Posted on 03/26/2024 5:26:30 AM PDT by Morgana
According to the diagram at the site, it was lined up between the two main supports at the center of the high point of the bridge, which I assume corresponds to the proper navigation channel.
It then veered off course and hit one of the main supports. (Initial reports - lost power/lost control.)
That's the one that came to mind for me, too. I remember reading that they added protective barriers for the bridge supports on the new span. It seems like that could have been a lesson learned that applied to other bridges, too. I suppose there could have been engineering difficulties that prevented that for some locations.
just another example of an easy way for terrorists to kill lots of people, they don’t need planes they can simply run a boat into bridges during rush hour.
Thank God this happened late at night
The pilots have likely been advised to say nothing. That’s sage advice in any such situation. Wait 24 hours to process yourself what happened and only comment in the presence of wise counsel.
Chances are very high that it was just a mechanical failure. Harbor pilots are known for being highly competent.
The incompetence will show up right about NOW, when all the political masters arrive to bloviate and perform exactly zero function.
Given that it’s Baltimore, Maryland and DC, you can bet this will be handled completely the wrong way. These idiots are paralyzed by their incompetence.
If they hadn’t stolen the election, they would have figured out some way to blame Trump but some sort of plan would be going into place very quickly.
To begin, some sort of ferry crossing would be set up for vehicles with proven destinations within 15 miles of the Port. There are two tunnels with a total of six traffic lanes under the bay. One of the tunnels, on I-895 would be restricted to commercial vehicles only. Not including HAZMAT. Those would have to go around the Baltimore Beltway (I-695)
To prevent land speculation, Real Estate deals within one mile of the existing bridge would be forbidden, unless already under contract
The Port would be re-opened as soon as possible.
OK?
A little too early to decide that.
Fortunately it happened overnight. During the day, the casualty count would have been huge.
might have endangered a small snail or something!
My guess is the harbor master dudes here were DEI (didn’t earn it) hires.
yeah
Photos show the bow heavily damaged and part of the bridge resting in it. So it appears the tide height had nothing to do with it.
Disclaimer: I know a boat when I see one. Other that that, not much.
Being from Seattle, it reminds me of the loss of the Spokane Street bridge (West Seattle Freeway) in 1978 ... which was referred to as “When the Ship hit the Span”. It took 6 years to deconstruct the rubble and build a new bridge. At the time it was the State of Washington’s most traveled roadway.
The funny thing was that in the decade leading up to the accident, there was a push to replace the bridge and long story short, there was a scandal involving bribes and the project was killed. In 1977 a federal highway regulator stated “short of a tug knocking it down ... (the project is dead). A year later, it was not a tug, but an ocean-going ship ... the Chavez.
But the story gets better. The pilot of the Chavez was found negligent. His name was Rolf Neslund. Two years later he disappeared, and his wife claimed he returned to Norway. However, he was never found ... and shortly before his disappearance, his wife purchased an industrial-sized wood chipper. She made it very clear in the years leading up to his disappearance how badly he embarrassed her and their name was permanently tarnished. With only circumstantial evidence, she was convicted of murder and died in prison.
There’s a video floating around on X that shows the entire incident:
It’s clear that the ship lost power at least twice. I don’t think impairment on the bridge is the issue - these large ships don’t turn or stop on a dime and it drifted in. Based on the pictures it doesn’t seem like there were substantial dolphins or starlings around the bridge supports to reduce the force of impact to the bridge support. I can’t speak from personal experience since I generally don’t use this bridge (I usually take I-895 and the tunnel).
If the initial reports are true, this is a tragic accident caused by power loss and mediocre reinforcement around the bridge supports.
MJ
Too bad the tide doesn’t stay legal and stay in the middle of the channel !!
“Mr. President, a container ship has just crashed into and collapsed a bridge in Baltimore. We’re calling an emergency staff meeting to determine how we can blame it on Trump.”
No need to spout a conspiracy theory. Yes, bridges DO collapse like that.
This would not even be a complicated physics project. The supports for the bridge were not heavy duty enough to take the impact while still holding the bridge up. A much smaller ship would have had the same effect. The ship had the size, weight and speed to easily collapse the bridge like that. Keep in mind the steel above the bridge is not a decoration, that is support to hold the roadway up. Even if the support column was just “bent”, the superstructure would have to continue to hold up the part of the bridge it was previously tasked with, but also do it without the benefit of the support until you got to the next support. Bridges are NOT designed to do that. Any significant damage to the support at all and the bridge was coming down. Once one section goes, the remaining sections no longer have the support they need, and it becomes a chain reaction, just as you saw in the video.
Not to worry, during tge ongoing presser, the mayor, the senator and now a FBIer has assured us there is no evidence of a terrorist attack. But more importantly it was mentioned that PETE BUTTIGEG is on it and vowing to do all he can…….
Where was the video taken from?
Was it a fixed Webcam location?
Maybe I missed it, but I can’t find much info on it.
It’s just a personal curiosity
A DEI ship’s captain?
If people didn’t there was something suspicious going on before, after viewing this charlie foxtrot of a presser they’d be well within their right to think so now.
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