Explaining the NTSB Report on the Container Ship DALI | Chief MAKOi

The NTSB Preliminary Report on Dali was released on May 14, 2024. In this episode, I'll explain the engineering-side of the report and hopefully make them easier to understand.

A lot of the points I discussed on my first video turned out to be right.

Chief MAKOi
Seaman Vlog

[davidsutton]

Marine electrician and long time subsriber here. Well done video Chief! This was a great explanation that anyone can follow and understand. I hope the internet algorithm gets this out to all of those who are following the story.

[pibbles-a-plenty]

Chief Makoi, there are two kinds of "engineers" to be found in a ship's engine room. There are those who know which way to rotate a wrench when making repairs, and there are those that understand the physical laws and principles that define a ship's systems and operation. You obviously fit the latter category by your excellent presentation of the Dali's systems and probable failure causes.

[kylesmith]

Chief, thank you for your input on this report. You stated matters so clear, and your charts made it easy to follow. Thank you!

[Johnboy]

I'm an old Coast Guardsman, 75, who served on the Bridge but I would have been honored to serve under you. Fair winds and a following sea in your travels. 🌍🚢

[dwillecke]

I’m a retired ships pilot. Thank you so much for providing these detailed videos about this issue and shipping in general. There are so many YouTubers that only have a cursory knowledge of shipping and really don’t have much experience. It would have been nice to work with you when I was sailing. Keep up the good work!

[grondhero]

Sal from What's Going on With Shipping did a break down of this, but your chart/diagram makes it much clearer and makes your explanation easier to understand for us landlubbers. 😉 Thanks for the information and video!

[eugeniusro]

As an electrician I can say that the overcurrent protections trip the circuit breakers when there are problems downstream to protect the upstream installation, the exception is the differential protection and the fact that both switches on transformer 1 are disconnected at the same time, this leads me to the idea that the differential protection worked i.e. somewhere in the installation there was an insulation defect that put one of the phases to ground, due to the fact that after the second disconnection the electrician connected transformer 2 makes me think that he suspected an insulation defect on transformer 1

[peterlee]

I worked for 35 years on large broadcast transmitter plant that had very similar split HV/LV busbars like on that ship (although in our case the HV was 11kV). In my experience, nearly every HV breaker feeding a transformer had intertripping that caused the LV breaker to trip out if the HV breaker tripped. This way, the transformer was completely disconnected from supply - especially backfeed from the LV bus bar which could exacerbate a transformer problem if that was the reason the HV breaker tripped. Thanks for your excellent explanation of the NTSB report - it will be interesting what the final report says. As you note, I find it strange they seem to have been doing maintenance on the only working generator when the inadvertent closure of an exhaust damper caused a blackout. There's a lot to come out yet! Smooth sailing, Chief!

[litz]

Chief Makoi and SteamMan are both notable in that both are actual marine Chief Engineers, serving on similar design and sized ships.

To say they "know their stuff" is a massive understatement. They live it every day.

[neoplan]

Many thx, I was waiting for YOUR video about the report because you know what you are talking about and for me you are by far the most reliable source of information regarding this kind of thematic! 👍👍👍
Have a good time! 🥰

[gregknipe]

your explanation is clear and concise, adding color to the wiring schematic is very helpful, explaining the reverse order of piston firing explained what has been previously fumbled by others, and the system as a whole is less complex than one may have thought, in explanations I have seen so far. this presentation was both informative and educational to the non technician, there is nothing worse than you tubers rushing to get it out first, when they know little of what they are discussing. thank you. carry on and remain calm, as usual !!

[allenkramer]

So nice to hear someone say "from my experience" when talking about a subject.

To the Chief & commenters THANK YOU

[richardwakeley]

Good day Chief. Another excellent video, with your explanation which clears up all the misconceptions which arose from the too over-simplified schematic diagram put up by the NTSB report. I fully concurr with your statements that in normal operation all the bus tie breakers are closed. You have explained everything properly. Rgds, Richard (retired JRCS tech).

[anthonyx]

I've seen walk-throughs of the NTSB report by a couple of other YouTubers... the NTSB's over-simplified graphics and YouTuber explanations injected confusion and raised questions; your graphics and explanations cleared things up very nicely.

[amarsekhar-rvvd]

Thanks again Chief for your explanation. I would think that the ship did not respond to the rudder and in fact swung to starboard due to the still ebbing tide coming off the Curtis Bay channel which pushed the stern to port. My humble opinion as a long retired master mariner.

[mattc.]

Your system diagram is head and shoulders above the NTSB release and makes the systems, and the report for that matter, more understandable to the less experienced viewer. Your coverage shows the difference between those that do, and those that are following along. You and a rare few are doing great work making all things seafaring interesting, enductional, and even fun to know about.

[fixento]

Thanks, excellant graphics and explanations. All said in done these "errors" cost 6 men there lives and over a billion dollars of damages. Inadequate crew training, neglect of testing emergency backup systems and lack of maintenance. This shipping company, not the US taxpayers, will be the damages, and paying for a new bridge.

[wgowshipping]

Excellent report Chief. I was waiting to hear your take and you did not disappoint.

[rayoflight]

Thank you Chief, this is the true and correct explanation of the NTSB report, as it is very clear in all details.

I worked with 50 Hz generators and the breaker usually trips either because of a current overload, an under/over voltage, or because of an excessive frequency deviation, say below 45 Hertz or above 55 Hertz. The engine governor keeps the frequency in range by intervening on the fuel pump; if - as per your hypothesis - the fuel was tainted, the governor couldn't keep the speed, the frequency dropped, and the breaker tripped. This make sense for the second blackout, when the 6, 600 Volt line was killed; the first blackout, very likely, was triggered by an under voltage condition, as the frequency alarm is designed to accept the temporary frequency drop which occur when an heavy load is suddenly applied.
Thank you once more!
Greetings from the UK,
Anthony

[tygerbyrn]

2:45 A frakking beautiful work of art. I love info-graphics and yours is sublime for its content and simplicity.