Local man becomes overnight expert in shipping vessel steering capabilities

[getagrip_already]

20. Normally, they would probably be correct... normally

On "most" large ships, the power for propulsion and the power for lighting are entirely different systems.

The engines that power the ship drive generators that power electric motors that turn the propellers.

Steering may or may not be powered by those engines, but usually are.

The rest of the ship is powered by separate redundant generators, apu's, that can be run even when the main engines are off. They power pumps, thrusters, emergency equipment, lighting, hvac, comm, etc. Critical navigation control systems usually have there own backup power.

So to have the lights "blink out" and have the ship go into a state where it couldn't maneuver was unusual. Redundancy should have prevented that.

But it had gone through a period of severe electrical malfunctions at the dock. So maybe some ships engineer mcguyvered something until they could get back home, and the duct tape and tie wraps gave way?

No doubt this is ripe for conspiracy theories. This accident shouldn't have happened. Engineering systems are designed to prevent it. Redundancy is built in. This is not an old ship.