veers into the bridge. If there was intentional sabotage it's going to be pretty obvious.
More often than not, this is called "negligence". Untrained employees, poorly maintained ships, etc.
Infact, evidently the ship's been losing power *repeatedly* in the past, including while docked...
@@stevetaylor8298 If a terrorist organization or group wanted to make a terror attack on the bridge, they wouldn't plan for something to happen in the middle of the night where traffic and casualty count would be the lowest. Terrorists go for maximum casualty count and shock value.
I'd like to give this a dozen thumbs up.
No hyperboles, just pure expertise.
Having retired as a chief engineer from the merchant marine industry, I totally agree with Chief Makoi. Your videos are greatly appreciated Chief.
As a retired Marine Engineer with many voyages on large container ships, I agree. The chief obviously knows his business.
Sal at "What's Up With Shipping" sent me over. Well worth the time spent . Thanks Chief.
Him and this are the only that know what they're talking about. Everyone else is hot air.
Same.
@@jamesowens7176 mop
Was it Sal who suggested that there may have been a significant flow of water from a deep channel to the rear Starboard side that made the ship swing as it did?
Ditto
Between you and "Whats going on with shipping" we are getting educated, not just a condensed over view or sound bite.
thanks for the deeper dive into the machine room and the stand by systems.
I’m not a sailer, not an engineer, not a mariner, but I’m here learning from an excellent teacher.
Chief Makoi knows from experience and a cool Chief
I'm not a Marine Propulsion Specialist .. but I did stay at a Holliday Inn last night.
I’m an electrical engineer with a sub specialty of emergency power generation and SCADA controls.
For over 30+ years now, I’ve worked mostly in the design of emergency power systems for public safety dispatch centers, communications system infrastructure, hospital and healthcare locations and other facilities.
For the past 35+ years, I’ve also been a volunteer firefighter/paramedic with heavy/technical rescue and extensive USAR team participation.
There are four “UA-cam engineers” that I tend to trust the most for such incidents.
Forensic Analysis and Engineering / Casey Jones - Engineer / Building Integrity
(and Chief Makoi for maritime matters).
Excellent analysis.
Thank you.
I was on the Enterprise CVN65 back in the 80's. In the Machinists berthing was right above the #1 prop and as we were doing a flank bell landing planes I was in my bunk not paying any attention to the familiar rumble of the ship doing 35+ knots. There was a card game on the deck between bunks and for about 5 to seven seconds there was sudden strange actual silence of the ship and then a weird bump sensation and a low thump noise and then the sound of the prop going but it was wonky. Every body playing and sleeping asked a sheepish what was that? Someone joked we had hit a whale. Then we started getting reports of flooding on the back 2/3 of the ship. Turns out we had skimmed over and struck Bishops rock. We were lucky had something like an 800 ft crease down the hull, including like 270 ft of opened hull, several condensers and seawater coolers were full of rock, and some nicely broke and bent propellers. We were lucky we didn't have to go swimming or worse. I will always remember the lack of sound as we hit the rock. If it had been a Hollywood movie I am sure there would have been lots of crashing and grinding noise, but the violence our ship suffered was mostly quiet as a mouse.
sailor*
I appreciate the Chief's knowledge, thorough explanation, and calm and slow delivery.
As an electrician on many power stations, I have seen two main reasons why we get black smoke. 1) On startup, 2) On overload, referred to as ‘black stacking’, where a generator is overloaded to the point where the governor is supplying full fuel but the mechanical load is so great that the engine bogs down!
As a Navy vet- what a great wealth of info. Thanks, Chief!
mechanical overload, or sudden application of full electrical load.The four main generators are each the size/power of a large locomotive engine.
@@liam3284 medium speed 2 stroke engine
Chief and Sal M are such great sources of info on this fascinating industry that so many take for granted
Sal been tossing chief name out left and right so cool = see the respect
I just posted the link to the Chief's video on my site.
My default go to experts are -
If it floats' Chief or Sal.
If it flies Juan or Hoover.
It is always nice to hear from people at the top of their game.
Chief, Sal, and Joe Franta are the best
They are my ONLY trusted sources.
THANK YOU, Professor Mercagliano👍 and Chief Makoi.👍
👏👏👏
I'm old Deck Ape who once had a ship lost power just as we were leaving port. It was the scariest feeling. I've been ignoring all the so-called experts, and waiting for you, Chief Makoi to give your calm and rational assessment. Many thanks.
it goes to show that this sort of thing can happen that a cargo ship can loose power and hit a bridge and the number of times that this has happened is shockingly few and far between since it almost never happens due to the number of issues that have to happen in the correct sequence of events for it to happen
This guy knows his stuff. Not the average UA-camr lol
It's great to see you, Chief. Thank you for your experienced voice.
