Testimony from National Transportation Safety Board Chair (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy revealed that the Dali container ship was not equipped with backup power needed to avoid crashing into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. Homendy further explained that this is not uncommon on most cargo vessels. 

Homendy spoke to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 15, shortly after the NTSB released a report laying out a minute-by-minute account of the hours leading up the crash. She noted that the Dali's backup power systems are primarily used for radio equipment, navigation, and limited steering, rather than fully restoring its ability to control its movement.

"It does not power propulsion," she said. "If you want to regain propulsion through any sort of emergency generator, it would take a six-story generator on a vessel to do that." 

Homendy clarified that, while backup power for propulsion is a common redundancy built into cruise ships, the Dali's own limitations are largely the industry standard for cargo ships.

The NTSB's report found that the Dali lost power twice 10 hours before it left port, and then another two times in the half mile before it crashed into the Key Bridge.