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Don't know what to say, this feels like something straight out of a movie. Except it's real.
Baltimore Bridge Collapse
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I don't understand how the captain didn't see it. Asleep?
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I couldn't find much about the ship and why it crashed into the bridge's pillar.
The owners of the Dali, a Singapore-flagged ship, confirmed in an emailed statement that the vessel had hit one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge around 1:30 a.m. Eastern. All crew members, including two pilots onboard, were accounted for and there were no injuries on the ship, the statement said. The cause of the collision has yet to be determined, and the owners and the vessel's managers were cooperating with the authorities, according to the statement.
The owners of the Dali, a Singapore-flagged ship, confirmed in an emailed statement that the vessel had hit one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge around 1:30 a.m. Eastern. All crew members, including two pilots onboard, were accounted for and there were no injuries on the ship, the statement said. The cause of the collision has yet to be determined, and the owners and the vessel's managers were cooperating with the authorities, according to the statement.
steven chiverton
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any reports of the moth man whose showed up before the previous bridge collapse ages ago and also in Russia before the reactor meltdown
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steven chiverton
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i think there was some mention about loosing power before they hit the bridge and the strange thing why did the destruction of one pilon cause the whole big section to collapse its as if that pylon was taking most of the main structural weight of that bridge section now we just have to wait to see if any new reports of the moth man sighting before this bridge collapse happened it shows up before disasters happen
News today confirmed the ship lost power. No power, no steering. At least they had time to put out a distress call so the bridge could be closed. I'm unsure why those 8 bridge workers weren't also evacuated. 6 appear to have been killed and lost as of right now.
Most large ships have some kind of backup system for steering. It's unclear why that didn't work. Some ships have an emergency drop anchor function that could have been used. That would be somewhat drastic on the ship's frame, but it might have stopped it or slowed it down enough that the bridge damage would have been minimal. If there are power and data cables across the river, the anchor would snag on these and cut them. It still would have been cheaper than building a new bridge. The official investigation over the next year will look into these questions.
The Science Channel has a program called "Engineering Disasters" that I'll sometimes watch. This, by far, isn't the first freighter and bridge collision. A major one seems to happen every 5-10 years all over the planet.
There are 2 general types of bridge designs. 1) A failure in one part can be born by the rest of the bridge. These are more expensive to build. 2) A failure in one part is catastrophic to the entire bridge. These are cheaper to build and far more common. This is that bridge in Baltimore.
The recommended solution for all the bridges in the show was to put those giant concrete bumpers before critical supports of the impacted bridge. If that Baltimore bridge would have had these, this story would have been minor. Needless to say, the rebuilt bridge in a couple years will have them. In hind sight, it would have been far cheaper to add the bumpers than to pay for a new bridge and the lives lost. The loss of business to the main port beyond the bridge while the bridge is in the water will also be substantial, maybe enough to pay for the bumpers a couple times over. For a major port, an engineer really screwed up by not including them.
Most large ships have some kind of backup system for steering. It's unclear why that didn't work. Some ships have an emergency drop anchor function that could have been used. That would be somewhat drastic on the ship's frame, but it might have stopped it or slowed it down enough that the bridge damage would have been minimal. If there are power and data cables across the river, the anchor would snag on these and cut them. It still would have been cheaper than building a new bridge. The official investigation over the next year will look into these questions.
The Science Channel has a program called "Engineering Disasters" that I'll sometimes watch. This, by far, isn't the first freighter and bridge collision. A major one seems to happen every 5-10 years all over the planet.
There are 2 general types of bridge designs. 1) A failure in one part can be born by the rest of the bridge. These are more expensive to build. 2) A failure in one part is catastrophic to the entire bridge. These are cheaper to build and far more common. This is that bridge in Baltimore.
The recommended solution for all the bridges in the show was to put those giant concrete bumpers before critical supports of the impacted bridge. If that Baltimore bridge would have had these, this story would have been minor. Needless to say, the rebuilt bridge in a couple years will have them. In hind sight, it would have been far cheaper to add the bumpers than to pay for a new bridge and the lives lost. The loss of business to the main port beyond the bridge while the bridge is in the water will also be substantial, maybe enough to pay for the bumpers a couple times over. For a major port, an engineer really screwed up by not including them.
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I've been reading a lot about this. Some say the power went out twice and you can see it on the video. Why didn't the ship turn away when the power came back on the first time? Others say the smoke coming out of the top means they were desperately trying evasive maneuvers. The name of the captain has not been released, either.
I read this is a ship chartered by Maersk to a Danish company. Why the Singapore flag?????
I read this is a ship chartered by Maersk to a Danish company. Why the Singapore flag?????
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The ship contained hazardous materials.
It's a rental. International waters transport can get confusing. Sometimes different flags are flown for tax and tariff reasons.
Then why are they called hazardous???
Then why are they leaking out and the divers evacuated???
Putting hazardous chemicals at the bow of the ship... real smart...
Maybe I've been watching too much MST3K lately...
(wanders off to watch more MST3K)