My pleasure!
@@ChiefMAKOi
I was wondering when are you going to make the Dali incident... lol
Thanks very much for your insight Chief 👍
I’ve been managing big ships for forty years and this is one of the best explanations - clear, logical, well laid out and very little speculation.
Spock would give you 2 thumbs up if that was in the vulcan doctrine, outstanding and thank you.
As an old engine room snipe I can testify that dropping the load is no fun. We did plenty of casualty control drills but when it happened for real it was a different story. Not to add or detract from anything the Chief has said, the hardest part for us was figuring out WTF just happened.
Has the NTSB come with something yet? After more than a week with all the crew and ship available, they should have found something?
@@DR_1_1they start by just gathering data and interviews. They have a policy of not analysing anything until that is finished. And they don't tell us anything until they've finished analysing. We probably won't hear anything for months.
Myself I'm an ex USN snipe, or more exacting an Engineman not a BT(boiler tender). Both steam turbines and diesel
engines need sufficient time to come up to load carrying temperatures. With that in mind, why wasn't the auxiliary diesel running operational before the ship left the dock. Also anyone trying to use the excuse that tug escorts adds
to much cost for the delivery of goods is GREEDY or STUPID.
@@DR_1_1They may or may not release everything to the public! It may take years before they are forced to disclose the TRUTH!
@@adrianthoroughgood1191 You know this is not a plane crash with everything burned or destroyed, right? Interviews and data can be recorded in a few days, why would it take months? Administrative work? Making up a story that is acceptable for the general public???
The characteristic of a good teacher is to make the neophyte understand lessons which far exceed his level of knowledge. You achieve this with great skill. Merci Chef Makoi.
@Denis….EXCELLENT observation: Thank you for recognizing the Chief’s impressive communication and teaching skills.
Thanks Chief! My late father, a Navy Rear Admiral, would not allow me to take our boat out by myself without a “test.” We would ride about two miles from shore. He would disable the boat in some way. I’d have three minutes to solve and repair the boat. If i passed, I was allowed to take the boat out by myself. If I failed, I had a very long swim to shore. Perhaps he went easy on me, he only removed a cotter pin from a prop, and I had Summers of fun. It wasn’t a large boat, but he named it after me. “The Naughty Lass”
Love the admiral's sense of humor. 😅😂
Awesome story!❤
Perfect name...
Sounds like you had a great dad.
You had a wonderful and wise father.
As retired mariner myself . That was the best explanation I’ve seen . I have lost all power myself a very sickening and helpless feeling as i am waiting on the chief and engine room crew to get it everything back on line . I know exactly how it feels to be woke up by silence . Keep up the good work Chief
An excellent explanatory video. Thank you Chief.😀🇬🇧
@captziggy1
In the engine room, we have our procedures to do our best to respond as quickly as possible. On the bridge, you are essentially along for the ride except for your calls for tugs and the use of your anchors. I can't fathom the stress that was on the bridge that night. I've been on a vessel that lost steering in a tight area before. Fortunately, it was isolated to a pump and we were able to get the other one online quickly. But the radar plots that day were informative. You see our ship's track go super squirrely. You see every other vessel anywhere near us make clear and obvious maneuvers to stay far away from us. I distinctly remember a RO/RO that usually raced to the pilot pickup point stopping all forward momentum and turning away, giving us the entire area to get straightened out. Fortunately, all of our emergency procedures worked that day. 😊 I've managed to avoid experiencing a dark ship during operations. I've only had to be a part of an intentional one during casualty control testing.
Finally someone with enough knowledge in marine engineering has explained how losing onboard electrical service is different from losing propulsion. Thanks Chief, for laying this out in an understandable manner. I was a marine electrician in the US Navy and it was driving me crazy that no one was explaining this the right way. You can have onboard generated electricity without the main engine, but you can't have the main engine (or steering) without the ship's service generators. Thanks again.
black smoke hints at it being fuel related due to dirty fuel
My question is: the simulation shows the ship on track going straight into the channel. So why didn’t the ship’s momentum continue to carry it on course between the bridge pilings instead of making the sharp turn to starboard thereby striking the bridge support after losing power. Even if the ship was encountering a sideways drift from currents as it approached the bridge, the helmsman would already have the helm in a position to overcome those side forces. So wouldn’t the helm and the rudder stayed in that position even if they had lost steering?
