Supposedly the FBI has seized the cell phones from all the crew members - per Sal’s video.
They got new phones from a charity here, so they can still call their families and so on.
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They would need some credible information that the crew was running drugs.
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Given the circumstances, it’s much more likely they are looking for phone conversations acknowledging the ship’s electrical problems rather than evidence of drug smuggling.
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My point exactly. With the FBI declaring the ship to be part of a crime scene I’m sure that asking a judge for a SW was routine. It also seems that they did search the accommodation.
I was once confronted by a Poe faced female customs officer, member of a routine rummage squad, in Sydney, Australia , who had found a mildly pornographic magazine in one of the seamen’s cabins. She wanted to press charges until I pointed out the sticker on the back indicating the magazine had been sold in a Kings Cross adult shop in Sydney.
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Now they are on the warpath they would probably LOVE to find some drugs, “stoned sailors knock bridge over”.
I have a question on what can be construed as criminal activity. For example, we know they had ‘issues’ with ‘breakers’. No details on which breaker or breakers or what the issue is/was. Based on the 2nd and 3rd blackout (3rd blackout a few seconds after the impact) and the timing of both about a minute after power is restored is quite remarkable. Is this coincidental? It looks to me it is one of the reefer breakers (6600V) that blacks out the HV switchboard. Is it the same breaker on both blackouts or one before/after in the sequence of breaker closure after power is restored? Don’t know. The reefer power loss reports in port does support the theory of defective reefer breakers.
Now it is not normal for the vessel to not have power on the HV board and thus on the main and the emergency (MSB and ESB). Was there a shore power provided to the vessel that probably requires blackout (no synchro facility) from the vessel and then power from shore switched on? Possible. Was this breaker or breakers causing similar outages? Don’t know. Again the report of multiple power interruptions in port cannot be discounted. Also possible the shore power if it was provided was not stable resulting in the multiple blackouts. (Damage to these large breakers on/off multiple times also cannot be discounted)
Assuming this was not the first time they had trouble with all breakers on the HV board closing with no blackouts, would the crew be considered culpable or negligent? Would this condition of reefer breakers be considered ‘unseaworthy to depart’? After all, these are reefer breakers and nothing to do with vessel safety.
I agree if they requested for a shore side assistance or spare parts requests had been turned down, it would certainly point to the management company. I would think on the vessel, the crew would continue their trouble shooting to determine the cause to either take action onboard or request help with a detailed repair request (rather than a request of ‘fix ship’)
Now on the first blackout, some activity on the HV board caused the blackout. In steady state operations there has to be some disturbance to cause the blackout. My (pure) speculation is that the BT breaker or starter panel caused this first blackout. Was this the first time or does happen intermittently or once in awhile? Again if the crew knew and continued their troubleshooting including informing the company, would this be considered criminal or crew negligence or crew competency or just plain bad luck?
Guess I am trying to wrap my head around how the crew can be held culpable in any criminal activity. Thought anyone?
Are there shore power supply facilities at the Seagirt Terminal in Baltimore?:
Source: https://www.epa.gov/ports-initiative/shore-power-technology-assessment-us-ports
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Another question: How exactly was it supposed to work to sail with refrigerated cargo and not be able to keep power to the containers? Wouldn’t they arrive with a bunch of ruined cargo?
It is quite normal for power to be off reefers for short periods of time while manoeuvring prior to berthing or departure as electrical supply is directed at the bow thruster.
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Do we know that? I have still only heard one report from one port worker. The fact that the panel manufacturer has provided personnel that are on board does not automatically mean there is a breaker/panel issue. It could simply mean that the NTSB wants an expert on hand to provide an expert opinion in a timely fashion without having to send questions back to Korea.
If the crew/office knew of a degraded material condition of the vessel and took no action to rectify said degraded material condition which can then be definitively proven to have been at least partially causal to the vessel losing power then a prosecutor could potentially try and make a case of criminal negligence.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer (assuming one does not count “sea-lawyer”) and any statements made by me should not be considered as legal advice. The information provided in this post does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available in this post are for general informational purposes only. For definitive legal advice regarding the MV DALI please consult an actual attorney, either federal, in the state of Maryland, or city of Baltimore.
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Not an area I know much about but to take a guess
Negligence - failure to properly maintain or repair equipment. Also failure to report problems with critical equipment as required,
Falsification of documents - Trying to cover up the cause, which could also be obstruction of justice.
Operating in violation of regulations.
There are members here that are more familiar with this than I am. 33 CFR 160 for one.
Failure to follow SMS procedures be another possibly I’d assume.
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Thanks Mr. Hogsnort. Very true from my sailing experience with generators sizing that leaves a lot to be desired. (Used to be rest of the world philosophy as opposed to US design of 2 large generators and in some 3 large). I was kind of blindsided by the generous sizing of the Dali power generation capacity. With 4 DGs and approx.16 MW capacity I just presumed that all the reefers would remain on. But possible some of the reefer breakers were ‘off’ for the maneuvering condition. If this was the case, it would make sense that they would switch on the breakers when the Bridge advises that they finished with the BT. So possible that one of these breakers caused the first blackout as well. But the flickering lights on the first blackout is indicative of a ‘chatter’ that usually would be experienced on opening and not closing.
Very true Capt. But negligence is a gray area.
Also what we do not mention often enough is the failure of the steering gear due to the blackout. If the SG was operational as soon as the power came on, it would have been a non event.
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This thread is about the FBI aboard the Dali, possible problems with generators and switchboards etc has been discussed on various threads here. If you think it warrants further discussion you can start another thread if you wish.
Lets not forget “obstruction of an official proceeding”.
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Got it.
Possibly Seaman’s Manslaughter Statue.
The only person that almost went to prison for the Deepwater Horizon drama was the guy who deleted texts on his phone. 11 dead
Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP plc, was convicted today of intentionally destroying evidence requested by federal criminal authorities investigating the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Division made the announcement after the verdict was announced by U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr.
Mix, 52, of Katy, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana of one count of obstruction of justice and was acquitted on a second count of obstruction of justice. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on March 26, 2014.
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Heard that FBI and USCG boarded another Synergy ship elsewhere in US to interview crew, possible prior Dali crewmembers …