Gosh. Should a massive bridge collapse like that?? - I mean, they're supposed to be more robust?
Baltimore Bridge collapse after being hit by a cargo ship
Baltimore bridge collapse
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1DC
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
The ship that hit it probably had a deadweight of about 150000 tons and when the bridge was built people weren't prepared for ships that big. The support tower was the weakest point for the stability of the bridge and as seen it just fell over. If the bridge is replaced I am sure it will be of a different design and the towers will have protection around the tower bases to deflect out of control ships. It will be interesting to see why the ship was out of the channel and hit the tower..
Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
Looks very nasty, sure to be fatalities. Seems it was very early hours, fortunate it wasn't peak hour.
Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
If the harbour pilot was doing his job, then I can only think there must have been a mechanical failure of some sort.
One report said the ship was 300 metres long, even at slow speed that is an awful lot of kinetic energy.
One report said the ship was 300 metres long, even at slow speed that is an awful lot of kinetic energy.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
This video shows a bit more of the lead up to the collision.
Ship appears to lose electrical power (to the lighting at least, maybe total) as follows
0:04-0:14
0:25-0:30
There's a big dollop of smoke from a funnel starting at 0:16.
It's possible the ship was aimed towards the north tower, on a turning course to take it through the centre of the bridge, when power was lost initially.
Then when power returned (maybe after a delay for resets, control initialisations, etc), they steered back to starboard to avoid the north tower, but the power cut again as they were pointed at the south tower.
There is a very late attempt to steer back away to port from the south tower, but too late to make a difference.
The resets maybe take 5-6 seconds.
This fits with the ship's report of losing all power.
The ship appears not to be under steering control whilst the lights are out, and for several seconds after.
Based on the visible headlight pattern on the bridge prior, there were probably less than 10 vehicles on it when it collapsed, but we can maybe not see all of them..
initial reports are 7-20 people missing.
Ship appears to lose electrical power (to the lighting at least, maybe total) as follows
0:04-0:14
0:25-0:30
There's a big dollop of smoke from a funnel starting at 0:16.
It's possible the ship was aimed towards the north tower, on a turning course to take it through the centre of the bridge, when power was lost initially.
Then when power returned (maybe after a delay for resets, control initialisations, etc), they steered back to starboard to avoid the north tower, but the power cut again as they were pointed at the south tower.
There is a very late attempt to steer back away to port from the south tower, but too late to make a difference.
The resets maybe take 5-6 seconds.
This fits with the ship's report of losing all power.
The ship appears not to be under steering control whilst the lights are out, and for several seconds after.
Based on the visible headlight pattern on the bridge prior, there were probably less than 10 vehicles on it when it collapsed, but we can maybe not see all of them..
initial reports are 7-20 people missing.
Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
An overhead view of the ship's track does not show it veering as much as between the north and south support. The power outage no doubt will have influenced the outcome.
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tango15
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
Note the large amount of black smoke from the vessel at around 'lights out' time. This is normally indicative of putting the vessel into full astern (reverse), which may have been an instinctive reaction from the pilot/captain, but the beast is never going to stop in a hurry. Thankfully it was in the early hours, so not too much traffic was on the bridge. I believe that such vessels have 'black boxes', so all will be revealed in due time, no doubt.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
The Port of Baltimore is now completely closed.
The Sparrows Point facility is seaward of the collapsed bridge, but has only a few old, unserviced piers, and no cranes or direct rail connection.
Anyone got a link for the ship's track?
The Sparrows Point facility is seaward of the collapsed bridge, but has only a few old, unserviced piers, and no cranes or direct rail connection.
Anyone got a link for the ship's track?
Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
It is rumoured that those missing were workers filling potholes on the bridge carriageway surface.
Paul Wiedfeld, secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, says the crew on the bridge at the time of the collapse were working to repair potholes.
The work had "nothing to do with a structural issue", he told the news conference.
https://news.sky.com/story/baltimore-br ... e-13101977
Paul Wiedfeld, secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, says the crew on the bridge at the time of the collapse were working to repair potholes.