@@edwinschwartz2472 and how do you know that is were it's momentum was taking it?
kind of surprised by the design. having the main engine producing its own power and being able to maintain operation would seems far much sensible. having 1 switchboard for that and having a more powerful emergency generator able to restart the main engine would seems safer. mixing non-critical power and essential power in the main switchboard is kind of asking for trouble. (having the ability to reroute non-critical power to help also makes sense.)
as the chief points out: it takes so much time to isolate and restart that the simulator scenarios are essentially no win scenarios.
second trouble is: the design choice of having a very small rudder using the stream of the prop to be effective (even at reasonable speeds) and no battery based emergency power to bridge the gap for starting the emergency generator also seems risky.
the real question is: if they need to pay up in ful for all damages, this likely goes beyond the insurance cover. that then would make it worthwhile to invest in better redundancy. but i think they rather keep the cargo rates down, and let the taxpayer fund the rest of the bill.
Exactly
Thank you Chief, measured and insightful. Love the Kobyashi Maru analogy!
As an ex British marine engineer, your description was excellent!! Many thanks for taking time out from your busy schedule to put this tragedy into layman's terms.
Thank you for publicly reminding us of what the captain and chief engineer must be going through and for helping maintain a human face on this. Six families are destroyed and these marine officers never meant anyone any harm, so they are suffering too. I hope we all remember that.
Thank you.
@@glennoverhoff6589 thank YOU for all the critical, unseen work you have done. 👍🏆
It is possible to be criminally negligent without meaning anyone any harm.
We don't know yet if that is what happened.
This I hate to say, is not all about the dead road crew workers and the feeeeelings of the "victim families" the illegals left in other countries or the crew.. It's about a very consequential accident, with billions in damage that could have been spent on other work of more benefit, and another big American failure.
We have gotten into a bad habit of looking at disasters as only mattering in proportion to number of dead people from a disaster. Not cost, dislocations, insurance issues, how the favored get forgiven disaster assistance loan that the unfavored lowly masses are not given forgiveness on.
Or in war, focus only on miracle game changing billion dollar war toys the MIC makes and Dead American Heroes!. No focus on cost, the harm of constant war deployments on families and soldiers and sailors , the Armed Forces high suicide rates, failure of adequate for dependents, health care the wounded and hurt inc. the forever maimed and disabled troops.
@@1chrisford how is this an American failure? The ship was not owned or registered to an American interest. If the fuel was contaminated, we don't know how or where the contaminants got into it. The American pilots were not under the influence of any substances... How is this an American failure?
As a retired stationary engineer, I much appreciate your commentary . I had been wating for your posting! Thank you !!!
Approaching a close passing through a critical yet delicate structure, with no escort, a single propulsion source, and fly by wire rudder control, I'm surprised the harbor pilot wasn't calling for a little less speed. Otherwise the bridge seems to have responded brilliantly to a crazy cascade of events. Tragic to have lost six guys, but amazing it was kept to only six.
Chief, thanks so much for the only competent analysis of this incident that's yet to show up on the net.
Indeed! As a retired shipboard marine engineer officer I find it crazy, as you said, No escort (I assume we're talking tugs) in my day we had tugs standing by when passing through delicate infrastructure, what speed was the bloody thing doing??? I have been on a ship that totally blacked out due to Bad fuel, we had water in the Diesel bunkers, the generators ran on Diesel The main engine on HFO but we usually manoeuvred on Diesel and changed the ME over to HFO after full away on passage, So whilst manoeuvring in Port, including departure, everything was on Diesel, we had shit loads of water in the Diesel fuel, even though luckily! we were Full Away and the ME was on HFO the gennys were on DFO as was normal All the time, All your ME auxiliary equipment on these ships rely on power from the generators, (usually @ 415 volt 3 phase @ 60 Htz) if that goes down everything goes down! You have no ME Lub Oil pumps, No Jacket CW pumps, No SW CLG pumps, No Fuel circ pumps, No Piston CLG pumps (if seperate from JCW) nothing! I'm sure I've forgotten something?! Anyway Sweet FA so your Main Engine(s) are shut down, we were luckily well out into the wide Blue yonder when disaster struck, long story short we got it all sorted and carried on, nice! But this! In Port confines, No Tugs??? Everything still on Diesel for Std By??? What about the "Merry men" up in the bow ready to let the pick go??? Oh we couldn't drop the pick we were going to fast! WTF speed was she doing! 8 knots! A ship that size at 8 knots in harbour confines! That's too bloody fast!!! I'm really looking forward to the results of the Enquiry on this! I'm not a smart Arse just an Old lowly 3EO from British Merchant Navy 70s and 80s Stay Safe Guys
Chief MAKOi provides one of the best first-person perspectives on shipping, particularly on the engineering side.
His views should be the bench standard for anyone looking at this incident.
There is a lot of commentary, but very few experts of the caliber of Chief MAKOi.
Thanks for putting this out there Chief!
5-Stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thanks Sal!
