Wavelength Plus: A podcast by TradeWinds

When the Dali slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, its pilot had already dismissed the tugs that had been tethered to the ship when it left the docks. When he called for a tug’s help just minutes before the collision, the powerful vessel was too far away to help. In the third episode in our series on the accident, we explore why the container ship was going it alone without a “tiny but mighty” tug.

In the second episode of our detailed look at the shipping accident that destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, we look at why this structure was not able to withstand a strike by the container ship Dali. Engineering experts explain that recommendations to conduct risk assessments were not applied to many bridges built before those standards were created, and they describe the steps that US agencies will need to take to prevent another deadly casualty.

In March 2024, the Dali slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing six, injuring two and shutting down maritime traffic for weeks. In the first episode of an investigative series, TradeWinds looks at the events of that tragic day with the help of a naval architect and an experienced captain.

Secretary general of the International Maritime Organization Arsenio Dominguez spoke to Holly Birkett on the sidelines of the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) conference, just days after IMO delegations delayed an all-important vote on emissions regulations. He was reflective on the way that the talks played out and said there are lessons to be learned, but emphasised that decarbonisation work will not stop at the IMO or within the industry.Seeing as it was the WISTA conference, the time was also right to ask Dominguez about what the IMO is doing to support women in maritime industry and create equitable workplaces for all. Host and producer: Holly Birkett, TradeWinds reporter.

In this episode, TradeWinds US bureau chief Eric Priante Martin sits down with Ardmore Shipping chief executive Gernot Ruppelt and president Bart Kelleher in New York just over a year after they took the reins of the Irish product and chemical tanker company. On the sidelines of a Capital Link investor conference, they explain how they are looking at opportunity in what they describe as a non-binary way and leveraging a stronger balance sheet to harness opportunity presented by a volatile market.Read more here: https://www.tradewindsnews.com/interviews/ardmore-duo-work-to-harness-opportunity-amid-volatility-a-year-after-leadership-transition/2-1-1886714

A decade after 33 crew members died when the US-flag conro El Faro sank in a storm, reporter Eric Priante Martin looked back to find out what changes have been made from the lessons learned from the casualty. And he finds that many changes have yet to be made.