The work had "nothing to do with a structural issue", he told the news conference.
https://news.sky.com/story/baltimore-br ... e-13101977
Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
https://www.marinetraffic.com/Fox3WheresMyBanana wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 1:51 pmThe Port of Baltimore is now completely closed.
The Sparrows Point facility is seaward of the collapsed bridge, but has only a few old, unserviced piers, and no cranes or direct rail connection.
Anyone got a link for the ship's track?
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/de ... essel:DALI
PP
Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
It will be interesting to see how the insurance aspect plays out.
Obviously there will be liability for loss of life and vehicles.
Will there be monies to pay for the design and replacement of the bridge?
Loss of use due to blockage of the port?
New excuse for all shippers...Sorry your shipment was going through Baltimore, no matter where it was actually coming from or going to.
PP
Obviously there will be liability for loss of life and vehicles.
Will there be monies to pay for the design and replacement of the bridge?
Loss of use due to blockage of the port?
New excuse for all shippers...Sorry your shipment was going through Baltimore, no matter where it was actually coming from or going to.
PP
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1DC
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
After the first power failure the engineers seem to have recovered full power, I doubt if emergency generators would have given full lighting, but at the second loss the ship was starting to turn to starboard and steering must have been lost because it couldn't be stopped. The anchor(s) were dropped just before she struck but with hindsight both should have been dropped at the time of first loss of power. I would be surprised if they link it to a cyber attack, but I am an old man who doesn't understand the modern world and doesn't want to!
In my seagoing days "blackouts' happened, we called it that in my day, and quite often when they were recovered they happened again almost immediately until the engineers got things sorted. Just an unfortunate occurrence in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It happened to me on the Manchester ship canal lust as we were approaching the Barton swing bridge and we drifted through with everyone holding their breath and didn't touch a thing, Fortunately only on a 12000 tonner, big for the Manchester ship canal mind! Happy Days..
In my seagoing days "blackouts' happened, we called it that in my day, and quite often when they were recovered they happened again almost immediately until the engineers got things sorted. Just an unfortunate occurrence in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It happened to me on the Manchester ship canal lust as we were approaching the Barton swing bridge and we drifted through with everyone holding their breath and didn't touch a thing, Fortunately only on a 12000 tonner, big for the Manchester ship canal mind! Happy Days..
Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/baltim ... index.html
Ship dropped its anchor as part of emergency procedure before impact, transportation agency says
From CNN’s AnneClaire Stapleton, Louis Mian and Sahar Akbarzai
The DALI container ship that struck Baltimore's Key Bridge dropped its anchor prior to impact as part of its emergency procedures after losing propulsion, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement Tuesday.
DALI is a Singapore-registered vessel that was chartered by Danish shipping company Maersk.
"The ship management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, reported to MPA that just prior to the incident, the vessel, Dali had experienced momentary loss of propulsion," the statement from MPA said. "As a result, it was unable to maintain the desired heading and collided with the Francis Scott Key bridge."
The vessel is currently holding onto its position at the site of the collision and is in a stable condition. All 22 crew members are safe and accounted for. CNN has reached out to the Synergy Group, the ship’s managing company, for comment.
2 min ago
Danish shipping giant said it is "omitting" Baltimore on all its services following bridge collapse
From CNN’s Robert North and Sugam Pokharel in London
Danish shipping giant Maersk said in a statement on Tuesday that it is dropping Baltimore on all its services for the foreseeable future following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
“Due to the damage to the bridge and resulting debris, it will not be possible to reach the Helen Delich Bentley port of Baltimore for the time being," the company said in a statement. "In line with this, we are omitting Baltimore on all our services for the foreseeable future, until it is deemed safe for passage through this area."
The container ship that collided with a pillar of the bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning, the DALI, was chartered by Maersk and carrying Maersk customers' cargo, the company said earlier. It also said the DALI is owned by Grace Ocean and operated by Synergy Group.
No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel, the company noted.
Ships headed to Baltimore will divert to nearby ports, from which it will be possible for cargo to use other means of transportation to reach their final destinations, the company added.
For cargo set to be released in Baltimore, the company said to expect delays, as they look for other port alternatives.
