Holy shit. I-695 bridge in Baltimore collapse.

[lbhsbz]

I can’t believe it folded like an erector set.

Once you stand next to one of these container ships, you'll understand that it doesn't really matter WTF the ship hits, the ship will win. They are seriously massive.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Chesapeake Bay is nearly 200 miles long. Port of Baltimore is on the north end of the bay. As previously mentioned, typically tugs are used only at the dock. Perhaps the emergency VHF radio message transmitted by the ship will be heard soon. The anchor handling crew for the ship may have been standing by on or near the bow. Imagine they hauled ass when it became apparent what was going to happen. Reports indicate the ship had a crew of 22. All from India. No injuries reported.

 

[boatpi]

For the life of me, I can’t understand how they would let such a Heavy ship like that go through and under that bridge without two port pilots guiding it.

Are they trying to be that cheap and then you have a mechanical failure and this is what you get.

 

[OC Mike]

Hard for me to wrap my head around it being a single screw.

Dali is a Neopanamax container ship with an overall length of 299.92 metres (984 ft 0 in), beam of 48.2 metres (158 ft 2 in), and moulded depth of 24.8 metres (81 ft 4 in). Fully laden, she draws 15.03 metres (49 ft 4 in) of water. She measures 91,128 in gross tonnage and 52,150 in net tonnage, and has a deadweight tonnage of 116,851 tonnes. The container capacity of the ship, measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), is 9,971.[2]

Dali is propelled by a single low-speed two-stroke crosshead diesel engine coupled to a fixed-pitch propeller. Her main engine, a license-manufactured 9-cylinder MAN-B&W 9S90ME-C9.2[7] unit manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries under license, is rated 41,480 kW (55,630 hp) at 82.5 rpm.[2] Her service speed is 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph).[4]

What's next, single engine passenger jets?

 

[stephenkatsea]

For the life of me, I can’t understand how they would let such a Heavy ship like that go through and under that bridge without two port pilots guiding it.

Are they trying to be that cheap and then you have a mechanical failure and this is what you get.

The ship’s Master and bridge officers would be most familiar with the actual handling of the ship. Pilots are typically there to advise the ship’s bridge crew and communicate with the tugs while docking or undocking. Single screw cargo vessels are common.

 

[dread Pirate]

Where is the steel to rebuild the bridge going to come from?

 

[TimeBandit]

So going about 10 MPH there is a power failure, "fly by wire rudder" goes dead, bridge gets smashed.

2 pilots on board can't do anything about that.

Maybe tugs will be required at all major ports with bridges in the future?

What do they do in San Francisco?

But WHY did the power fail?

On the YouTube video in post 26 it shows another ship in the harbor... is there another way out?

Scary shit.

 

[Sharky]

Once you stand next to one of these container ships, you'll understand that it doesn't really matter WTF the ship hits, the ship will win. They are seriously massive.

Think in the video posted earlier they said that loaded ship weight 100,000 tons or more.

Ship was doing about 8MPH.

That's a mind boggling amount of mass & force

 

[napanutt]

So going about 10 MPH there is a power failure, "fly by wire rudder" goes dead, bridge gets smashed.

2 pilots on board can't do anything about that.

Maybe tugs will be required at all major ports with bridges in the future?

What do they do in San Francisco?

But WHY did the power fail?

On the YouTube video in post 26 it shows another ship in the harbor... is there another way out?

Scary shit.

According to Marine traffic app there is a lot of big ships stuck inside the bay. The green and blue squares are big ships. As far as I know that’s only way in or out. They’re gonna be there a while.

 

[HST4ME]

Where is the steel to rebuild the bridge going to come from?

Chyyyna.

 

[wzuber]

According to Marine traffic app there is a lot of big ships stuck inside the bay. The green and blue squares are big ships. As far as I know that’s only way in or out. They’re gonna be there a while.
View attachment 1351739

Yep, many ships trapped there for a long time to come. All others inbound having to divert now....

 

[stephenkatsea]

FWIW - You can see at some point the port anchor of the ship was deployed. The port anchor chain is visible.

 

[sonicss31]

FWIW - You can see at some point the port anchor of the ship was deployed. The port anchor chain is visible.

Those waters were my playground for over 50yrs. Even if the anchor was deployed it would be drug for some time before it took hold. The bottom under the bridge is very soft and mucky. Dredging that channel was drug thru govt. agencies for years.

