Ship operator in Key Bridge collapse had other fatal incidents

More than a decade before the Dali container ship toppled Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, a Seattle longshoreman named Roger Murray climbed aboard another vessel managed by the same Singaporean company.

It was a cold, rainy night, and Murray’s job was to unfasten the cargo containers stacked on the APL Ireland so cranes could unload them. Moving from container to container, Murray used a metal rod to free each box from its bonds. 

As he descended a ladder to reach additional cargo, the bar in his hand touched a nearby floodlight that had been improperly wired and was ungrounded. A jolt of electricity shot through Murray’s body and, on its way out, burned a hole in his gloved left hand.