Thanks for recommending him, Sal. You're a legend. 😎
I appreciate yr explanations - but there seems to have been a problematic time
lag after the 1st pwr loss - with reports that the main computer had to boot back up, but their standby/emergency pwr gen(s) shud have provided instantaneous pwr to the computer without a need to boot back up ! Something fishy.
After the bridge collapsed why were not recorded statements taken by proper authorities ot each crew member as well as the 2 pilots - why talk of written statements (that are subject to being altered/revised after due deliberation with their own legal advice) months from now???
Excellent presentation, Chief. Thank you for explaining all the engineering possibilities and adding the responsibilities of command.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Cheif, hope you're well. Thanks for the stream and your knowledge.
You are very welcome
Chief, thank you for your clear, logical authoritative analysis. You have provided a valuable public service. By far the best treatment I’ve seen yet on this tragedy, and I’ve watched many. I hope you will be invited to appear on international media outlets, and that investigators will avail themselves of your expert opinion.
Complete respect for your analysis, Chief. No ego reaction. Humility goes a long way ro the next step in human knowledge.
I was active duty in the US Navy for 10 years as a mechanical operator in the Nuclear Propulsion Program. Your analysis of the event was well worth the time to watch!
I was an electrical operator. Yeah, when all the motors/ fans start coasting down and the lights go out, your heart beat jumps way up. "Gotta keep the lights on and things going roundy-round." Chief Makoi gives a good explanation of the layout of things and some plausible points of the failure.
@@mikefochtman7164 A ship that I worked aboard had an exposed lube oil pump for the main engine. My Chief Engineer introduced himself. Then he took me down to the bottom of the engine room. Then he pointed and said, "Never get that wet. It will cause it to slip. It will cause an interruption in the pressure. The main engine has a sensitive low lube oil pressure sensor and alarm. And as the alarm is going off, the main engine will already begin a main engine emergency shutdown procedure."
Months later, I'm about to leave the ship. The Chief comments that I was the first engineer to have never tripped that alarm or accidentally got the pump wet. My reply, "Well Chief, You told me not to, so I didn't." I received the biggest belly laugh in reaction. On that trip, the 2nd accidentally kept a petcock open too long during a test and set off all of those alarms. We were able to respond to the alarms and keep the engine going. I never want to experience those alarms again.
I'm a retired shipyard work and I'm aware that ship will occasionally lose power and run into things. I was surprised after a Google search bridge collapse on how many bridge where destroyed. Thank you for making sense of what & why this happens.
Have a great video ❤
You can't get any more of an expert opinion than the Chief on this incident. I don't bother with the 'experts' in the media of those in our incompetent government. Thank you, Chief!
Experts in the media who have never crossed a gangway, could tell you the circumference of a jam jar but not know how to open it 😂
I agree. So many are total bs. There are a few other good ones. I found my way here from Sal who also does TV interviews at times but is actually a professor and UA-camr
I'd trust his opinion over my government's expert's about this issue anytime
What did the "incompetent " government do to contribute to this disaster? Do you expect them to be expert in every situation and be ready on the spot every time? Wishful thinking.
At least you didn't blame President Biden.
How is the for profit media the government? The more you get mad the more money you make. Stop listening to their opinion and get facts. Chief, Sal from what’s going on with shipping and Esysman are the best period!
I blacked out the plant once on the old steam ship Manukai just by changing a
light bulb. The lights on the console were 120v and i put in a 12v bulb by mistake.
Blew the fuse for whole console. On the MV Belgium I blacked out the plant by
having my meter set to amps instead of volts while checking the speed pickups
on one of the DGs. A friend of mine was reefer on the MV Manukai and tripped
the breaker to one of the online DGs by mistake. He was trying to trip a bank
of reefer outlets for repairs. That was during departure. He got fired. Its amazing
the things that can black out a plant. Good video thank you.
I am a retired Master Mariner. I have had similar experiences in the late 1970s where under way at sea, the ship suddenly goes black. The cause was in the way the generators delivered the electricity: the two generators actually worked against each other. This occurred once the main engine had worked itself up to normal 112 rpm. The solution after two weeks and finding a port of refuge was easily fixed with a medium size screwdriver!
The black smoke results from excess fuel entering the cylinders when motors are failing. On start up the superchargers can never provide enough air for a "perfect" combustion in the first couple of minutes. Things may be a little better nowadays, but the root cause is excess fuel.
Thank you for making this understandable to those of us outside the shipping industry.
Excellent commentary. As a non-expert, this is the best coverage I have viewed. Thank you.
Thank you Chief for your impartial approach despite the limited information regarding the accident. Take care, and may the winds always be fair.
Thank you Chief Makoi for that excellent and detailed analysis. Being a retired Chief Engineer, I couldn't have explained it any better.❤
The real Makoi right here. Excellent video. Thanks for posting.