34 min ago
A minute-by-minute timeline of the Key Bridge collapse
From CNN's Antoinette Radford
Authorities are continuing to search for six people who are unaccounted for after a cargo ship veered off course into a pillar of Baltimore's Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse.
Here's a timeline of how the incident unfolded. All times are ET:
1:24 a.m.: The DALI container ship's lights flicker as it travels down Patapsco River, according to video from the scene.
1:26 a.m.: The ship begins to change course toward the Key Bridge's pillar, CNN analysis shows.
1:26 to 1:27 a.m.: The ships lights continue to flicker on and off, video of the ship shows.
1:27 a.m.: The ship hits the Key Bridge, quickly causing it to collapse.
1:40 a.m.: The 911 center dispatches call to Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) for reports of water rescue in the Patapsco River, according to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace. As units were responding, fire officials started receiving calls of multiple people in the water.
1:50 a.m.: The first fire unit arrives on the scene and reports a complete collapse of Key Bridge, according to Wallace said. The fire department was given information that there were "likely multiple people on the bridge" and as a result, were now in the water, Wallace said.
Authorities are still working to establish exactly how the crash occurred. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters the crew on the ship issued a "mayday" call before it collided with the bridge, but it is unclear exactly what time that call went out at.
Divers have also been scouring the water searching for victims of the crash since the early hours of the morning.
46 min ago
Emergency call from ship allowed authorities to close bridge and save lives, Maryland governor says
From CNN's Andy Rose
An emergency call from the container ship gave officials time to begin closing the Francis Scott Key Bridge to vehicle traffic before the ship slammed into it, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Tuesday.
“I'm thankful for the folks, once the warning came up and once notification came up that there was a mayday, who literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge — these people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Moore said.
PP
Ship dropped its anchor as part of emergency procedure before impact, transportation agency says
From CNN’s AnneClaire Stapleton, Louis Mian and Sahar Akbarzai
The DALI container ship that struck Baltimore's Key Bridge dropped its anchor prior to impact as part of its emergency procedures after losing propulsion, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement Tuesday.
DALI is a Singapore-registered vessel that was chartered by Danish shipping company Maersk.
"The ship management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, reported to MPA that just prior to the incident, the vessel, Dali had experienced momentary loss of propulsion," the statement from MPA said. "As a result, it was unable to maintain the desired heading and collided with the Francis Scott Key bridge."
The vessel is currently holding onto its position at the site of the collision and is in a stable condition. All 22 crew members are safe and accounted for. CNN has reached out to the Synergy Group, the ship’s managing company, for comment.
2 min ago
Danish shipping giant said it is "omitting" Baltimore on all its services following bridge collapse
From CNN’s Robert North and Sugam Pokharel in London
Danish shipping giant Maersk said in a statement on Tuesday that it is dropping Baltimore on all its services for the foreseeable future following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
“Due to the damage to the bridge and resulting debris, it will not be possible to reach the Helen Delich Bentley port of Baltimore for the time being," the company said in a statement. "In line with this, we are omitting Baltimore on all our services for the foreseeable future, until it is deemed safe for passage through this area."
The container ship that collided with a pillar of the bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning, the DALI, was chartered by Maersk and carrying Maersk customers' cargo, the company said earlier. It also said the DALI is owned by Grace Ocean and operated by Synergy Group.
No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel, the company noted.
Ships headed to Baltimore will divert to nearby ports, from which it will be possible for cargo to use other means of transportation to reach their final destinations, the company added.
For cargo set to be released in Baltimore, the company said to expect delays, as they look for other port alternatives.
34 min ago
A minute-by-minute timeline of the Key Bridge collapse
From CNN's Antoinette Radford
Authorities are continuing to search for six people who are unaccounted for after a cargo ship veered off course into a pillar of Baltimore's Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse.
Here's a timeline of how the incident unfolded. All times are ET:
1:24 a.m.: The DALI container ship's lights flicker as it travels down Patapsco River, according to video from the scene.
1:26 a.m.: The ship begins to change course toward the Key Bridge's pillar, CNN analysis shows.
