Baltimore bridge hit by ship, collapsed

[racerone]

It appears they were able to stop commuter traffic just before impact.-----But there were workers and vehicles on the bridge doing road repairs.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Simply unbelievable! I’ve travelled under (and over) the Key bridge so many times. It‘s always seemed stout to me, but apparently the weak point was the towers. God bless the missing souls…..

 

[alldodge]

Will take years to rebuild, hope they can clear at least one passage for ships within 6 months

 

[racerone]

Design in say 1975 did not take into consideration the size of the container ships of today.-----Did not take into consideration these SINGLE SCREW container ships.----And how easy these mega ships are driven off course by the wind.----Likely all of the monsters will have tug support near bridges starting tomorrow.-----There was a brand new lake freighter last year that lost steering in the Detroit river last year.----After repairs it was teamed with a tug for a few days until repairs / systems were proven.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Will take years to rebuild, hope they can clear at least one passage for ships within 6 months

Yes, and the Coast Guard station at Curtis Bay is now essentially cut off from the Chesapeake- except for their smaller craft. Wonder how many Cutters are stranded there?

 

[FunInDuhSun]

 

[cyclops222]

Well that design was never good. The center swction main supports had...... NO NO .... protection concrete deflection piers upstream of the supports. My opinion is gross negligence of the center support pilings.

NO ONE ever said. " What happens WHEN a big ship hits the center section supports ? "
Greedy people in charge of the project. Nothing else fits.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

When that bridge was built in the ‘70’s, it was designed to protect against damage from the (smaller) container ships of the time.
The supports SHOULD have been modified or upgraded with barriers strong enough to survive a hit from todays massive ships.

 

[dingbat]

Last summer when one ran aground
In the Brewerton Chanel

 

[aspeck]

Here is a good recap of what happened ...

And the current state of the harbor ...

 

[flashback]

When that bridge was built in the ‘70’s, it was designed to protect against damage from the (smaller) container ships of the time.
The supports SHOULD have been modified or upgraded with barriers strong enough to survive a hit from todays massive ships.

I guess this was the opportunity they were waiting for!

 

[racerone]

Modern design in ships / aircraft seems to focus on cutting costs.----Single engines on these monsters.---Fly by wire ( cheaper ) controls.-----The rule used to be 4 engines on an aircraft to cross oceans.-----Now millions of people run into airplanes with 2 large engines.-----I came across the Atlantic in a DC-7 but won't get into a carbon fiber one with 2 engines.

 

[tpenfield]

Wow . . . (seeing the video posted above)

 

[airshot]

All about saving fuel, whether ship or airplane. Those big container ships use up 20,000 gallons of fuel for a one way trip, super ships can use twice that much. Saving 10% is a lot of fuel !

 

[alldodge]

USCG says ships bow is sitting on the bottom and hull remains intact

 

[cyclops222]

That container is HIGH and a BILLION pounds !! Lot's of area for the wind to take control in coastal waters.
Hopeless oversized container ships with NON USA Registry !! Of course the anchors did not stop the beast.

 

[cyclops222]

That Evergreen shipping Company BLOCKED the Suez canal completely. That bridge crasher did the same thing in a Swedish location
GREEDY company. Forget any safety issues Run it or quit your job

 

[briangcc]

Umm...they were saying that even if the anchor had been dropped, at the speed the ship was traveling it would have still impacted the bridge.

 

[aspeck]

The MV DALI was commissioned in 2015. As a relatively new ship, it has been inspected almost 30 times by different agencies around the world. The only infractions it has ever received were minor ones (the latest was that you couldn't read a gauge and that was fixed in less than a day). It appears that emergency protocols were followed (May Day call, dropping anchor, etc). The question seems to be, why did the DALI lose power?

 

[alldodge]

Agree