Chief MAKOi, I don't know if most marine engineers have your level of expertise. Your's in unquestionably at the highest level. I've been following you for years. The thing that really sets you apart is your ability to logically explain complicated situations to the average person. Kudos to you my friend...
Agreed. I knew you would fill in the gaps of information.
Great video, explanation!! As a Boeing 747 Captain, I completely understand on whose shoulders the responsibility lands… Going through incident and accident investigations are certainly no fun- very stressful, often worse than the incident or accident itself…
One thing stands out to me- NONE of the bridge support piers had any kind of impact preventing or absorbing pilings that would have directed a ship away from fragile support structures…
With that in mind, one would think that at least two tugs would be required for every ship entering or leaving that harbor prior to passing under that bridge… That just seems like a common sense practice for a worst case scenario, considering the fragility, value and cost of any large bridge…
That's the part I can't fathom, why tugs weren't accompanying the ship past the bridge, given the bridges exposure to a ship malfunctioning. Maybe it's time for more money to be spent on tugs and crews. Avoiding one incident like this would pay for a lot of crews , accompanying infrastructure and boats. There must be other places where trimming costs are putting enormous cost risks on infrastructure.
Irrespective of the inability of the ship to avoid hitting the bridge, insufficient protection of the bridge piers that can result in collapse from a single point failure by missing or adequately sized dolphins is inexcusable.
Collision with a heavy ship in a busy shipping lane is an entirely foreseeable event and should have been taken into account when the bridge was designed. In addition increased size of shipping over the years should have been taken into account and protection reviewed as part of ongoing assessment during the maintenance the bridge.
If something can go wrong it will. Therefore negligence by those responsible or designing and maintaining the bridge!
Common sense seems to be sadly lacking in many accidents, like this United flight that ran off the runway the other day and broke off his landing gear while attempting a high sped turn on to the taxiway, because the tower asked him to clear the runway quickly
For anyone out there that has watched a lot of other "experts" try to break this down, this is THE BEST one I have seen. Having retired from the US NAVY as an engineer, he hit every single nail directly in the head. Right down to the part about if there is no propeller wash across the rudder, the ship won't turn. Wel done, sir! Thank you for actually breaking this down so even those unfamiliar with such things could understand it. I have no experience on a container ship, but an engineering plant on any ship operates on the same principles.. I must say I was surprised at the notion that some sort of major maintenance COULD have been going during an evolution like this. That is shocking. I know we don't know what caused this yet, but even the idea of such a thing is very surprising. And... OH BTW. There is nothing that terrifies an engineer on a ship more than going "cold, dark, and quiet" when at maneuvering.
He even covered possible prop walk too! But reverse can’t happen unless the engine is running in reverse. This a an excellent analysis of what probably happened.
It now a fact, that the Dali lost generator power repeatedly ,at dock being loaded, over several days.
Not too surprising then,that electrical power was lost soon after leaving dock+ hitting bridge.
It's Murphys Law,and every experienced mechanic knows how that goes.
The theory is that refrigerated containers,loaded onboard, were tripping generator (s) for some reason.
Makes sense that repairs to generator weren't effective.
Other than "cold, dark, and quiet" passing "Cease all pumping, cease all pumping" over the 1MC will give Engineering Dept and the other khakis a cold chill.
I tried watching Two bit da vincs video on the subject, just because I was curious how he would explain it. I only got 1 minute into that video, then I couldn't stand it anymore.
As an Aviator I found your root cause analysis spot on. A very non-sensational assessment worthy of high praise.
Thank you.
This is absolutely the best analysis I have seen to this point. Thank you Chief.
The one analysis I’ve been waiting for!
Appreciate your input on this incident. Thank you Chief Makoi. Hope you are doing well.
It’s so refreshing to hear an actual expert and not have to hear the conspiracy crap. Actual long form intelligent explanation.
My thought exactly! A true expert in his field with the ability to communicate his knowledge to people who aren't in his field. All I have heard prior to this is some really crazy conspiracy theories.
what rubbish he has absolutely no idea at all what happened
@@bushmanphotos ahh, he simply explains what can cause this to happen because he is a chief engineer on a ship of this size. He knows exactly what he's talking about, and understand how a ship can react in various conditions. but like he said in the video it's all still just guessing until the official report comes out. There is absolutely no reason for you to be rude.
Actually, this was a planned event. The agent of chaos, a splinter cell of international terror, rigged the systems to cause this exact string of events. Very good planning and perfect execution, that person is now saying " I love it when a plan comes together.".
Sad to say, the above statement almost makes sense. We all know that this is an accident, with someone, somewhere, making a mistake. But talk about the worst case in the worst place at the worst time. I do like Chief coverage and viewpoints, they are very valid.
