I have some experience working on ships from years ago And maybe I can explain a few things on the workings on board. First the electrical system onboard a ship is nothing like a car or truck. They have a large engine that only supply's the power to the prop to move the ship. They make from 30,000-60,000 housepower @ 900-120 rpm's. The individual cylinders can be "turned off" if needed. Onboard there is usually 2 generator rooms that each have giant diesel generator in it. One is for main usage, and the other is a backup. They operate independently from the main engine. These supply power for all the lighting, heating and air conditioning, pumps, refrigeration and navigation equipment. What's shown at the time of the crash on tv, the lights were flickering, indicating they were having a problem. It could have been several reasons for that. But the main thing to remember is if the ship was on the correct course, it would have passed under the bridge without hitting the support. That kinda tells me they were not on course. I'm not sure of the laws governing there, whether they needed to have a Pilot onboard while heading outbound. A Pilot is a local Captain familiar with the waters where the ship is going, and directs the ships pilot where to steer. Even if they did notice they were not on course, it takes a couple miles to stop or alter the course of the ship. There are no quick maneuvers with ships. It was amazing how fast the Bridge collapsed after being struck, even tho the ship wasn't moving fast. Like everything else in the world today, they have been changing over to electrical equipment to operate everything . No more large ship's wheels, just a joystick like from a video game. If you loose power, you can loose the ship.,,,