Improperly placed wire label caused power outage on container ship before crash into Key Bridge, NTSB says

The National Transportation Safety Board revealed Tuesday that an improperly placed wire label caused a power outage on a cargo ship before it crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year.

The National Transportation Safety Board revealed Tuesday that an improperly placed wire label caused a power outage on a cargo ship before it crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year.

At a public meeting Tuesday, NTSB officials said the small label on the container ship’s wiring was placed when it was built roughly 10 years ago. The label was incorrectly placed on the wire’s metal ring cap — its ferrule — possibly preventing a good connection and causing it to lose power, officials said.

The crash in March 2024 prompted the bridge, considered the crown jewel of Baltimore, to collapse, killing six construction workers.

"The fact is, none of us should be here today,” Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the NTSB, said in her opening remarks. "This tragedy should have never occurred. Lives should have never been lost; as with all accidents that we investigate, this was preventable."

The Dali container vessel after it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed into the Patapsco River, in March 2024.Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileNTSB officials did not specify that the power outage caused the crash. The NTSB will hold a vote at the end of the meeting to determine a probable cause for the crash, which has yet to be finalized.