@@oldfarthacksPut your tinfoil hat back on, go stand, quivering, in the corner and wait for the mothership to come and collect you. 🥷
Thank you. I grew up in Baltimore, on the NE side of the Key Bridge, and was about 10 when it opened. It is great to hear the calm voice of an expert in the face of all the hysteria, conspiracy, racism and straight idiocy surrounding this tragic event in my old hometown. I am only a kayaker, but I salute you Chief Makoi!🫡
Thx for sharing your knowledgable explanations of likely causes without prematurely starting the blame game.
Greetings Chief engineer, with decades of forensic testing / failure analysis engineering experience, I really appreciate your expert, informative, well stated and expertly presented great videos!
I've blocked numerous channels that were obviously trying to capitalize on this tragedy. I didn't block this one because I knew I'd actually get factual information. Thanks for taking the time to provide it.
YES!! Chief I was waiting for your video since the incident. THANK YOU for doing this, much appreciated.
An excellent sequencing and breakdown of events. Well done!!!
As an ex- Marine Engineering Sailor in the Royal Australian Navy, there's nothing more unsettling than the ship going dead quiet and the lights going out!!!😱
This an excellent appraisal of the possible causes of the loss of control. I have investigated many incidents, none at sea or on ships, and have found that virtually all of them are caused by more than one thing going wrong, it's rare for a major failure to be caused by one problem.
Chief, thank you for your analysis of this mishap. As a petroleum procurement and testing specialist I"m especially interested in the fuel quality on board Dali at the time of the incident.
Very complete breakdown. As a retired aviator, we also have the rock and hard place situations. We also have a saying that I think could apply here. Better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. Replace ground with land and air with sea, same feeling.
Thank you, Chief MAKOi. I appreciate your clear explanations of what might have gone wrong. All I know about seafaring I have learned from Dr. Sal Mercogliano, and now you. I look around my room, right now, and recognize that nearly everything here is thanks to Mariners like you. May God grant Peace and Grace to all involved. Blessings. 🙏
Thanks Donald!
Thank you, Chief! I've been purposefully ignoring a lot of the speculative stories coming out, waiting for someone who really knows what goes on in an engine room. Really appreciate your perspective on this one!
Take good care, cheers from Guam!
Mabuhay ka Chief Makoi.... you are so fair and transparent.
This video is a prime example of why professionals get paid and amateurs get crushed in any profession. Well done
Amazing very nice ❤ Best contact 🌹 good work
Great presentation Chief. Refreshing to watch and listen to someone who speaks with authority on subjects like this instead of the usual cacophony of "talking heads", "news" people, and politicians who don't know a bow thruster from an inclinometer.
Thank you Chief MAKOi, your description is the most inpepth summary I've heard. You've clarified how prepared ships crews are and without pointing a finger have suggested what may have happened. I wish competent people such as you were on committees finding answers. Thank you so much.
Doug Lewis
Stationery Engineer
Brilliant analyses! Proud you are a Filipino! 💗🇵🇭
G'day Chief, Respect! I am a retired Ships Engineer, I have been Chief but on small tourist boats locally in Australia where I live, I was "Deep Sea" on refrigerated, general cargo and the odd vlcc(FPSO) back in the day (70's & 80's British Merchant Navy (as was😂) I only got to dizzy Heights of 3rd Engineer Officer, (old school system of Chief, 2nd, 3rd and so forth) I had a shot at pt A 2nds in 78 @ Liverpool but failed miserably! Didn't have another shot as got married and emigrated to Oz anyway! I really like your vids Chief and have upmost respect, of course you absolutely know your stuff! I absolutely see what you are talking about, So I know a lot has changed since the "old days" and these massive container vessels are ultra manoeuvrable but I would have thought that such a vessel would have had at least a couple of Tugs in attendance??? All the way to the Fairway Bouy and dropping the pilot?, It seems crazy not to do that!? I think last time I was in Baltimore was around 78 on a vessel of about a mere 11000 GRT, I can't remember for sure but pretty sure we'd have had a tug or two in attendance? US pilotages were and I guess very high standard, it's got an old timer like me stuffed how this could have been allowed to happen, is it because standards have slipped??? Surely not!? Would love to hear Your views Chief and anyone elses here and I can take criticism, all the best from 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
Great explanation Chief, One thing is for sure. When the new bridge is built no large ships will be passing without tugs.
They'll also likely consider a different design, perhaps enabling piers to be placed well away from the main shipping channel, and maybe even install concrete protection systems surrounding the base of each pier, so in the unlikely event of a collision, the piers themselves are safe. (It's even possible other ports around the world which have bridges with unprotected in-water piers on their seaward side are currently running modified cost-benefit analyses on adding protection, just in case).