 

[poncho]

FWIW - You can see at some point the port anchor of the ship was deployed. The port anchor chain is visible.

Do the pilots ride out past the bridge at that port?

 

[poncho]

Those waters were my playground for over 50yrs. Even if the anchor was deployed it would be drug for some time before it took hold. The bottom under the bridge is very soft and mucky. Dredging that channel was drug thru govt. agencies for years.

Blue crab soft shell

 

[monkeyswrench]

I'm assuming the main propulsion engine is separate from power generation on these? As pointed out, this is a fly by wire deal. It looked like a total blackout event tough. It seems like they'd run some sort of battery backup for the required mechanicals, like steering, radio and engine management. I can't imagine the feeling of being under power in something that huge, with no control.

 

[Crazyhippy]

 

[stephenkatsea]

Do the pilots ride out past the bridge at that port?

For us, I honestly don’t recall. Reports say there were 2 pilots on board the Dali.

 

[poncho]

I'm assuming the main propulsion engine is separate from power generation on these? As pointed out, this is a fly by wire deal. It looked like a total blackout event tough. It seems like they'd run some sort of battery backup for the required mechanicals, like steering, radio and engine management. I can't imagine the feeling of being under power in something that huge, with no control.

On my boat the wheelhouse is on 12 and 24V DC, in the event of a generator going offline the main engines stay running, they are also on 24V DC.
Steering motors are 480 volt AC so when a gennie goes down I valve over to manual steer, takes a minute to switch over then have someone on the wheel to start steering old school, not a quick process.

 

[poncho]

For us, I honestly don’t recall. Reports say there were 2 pilots on board the Dali.

If they were they are going to retire with one hell of a story.

 

[Done-it-again]

Just got this from my broker on some ocean cargo heading to NOLA for me....

I just got an update on this one, This vessel is not calling NOLA, they’re diverting southbound vessel cargo and moving them down as rail or OTR due to the bridge accident since one of the stops is normally Baltimore. So everything is that’s going that way is discharging in NYC. New ETA into NOLA is 5/10.

 

[Pattle]

I'm assuming the main propulsion engine is separate from power generation on these? As pointed out, this is a fly by wire deal. It looked like a total blackout event tough. It seems like they'd run some sort of battery backup for the required mechanicals, like steering, radio and engine management. I can't imagine the feeling of being under power in something that huge, with no control.

I'm an old Navy guy, so things may be different for this ship. Losing electrical power is the worst. EVERYTHING shuts down. Then you need to trip all the breakers (take the load off that caused the shut down), bring the generators back up, reset the breakers (in emergency, just the ones you need) and then restart the main engines.

Because of all that, we ran all generators going into and out of port, for redundancy and to minimize likelihood of overload. We also had a guy down at the rudder to take manual control if necessary. It was a hand pump on a huge hydraulic system, but at least that person could very slowly move the rudder.

 

[Sharky]

I'm assuming the main propulsion engine is separate from power generation on these? As pointed out, this is a fly by wire deal. It looked like a total blackout event tough. It seems like they'd run some sort of battery backup for the required mechanicals, like steering, radio and engine management. I can't imagine the feeling of being under power in something that huge, with no control.

I was wondering if (I would think their should be) a back-up communication from the bridge to the engine room.

Main electrical power goes down. Helm controls are dead. Normal comm system is possibly dead.

Emergency back-up comm system to the engine room.

"Engines full stop". "Engines full reverse"

 

[JDKRXW]

Just got this from my broker on some ocean cargo heading to NOLA for me....

I just got an update on this one, This vessel is not calling NOLA, they’re diverting southbound vessel cargo and moving them down as rail or OTR due to the bridge accident since one of the stops is normally Baltimore. So everything is that’s going that way is discharging in NYC. New ETA into NOLA is 5/10.

NYC and Norfolk are going to be a mess because of this.

 

[poncho]

I was wondering if (I would think their should be) a back-up communication from the bridge to the engine room.

Main electrical power goes down. Helm controls are dead. Normal comm system is possibly dead.

Emergency back-up comm system to the engine room.

"Engines full stop". "Engines full reverse"

Shipboard comms are on DC power usually.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Shipboard comms are on DC power usually.

A ‘Sound Powered Ship’s Phone’ for onboard communication between spaces. Made by Hose McCann and still being used today. When I did a tour of one of our state of the art nuclear submarines, these phones were also used.

