The collapse of the Dali bridge, the implosion of the Titan submersible, and the deadly fire on the Grande Costa D’Avorio are among 49 maritime incidents detailed in the latest report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB’s Safer Seas Digest 2025 compiles investigations from last year, covering a wide range of issues, including significant ship accidents, towing vessel collisions, fires, groundings, flooding, and machinery failures.
The Dali incident is one of the most notable cases in the report. In March 2024, a containership hit Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge after losing electrical power, leading to the bridge's collapse and the deaths of six construction workers.
The investigation prompted nearly 20 safety recommendations, especially concerning bridges over navigable waters, where the risk of collapse due to strikes from large ships had not been previously assessed.
The report also revisits the 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible, which resulted in the loss of all five people on board during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic.
Investigations revealed that the submersible did not meet the required strength and durability standards due to flaws in the engineering process by the operator. The NTSB also noted that the vessel was not sufficiently tested and that emergency response planning did not adhere to relevant guidelines.
Another significant case involved the fire on the roll-on/roll-off container ship Grande Costa D’Avorio in Port Newark, New Jersey, where two firefighters lost their lives and six other emergency responders were injured.
The NTSB found that firefighters on land were not adequately trained or equipped to handle a vessel fire, which contributed to an ineffective response and the worsening of the blaze. This investigation led to 11 new safety recommendations.
However, the digest does not only focus on well-known disasters.
Across the 49 investigations, the NTSB identified recurring issues related to maintenance, voyage planning, fire detection and control, watertight integrity, fatigue, distraction, lithium-ion batteries, electrical power failures, and emergency preparedness. Investigators highlighted dangers posed by strong currents, severe weather, as well as failures to operate equipment correctly.
Incidents involving contacts with stationary objects accounted for the highest number, with 16 investigations. Fires and explosions followed with 11 cases, while there were seven groundings or strandings, five collisions, and five flooding or hull failures.
Some of the less severe incidents illustrate how quickly routine operational issues can escalate into serious accidents.
In May 2024, the fishing vessel Papa Rod collided with the anchored bulk carrier Appaloosa in the Gulf of America after the watchstander fell asleep while the vessel was on autopilot. The Papa Rod lacked a watch alarm that could have alerted the operator or other crew members.
On the Lower Mississippi River, the towing vessel William B Klunk and its 22-barge tow crashed into moored barges near Baton Rouge after the pilot was distracted by a cellphone. Investigators found that the pilot had been looking at the phone about 40 seconds before the accident and had not made any rudder or throttle changes prior to the impact.
Fatigue played a role as well. The pilot had only about four hours of continuous sleep over the previous 36 hours and had been awake for nearly 18 hours when the collision occurred.
Another situation involved the yacht Lovebug, which tipped heavily and partially sank in Chesapeake Bay. Investigators found no breach in the hull, but salvors discovered that a stern garage door was partially open and a watertight door leading to the engine room was open. The NTSB concluded that undetected flooding through the open watertight door caused the loss of stability.
Overall, these investigations reveal how major accidents can stem from relatively simple failures, such as an open door, overlooked maintenance, a distracted watchstander, or an emergency plan that fails when needed.
The Safer Seas Digest 2025 contains summaries, probable causes, and lessons learned from each investigation, along with references to the NTSB's full reports and accident documentation.