Ship struck and destroyed Baltimore bridge

[Iliade]

Ship struck and destroyed Baltimore bridge:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-68663071

The only mercy is it was in the early hours or the toll could have been even more horrendous.

 

[Stemar]

Indeed. That's bad enough, but can you imagine if it had been 0830 instead of 0130?

 

[Concerto]

Shocking report but thankfully at a quiet time of day. Today Baltimore will be in double shock, firstly the loss of life and secondly the traffic chaos for probably several years.

 

[Mistroma]

Yes, spotted it a couple of hours ago. Quick AIS check showed Dali[SG] and track. I think it was doing 8-10 kts a mile or so from the bridge. Veered to stbd and slowed at that point. Only a quick look but obvious something wasn't right by then. It will take a while to investigate. I hope they rescue some from the water but doesn't look good for anyone crossing at the time.

 

[fisherman]

You can see they switched on a lot of deck lights and forward searchlight or similar, then cloud of smoke from presumably going astern. Unluckily seems there were workmen, vehicles with flashing lights, but no actual moving vehicles at the point of collapse.

 

[fisherman]

At 01.24.32 all the lights went out including the stbd sidelight, then all came on again at 01.25.32. Within ten seconds the smoke starts.

 

[Minerva]

Looking at the photos it looks like the bridge does not have any ship collision mitigation barriers in place as is common in the UK / Europe.

Looks like it comes down to poor safety standards & cost cutting

 

[veshengro]

There will be some frantic voyage rescheduling going on in Baltimore Port, I'm sure. After rescues, I would think clearing the Fairway would be first priority. Even when I was last in Baltimore Port, long before Container Terminals etc: it was a very busy Port.

 

[Parabordi]

am i the only one thinking that bridge disintegrated really quickly?

 

[Wansworth]

am i the only one thinking that bridge disintegrated really quickly?

No

 

[Mistroma]

am i the only one thinking that bridge disintegrated really quickly?

It did look as if the supports had no ship collision mitigation barriers. Did seem to show the ship hitting one support and that would just topple. That side of the bridge would collapse immediately with no support and the section towards the other support would not be balanced. One part would fall down and the bit on the other side of that support would then pull the remainder down. Looked like a pretty quick cascade.

There will be some frantic voyage rescheduling going on in Baltimore Port, I'm sure. After rescues, I would think clearing the Fairway would be first priority. Even when I was last in Baltimore Port, long before Container Terminals etc: it was a very busy Port.

I'd agree that they will want to clear that area once things settle down as it will get the port back into operation. I think the fairway is only 300m wide and 15m deep with 4-5m depth either side of the dredged channel. Road traffic will suffer major disruption for a very long time but shipping should be OK in a much shorter time.

 

[Farmer Piles]

Those poor b*ggers on the bridge, they wouldn't have stood a chance. All that debris and hitting the water from that height. I expect that the water temperature is only 5-8 degrees too, you don't last long in that especially wearing heavy work gear.

 

[penberth3]

Looking at the photos it looks like the bridge does not have any ship collision mitigation barriers in place as is common in the UK / Europe.

Looks like it comes down to poor safety standards & cost cutting

Complete and utter nonsense. Above a certain weight/speed no barrier is going to help.

 

[Mister E]

Those poor b*ggers on the bridge, they wouldn't have stood a chance. All that debris and hitting the water from that height. I expect that the water temperature is only 5-8 degrees too, you don't last long in that especially wearing heavy work gear.

That was my thoughts watching it being shown on TV when they said about people working on the bridge.
So the rest of it those poor souls didn't stand a chance.

 

[chriscallender]

That was my thoughts watching it being shown on TV when they said about people working on the bridge.
So the rest of it those poor souls didn't stand a chance.

News reports say that two people were rescued from the water, one is in serious condition, the other uninjured. Miraculous that anyone could survive that I agree.

 

[Robih]

Looking at the photos it looks like the bridge does not have any ship collision mitigation barriers in place as is common in the UK / Europe.

Looks like it comes down to poor safety standards & cost cutting

Surely far too early to come to that conclusion.

 

[Stingo]

Footage showing two losses of power.

Just a thought, the Captain would not have been in charge, but rather a Pilot from the port, who wouldn't be that familiar with the ship.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1772610471633301676

 

[RivalRedwing]

Where is Kukri when you need him.... and why is this thread on PBO

 

[Biggles Wader]

Footage showing two losses of power.

Just a thought, the Captain would not have been in charge, but rather a Pilot from the port, who wouldn't be that familiar with the ship.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1772610471633301676

The Pilot advises the Master who always remains in command of the ship------Apart from the Panama Canal where the Pilot takes command.

 

[lustyd]

Must admit I wasn't expecting the failure to be that fast along the whole length of the bridge. Surprised how long the lights were out on the ship for failure 1 too, I'd have expected nearly immediate backup systems to fire up for lighting at least