 

[HST4ME]

This makes me all warm and fuzzy, I'm sure it won't cross my mind at all going across the Mackinac Bridge this year

 

[dread Pirate]

This makes me all warm and fuzzy, I'm sure it won't cross my mind at all going across the Mackinac Bridge this year

Anytime I cross a bridge my hands are sweaty on the other side. It's stupid, but I drove over the bay bridge a few months after the quake and could tell which section they replaced. Messed with me ever since.

 

[rrrr]

For the life of me, I can’t understand how they would let such a Heavy ship like that go through and under that bridge without two port pilots guiding it.

Are they trying to be that cheap and then you have a mechanical failure and this is what you get.

Doesn't matter who is at the helm when a complete loss of electrical power and steerage occur.

 

[Big B Hova]

Couple things im wondering here.

1. Where is yore safety oar?
2. Was the captain wearing a lanyard?
3. Where's the back up genny?


On a serious note... what a freak accident. Poor people on the bridge.

 

[rrrr]

FWIW - You can see at some point the port anchor of the ship was deployed. The port anchor chain is visible.

Did you see the photo that shows the damage to the starboard bow? Yeah, the bridge collapsed, but the support and foundation of it put up a good fight. Check out the huge concrete beam that penetrated the shell plating and is lodged in the starboard quarter. It's amazing how much force was involved in the collision.

By the way, I'd bet a good amount of money by tomorrow, there will be a racial component linked to the crash established by someone in the Biden administration and the media. I don't intend to dishonor the memory of the workers that lost their lives by saying so, but you'll be hearing about their race. I'll consider them as hard workers that had an honest job, and my condolences to our to their families.

 

[joecfd1]

Don’t shoot the messenger…

 

[rivrrts429]

Did you see the photo that shows the damage to the starboard bow? Yeah, the bridge collapsed, but the support and foundation of it put up a good fight. Check out the huge concrete beam that penetrated the shell plating and is lodged in the starboard quarter. It's amazing how much force was involved in the collision.

By the way, I'd bet a good amount of money by tomorrow, there will be a racial component linked to the crash established by someone in the Biden administration and the media. I don't intend to dishonor the memory of the workers that lost their lives by saying so, but you'll be hearing about their race. I'll consider them as hard workers that had an honest job, and my condolences to our to their families.

Looks like the ship came out the winner of this 12 round boxing title. The pictures are insane when you see just how massive that bridge is/was and the boat took it all down in seconds. Absolutely unreal the carnage left behind.

 

[Singleton]

Looks like the ship came out the winner of this 12 round boxing title. The pictures are insane when you see just how massive that bridge is/was and the boat took it all down in seconds. Absolutely unreal the carnage left behind.

1.6 miles of bridge came down with 1 support tower being taken out.
Glad is occurred at 130am and not in morning rush hour. The people lost if it occurred at 7-9am would be large.

 

[regor]

Chyyyna.

 

[rrrr]

Chyyyna.

Biden's Buy American stipulations written into the ridiculously named Bipartisan Infrastructure Act are going to cause an embarrassing situation for him. He has already stated the federal government will pay for 100% of the repairs and get it done in record time.

How?

There isn't enough mill capacity or special shapes rolling and forging capabilities in the US to churn out the several million tons of steel needed to rebuild the bridge in a timely fashion. It'll have to come from China. This will spotlight the administration's recent antitrust action brought against Nippon Steel for their proposed $15 billion acquisition of American steel maker US Steel. That's 50% more than the offer by US company Cleveland Cliffs.

US Steel is in deep shit right now. Nippon Steel's offer guarantees keeping union agreements in place and other concessions. Nippon has built a track record of profits and good management with modernized electric furnace mills, but Biden and the steel worker's union opposes the deal, making the usual claims about anticompetitiveness and job losses.

If they're successful in quashing the sale, I'll make a prediction that's a no brainer. Cleveland Cliffs doesn't have the money to revive USS's operations. The company will continue its downward spiral. Without the cash, investment in plant improvements, and the expertise of Nippon's management (They're the fourth largest steel producer in the world), US Steel's inefficient operations and the union's continued bleeding of the company will result in bankruptcy within three or at most four years. Then all of those union jobs will disappear, just like the UAW jobs did when Honda and Toyota opened non-union plant in right to work states. American steel making will take another body blow. The industry is dying because of over regulation, mismanagement, and union greed.

Buy American is working...not.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/buy-american-build-nothing-infrastructure-bill-requirements-complicate-construction-941e0694?st=it8fge96oa8qa3c&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

[C-Ya]

My wife and I watched it on the National news.

