Cargo Ships Are Feats of Engineering

As investigators continue to piece together reasons why the massive DALI cargo ship lost power before colliding with the Key Bridge in Baltimore earlier this week and causing the bridge to collapse, there may be those who cite poor design of the ship’s various components, namely its propulsion system. While a propulsion system failure so far looms as a likely cause, one must remember that cargo ships are not merely barges that happen to carry hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo.

As this video titled The Crazy Amount of Power Needed to Move World Largest Container Ships on the YouTube channel Fluctus shows, building and powering a large container ship is no trivial task. The video, showing the construction of the huge MSC Tessa cargo ship, details the many steps involved with fabricating and assembling the ship’s massive engine. Once assembled, the engine must undergo extensive testing to ensure meeting stringent emissions and safety standards. These ships can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build.

In addition, the video describes the intricate task of servicing and replacing a ship’s propulsion system. Citing the example of a fire aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in 2020, the video showed the month-long task of replacing that ship’s propulsion motor, which had to be shipped around the U.S. through the Panama Canal. The motor was replaced when the ship was docked in the water and required careful removal of the ship’s hulls with the help of specialized equipment and skilled labor.

Related:Bridges and Cargo Ships Don’t Mix

You can view the video here.