1:26 to 1:27 a.m.: The ships lights continue to flicker on and off, video of the ship shows.
1:27 a.m.: The ship hits the Key Bridge, quickly causing it to collapse.
1:40 a.m.: The 911 center dispatches call to Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) for reports of water rescue in the Patapsco River, according to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace. As units were responding, fire officials started receiving calls of multiple people in the water.
1:50 a.m.: The first fire unit arrives on the scene and reports a complete collapse of Key Bridge, according to Wallace said. The fire department was given information that there were "likely multiple people on the bridge" and as a result, were now in the water, Wallace said.
Authorities are still working to establish exactly how the crash occurred. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters the crew on the ship issued a "mayday" call before it collided with the bridge, but it is unclear exactly what time that call went out at.
Divers have also been scouring the water searching for victims of the crash since the early hours of the morning.
46 min ago
Emergency call from ship allowed authorities to close bridge and save lives, Maryland governor says
From CNN's Andy Rose
An emergency call from the container ship gave officials time to begin closing the Francis Scott Key Bridge to vehicle traffic before the ship slammed into it, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Tuesday.
“I'm thankful for the folks, once the warning came up and once notification came up that there was a mayday, who literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge — these people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Moore said.
PP
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
What will you do if the 'drive' suddenly fails is common to the thinking of all Captains, aeroplanes or ships.
Doesn't seem to occur to vehicle drivers these days, which is a problem given the amount of possible failure mechanisms now.
Doesn't seem to occur to vehicle drivers these days, which is a problem given the amount of possible failure mechanisms now.
Right up there with FOFAD (F#ck Off, Fire At Donington - UK storage depot), and "It went down on the Atlantic Conveyor".Sorry you shipment was going through Baltimore, no matter where it was actually coming from or going to.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
Baltimore is a major import point for autos, especially Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Mercedes Benz.
However, the Sparrows Point wharfs do show an auto transporter ship moored up on satellite views, so this may be a workaround.
The bridge was the major route for HAZMAT trucks, which are not allowed in Baltimore's tunnels.
Coal, sugar, and cruise ships also use the main port, and probably can't be diverted to Sparrows Point.
Baltimore is the 11th largest port in the US by number of ships.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
5. The Key Bridge had no redundancy
The Dali seems to have been on a steady course directly between the bridge pillars.
The track shows two very slight course deviations to starboard, which could be one smooth change allowing for the update of the tracker.
The initial deviation would seem to match the time at which the first loss of the ship's lighting occurred, at about 690m from the final impact point.
If is is correct, then the ship was doing about 8 kts, and there were 44 seconds from first loss of power to impact.
This speed sounds about right for a ship leaving port.
It would seem that they lost control of heading for pretty much the whole of the period from the first power loss.
The slow change to starboard may have been wind/tide, or a slight right of neutral rudder position when control was lost, or both.
On first look, it does not seem to be the fault of the pilot, and probably not the crew either, assuming they did their best to regain power/steerage.
Looks like the failure of power is the cause.
The Dali seems to have been on a steady course directly between the bridge pillars.
The track shows two very slight course deviations to starboard, which could be one smooth change allowing for the update of the tracker.
The initial deviation would seem to match the time at which the first loss of the ship's lighting occurred, at about 690m from the final impact point.
If is is correct, then the ship was doing about 8 kts, and there were 44 seconds from first loss of power to impact.
This speed sounds about right for a ship leaving port.
It would seem that they lost control of heading for pretty much the whole of the period from the first power loss.
The slow change to starboard may have been wind/tide, or a slight right of neutral rudder position when control was lost, or both.
On first look, it does not seem to be the fault of the pilot, and probably not the crew either, assuming they did their best to regain power/steerage.
Looks like the failure of power is the cause.
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Opsboi
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
Thank God the ship called a Mayday
Seems they prevented major carnage
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Baltimore bridge collapse
In 40 seconds, to put out a Mayday, attempt to regain power, drop anchor, and make a final attempt to stop and/or steer clear, sounds like the crew and pilot did their best.