Why the Blackout & is Negligence of the Crew Suspected? | Q&A

I was a Maersk Captain. This is my assessment of what happened. I don’t have any direct knowledge of the situation but I have a lot of experience in similar situations. They just made the turn, let go of the tugboats. Once they exceeded 6 kts. They shut down the bow thruster. They then shut down their secondary generator. The ship has 3 main generators. One large generator and 2 smaller generators. A 4th generator is called the EDG/emergency diesel generator. If the engineers didn't know what the reefer load was (electrical power required), they could have shut down the wrong generator. Often times it requires 2 generators for the entire passage. US flagged ships keep 2 generators on until they reach open ocean. Foreign ships shut down their second generator as soon as possible. They have a financial incentive. They are evaluated based upon their KPI. Their bonuses are significant compared to their salary. I believe that an engineer shut down the wrong generator and they lost power. Or shut one down 1 when 2 generators were required for the power requirements. Often times the third generator is not functional because it is under maintenance or repairs. That would shut down the main engine. The lights came back on when the EDG automatically started. The black smoke could be from starting a generator, or more likely from trying to start the main engine. The ebb tide (from the side channel) pushed the stern to port, causing the ship turn to starboard. Tainted fuel is not likely. They would have been on their service tank. That fuel would have been loaded into a holding tank and tested by sampling by an independent lab. Once it is certified, it can be transferred to the service tank.

The most astounding thing I see in this incident is people’s, including media, nativity, ignorance, general lack of appreciation of the complexities involved in operating a system like a ship of this scale, and the willingness to make silly assertions and insinuations. Thanks for attempting to provide logic and reason, to this.

So many channels using this event to help them go viral. Glad to have your channel and trust you.

I’ve followed your channel for many years, but this is the best report you have ever done on a major incident. I am a commercially endorsed yacht skipper, can’t believe there is so much BS around what happened. Keep up the good work

Two whole days without an NTSB report!? Oh my, the CSI show’s audience has spoken!

Thank you Mr. Sysman for such a knowledgable description of what occurred. I've been following your channel for several years and I know your expertise on all things nautical. I've also looked at the actual footage of the ships position second by second on the charts and film footage.. Great job my friend!

I like the flashing 'GAME OVER" sign in the back ground. That is, weirdly enough, very appropriate for this ship.

As you have said - the helm is being constantly adjusted by the helmsman or the autopilot. However when the power goes out the steering pumps stop working and the rudder freezes at the last position until the emergency generator starts. Even if the helm was at a minor 5 degrees to stbd momentarily when the blackout happened it will be a full minute before the power was restored. Without the propulsion engine providing enhanced flow over the rudders the ship will continue on the same course at 6 knots for some time even with the helm hard to port due to the 'sail' effect of the high containers .

Your patience in replying to some of these comments is commendable.

Thanks for your patience, and the information.

Well done! Addressing each cluster of questions & clearly giving the best available answers! 🎉

People need to understand that the ship would probably bring down any bridge it hits at 9Kts. The amount of kinetic energy imparted was huge.

Having been a person who worked in Engineering on numerous Naval vessels (ships), I know that the newer vessels the diesels are all controlled be electronics and this is why ships are using less and less people in engineering. When we left port, we went to "Sea and Anchor" which is where all of the people who are in engineering are at designated stations in case of an emergency. Clearly with a commercial vessel there are less people in the engineering spaces, this would explain why someone would not be in the machinery space where the emergency steering controls are located. Newer vessels probably do not have "Sound Powered" communication equipment as a Naval ship would so that the Naval ship can continue to function during emergencies. Ot her issues that people asked about was the black smoke. As you answered, black smoke is usual associated with diesels or other combustion systems starting up. Most diesel-powered vessels that I have been on were "diesel electric" meaning that the diesels were not directly connected to the shafts. I do realize there are still many directly connected vessels in the water. I am wondering if people know that a direct powered vessel has an engine that has to be manually stopped, then the cam can be shifted, and restarted in order to reverse the screw. This is time consuming and will also cause the "black plume of smoke" that so many people have mentioned. I hope that this might clear up some confusion of some of the issues that you talked about. As I did state, I worked in engineering for 16 years on various vessels so I have a little knowledge of this and what could have possibly gone wrong in the engineering spaces. Some of this may be a little outdated and I will apologize for that possibility. The one thing I b\found strange is that people do not understand that with that much cargo (containers) the superstructure and cargo would act like a giant sail and move the vessel whatever way the wind forced it to by blowing on that large area.

This is the second meaningful video about what (could) have happened. Few people seem to understand how complex a ship is and how specific these technologies are. Good video! I stay tuned

The MSM should hire you. Your honest, factual and informative. You always get it right unless you rely on other reporters but you fix it as soon as possible. Thanks. Good job.

The ship turning: it's all true and makes sense but some clarity is missing. When the ship is going in straight line and especially when confined to a channel there are all sorts of forces constantly changing, wind, currents, bank effect, changes in depth etc. To keep it on course the rudder is being moved frequently to counter these various forces. The ship actually steers a mild zigzag, rotating left and right as it opposes the changing forces. When steering power is lost, the rudder is frozen in position, and the the ship continues to rotate according to the last rudder input. In this case the ship was just passing a side channel on the right with an outgoing tide which would have pushed it to the left, requiring a small correction to starboard. Having passed the channel but being unable to alter the helm, the ship would continue correcting to starboard even though the side force had ceased. So what it did was what one would expect for a vessel under way but not under command. And no I'm not a ship's crew, I'm an engineer, a physicist and a yachtsman.

Based on the questions, there a lots of people who haven't been at sea, and if they had, not a "big" vessel for sure. So, them asking questions is good and you taking time to answer them calmly and seriously is even more interesting. Thanks.

Wow...I am learning a lot of info about ships and systems and absolutely loving it.

Thanks Esys, appreciate that you take the time to answer questions and provide an overview of the situation and info, I have been watching for a year now, and almost constantly since last week. Great video(s) recently and in past.

@eSysmanSuperYachts • You have a lot more patience than I do. How anyone could think we would know the cause in only 2 days is beyond me. As a teenage girl, even I knew investigations and problem solving would take longer than that. I don't know if such assumptions are too many hours playing video games or overall poor parenting, but I despair of progress in this world when people can so confidently expect such quick answers that just don't align with real world techniques.