At some point, we paused the TV, and started counting the potential lawsuits. There are A LOT. Some more subtle than others. For instance, those ocean container “content” owners have claims. The ship itself might have claims against its navigational and other control systems, manufacturers. Those ships that are now stuck, also have claims. Port and affiliated businesses have claims. The list is almost endless. Needless to say, this is a full policy limits case. Wrongful death. Site cleanup. Bridge rebuild.

 

[rrrr]

You're correct about the knock on effects. They're huge. The port moves billions in freight. This is a quick grab I found:

The port is first among the nation's ports for autos and light truck volume, roll on/roll off farm and construction machinery, and imported gypsum and is responsible for nearly $3.3 billion in personal wages and salaries, $2.6 billion in business revenue and nearly $400 million in state and local tax revenue annually.

Maersk, the ship's operator, is the second largest shipping company in the world. They probably have insurance and the financial heft to absorb the losses. That being said, I'll be surprised if the replacement cost for the bridge is less than $1.5 billion. There's likely another $100 million or more in damage to the ship. The physical and business interruption losses to the owners of the cargo and the port itself will be another huge number.

 

[joecfd1]

Looks like the ship came out the winner of this 12 round boxing title. The pictures are insane when you see just how massive that bridge is/was and the boat took it all down in seconds. Absolutely unreal the carnage left behind.

With the ship at 232 million pounds, the bridge didn’t stand a chance…

 

[rivrrts429]

1.6 miles of bridge came down with 1 support tower being taken out.
Glad is occurred at 130am and not in morning rush hour. The people lost if it occurred at 7-9am would be large.

It would’ve been an insane number of casualties.

The six bridge workers took one hell of ride in their final moments. This tragedy is going to have an insane impact on a lot of families unfortunately but, to your accurate point, could’ve been so much worse.

 

[SoCalDave]

they said that loaded ship weight 100,000 tons or more.

Please help me understand this or to many 00 or 000's?

 

[lbhsbz]

For the life of me, I can’t understand how they would let such a Heavy ship like that go through and under that bridge without two port pilots guiding it.

Are they trying to be that cheap and then you have a mechanical failure and this is what you get.

Pilots were on board....but that doesn't matter, and neither does a steering wheel or gas pedal when both of those malfunction

 

[lbhsbz]

My wife and I watched it on the National news.

At some point, we paused the TV, and started counting the potential lawsuits. There are A LOT. Some more subtle than others. For instance, those ocean container “content” owners have claims. The ship itself might have claims against its navigational and other control systems, manufacturers. Those ships that are now stuck, also have claims. Port and affiliated businesses have claims. The list is almost endless. Needless to say, this is a full policy limits case. Wrongful death. Site cleanup. Bridge rebuild.

The fact that lawsuits were your primary concern is disturbing.

 

[C-Ya]

The fact that lawsuits were your primary concern is disturbing.

So you deduced that lawsuits was my “primary“ concern? Detective. That’s disturbimg.

Might come as a surprise to you…….. but I am married to an attorney. Is it too disturbing that a civil litigator might chat with her husband about potential future lawsuits? Sorry my post didn’t meet your standards.

Take a chill pill…..

 

[RitcheyRch]

 

[FCT]

I don’t want to ask if this is real because it wouldn’t surprise me!?

 

[FreeBird236]

I don’t want to ask if this is real because it wouldn’t surprise me!?

It's real. He said he'd been across the bridge many many times by train or by car.

 

[JM21]

Can’t believe no one has suggested the container ship try a different prop. This all could have been avoided if the pilot on board spotted the wrong prop

 

[MegansDad]

I think they will have a shipping lane open within a week. After they call off the search for bodies they will get to work on moving the fallen pieces.

 

[OCMerrill]

Chesapeake Bay is nearly 200 miles long. Port of Baltimore is on the north end of the bay. As previously mentioned, typically tugs are used only at the dock. Perhaps the emergency VHF radio message transmitted by the ship will be heard soon. The anchor handling crew for the ship may have been standing by on or near the bow. Imagine they hauled ass when it became apparent what was going to happen. Reports indicate the ship had a crew of 22. All from India. No injuries reported.

LA requires a Pilot to arrive but I am not sure if they require one to depart. One thing is for certain The LA Pilots must have a radio that transmits with a 1000 watts. We can hear those guys well past Catalina at times.