Amazing! I'm a everyday person. I have learned so much from the Chief watching his video this one time. I will continue watching from here on out! Thank you Chief Makoi!
Have a great video of the best Contact ship models
Why won't UA-cam let me smash the like button a hundred times? Sal Mercagliano, Bill Doyle, now Chief MaKoi. Thank you.
Thank you Chief! This would have to be the best brake down & honest opinions I have seen about this horrible event! Considering there had to be multiple electrical failures of the back up systems has me wondering as it should everyone. I still can not believe they managed to stop all the traffic on the bridge but the poor workers there never got word to get off!
Excellent analysis thank you.
Thank you for the walk through of possible failures and responses. Well done chief.
Chief, Thank You for one of the best videos I have seen on the Dali-Key Bridge incident.
Amazing
Chief MAKOiiii! Well done Chief. Excellent explanation on your views on the Dali incident...You're the best! Keep on doing your thing Chief...
Best logical explanation I’ve heard so far. From one marine engineer to another,,
Fascinating, Chief! I just love hearing from genuine subject matter experts who have actually been "there" and done it.
Thank you, Chief. This analysis casts new light on what might have gone wrong.
Eventually, the Coast Guard and the NTSB will figure it out, with a lot of help from
experts like Chief Makoi.
Very interesting perspective, excellent analysis.
Spoiler alert: The Chief invoked the Kobayashi Maru metaphor to frame the situation that the crew and local Pilots were in. This immediately broadened my understanding of the incident.
Thank you for an excellent explanation of the accident, considering the obvious unknowns at this stage of the investigation.
I randomly clicked on this video and ended up informed and impressed.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
Good work ❣️
Thank you very much for giving some insight into the VERY complex engine room systems that were in operation. Given, we don't know the actual events, there's no question that fixing the problem was going to take time, and there wasn't enough of it.
Thanks to all
Chief your explanation is very clear. I am not a sailor myself but through your very comprehensive words i understand what going on in the vessel. Maraming salamat po!
Saludo ako sa inyo!
Excellent explanation !! Thank you
Thanks! I’ve been waiting for your video. I have a lot of respect for your opinion. This incident had a lot of impact on the locality. On a normal weekend I would br crossing that bridge in about two hours. I saw the Dali at the terminal the day before the wreck, it’s hard to imagine how big she is until you see her on the horizon.
Thanks!
I am not a mariner nor profess ANY knowledge of the complexity in the operation of large sea-going vessels...however Cheif Makoi's explanations and possible theories are delivered in an understandable manner to us "Landlubbers". It's a tragedy which hopefully may result in changes to Standard Operating Procedures that might minimize the chances of a reoccurance. I am interested in seeing how this plays out upon the completion of investigations and the input from SEA-GOING Chiefs and Captains. Thank-you Chief Makoi !
Thanks, Chief! I've heard scuttlebutt that suggests they were having trouble with power over the period that the MV Dali was berthed. I don't know if they use shore power, ship's power or a combination of both depending on whatever is going on. But if the scuttlebutt is true, then it seems they would have hired tug assistance. This one is gonna be interesting!
A port employee gave an interview about Dali's power generation failing with overload at berth and port having to take over to continue chill loaded containers.
I am skeptical of assigning too much weight to what one port worker says without further verification/confirmation. Was she talking about just the reefer boxes tripping out or the whole system?
They had tug assistance to get off the dock and underway. They released the tugs only after being in the channel making good headway.
The reefer boxes. Good to be sceptical, it's going to be ascertained what the technical status was.
Well explained with no drama. Very well done! You're my "go to" on these matters.
You are awesome, Chief Makoi! My hat is off for you, sir!
Hey Chief! Thanks for weighing in. I figured as much in general terms. I didn't bother watching any other videos as I had all the info I needed before the accident from watching all of your videos. My only thoughts were that it was a catastrophic error, complacency or a poorly trained crew. Sad event. However it is awesome to see a post from you. Hopefully you decide to do more.
Will do. I've got plenty of time now.
@@ChiefMAKOi
Has anyone confirmed the ship was stuck in port for two days because of electrical problems before launch? It was reported by the news, but haven’t heard anything 100%.
Thanks Chief. I started on a 1200 lb. steam plant. I never dealt with diesels except for our 250Kw ship's service diesel generator.
You are absolutely right that the two worst things on a ship at sea are dark and silence. Your heart goes into your throat. The good thing is that the crew will already be moving before you can sound General Quarters.
I feel for the bridge crew. Only another ship driver can appreciate just how fast things can go to hell on the bridge of a ship even if you do nothing wrong.
Retired US Navy, and I can't imagine the view of that bridge collapsing from the ship's bridge.
@@Kriss_L I'm glad I will never get the chance to find out.
As soon as this happened, I thought about your channel. Thank you for breaking this down for us!
Thank you Chief for your analysis. I have a slightly different take on the sequence of events.
01:24:33 the first blackout.
01:25:21 lights come back but not all of them.
01:25:47 a few additional lights come on but you must zoom and look closely to see. Look at main deck near the house, main deck forward and forward mast.
01:26:37 the second blackout occurs. But the few lights that came back late (first time) stayed on during the second blackout.
My take away - After the first blackout, they got the main switchboard back first. The emergency switchboard came back 26 seconds later, probably automatically. (As you pointed out, the EDG should have come on sooner.) The second blackout was the main switchboard dropping out again, but this time the emergency switchboard was powered by the EDG and stayed on.
This might be important. The Captain would likely have started the emergency steering after power came back. But he did not have emergency power until 26 seconds later. The emergency steering gear would not have worked but the steering unit on the main switchboard would have worked.
Of course this is only my interpretation of the video. I've been wrong many times before. Haven't we all.
Thanks Again.
As an ex-marine engineer, every one of your words rang so very true.
Thank you for a considered review of the terrible situation.
Hope everyone can hear your wise words.
Thank you for your concise report. As an airline guy, I find the similarities and differences between our industries fascinating.
I was hoping Makoi would make a video on this, great explanation from an expert. So many "conspiracies" came out within a day, and too many people thinking they are awake to what's going on and missing reality.
As always, Chief has the best maritime videos on UA-cam. Thank you for your expert analysis of this tragic incident..
This guy has genuine knowledge. Listen because its good to learn these things
It sounds like the generators had a fuel contamination problem and the crew attempted to restart them with the heavy bunker fuel, which produced the black smoke. Great presentation of the various systems onboard!
Thanks for a logical and non-conspiratorial explanation Sir
Always welcome
Thank you Chief. Hopefully many more people will see and hear your expert opinion. Absolutely too much misinformation being spread by people who have no idea how ship systems work.
Exactly
This is a great analysis. It's based on what's going on, and what happened. There's actually a lot going on, and each thing needs to be analyzed with what went on, and how you respond. This is RCF analysis, which the NTSB goes by. People who don't know just point at the bridge, and lack of dolphins. EVERY accident, there is something to learn. It's never just one thing, and you shrug. Rules and procedures are often written in the blood of those who suffered.
You look backwards from the ultimate failure, and identify little decisions which if they can't prevent it, buy precious time, or introduce additional safeguards. You try and account for human reaction in the chain, in stress procedures can be hard to follow. Make the decisions simple. Safety deals in rules. Rules are finite. Exceptions (do this unless, don't do this unless...) are infinite. They can pile up rapidly and overwhelm peoples' ability to make decisions. If flying, you check your fuel every trip, not unless you just got it. A common exception is people thinking they're familiar enough not to read them. Or it won't be a problem until our next port, where we can take care of it there.
It's not just one thing. Safety failures often are small, and they multiply other failures. When you skip over something, then things you don't know about enter the picture. If the person down the chain does the same thing. Nothing is 100% safe. You get a safe system by making subsystems that are 95%+ safe (some may be worse), but by failsafe and redundancy you get that to 99.999+%. The flip side of that is, things failing becomes MORE likely, because they add more components. A good example is, I had a radio tag that had something like a 60% chance of being read per chance. Had to read it to allow movement. Seems bad. But you do that read 12 times, it becomes like 6N (99.9999%) or something very reliable.
And obvious solution may not be obvious. The bridge they're rebuilding will have a wider channel. The channel was double the depth of one side of the port. You put things that start making stagnant spots in the current, you'll get tons of silt piling up.
Salamat Po Chief! Former Navy 1200 psi steam engineer. We used to say HDQ - hot, dark and quiet when we dropped the load. Thanks for your interesting videos!
Well done Chief! I was a Chief ERA in the Canadian Navy and I know just how quickly things can go "sideways". Of course, I've never sailed on a container ship, my experience is Steam Y100 plants and CODOG. I've never used heavy oil so I really don't know much about that stuff except it's thick and needs heating in order to burn. Following your video was a learning experience for me and your thoughts, I'd say were bang on. I've heard other folks talk and say that electrical power is provided from the main engines and really don't believe that since you need a constant speed source. Don't know how many times I've made black smoke in the boiler room, I've even blown out a small fire with too much air ha ha! I've even had a wave go over the ship and right into the blower intakes and put out the fires. This will definitely be a learning experience for all and make changes for future regulations.
Excellent. One of THE best channels on UA-cam. Chief Makoi is a true treasure!!