Key Baltimore bridge collapses after collision

Looks like two seperate course changes to starboard. Two seperate power outages on board as well. Almost as if each outage caused the rudder to go a few points to starboard.

If this is true - I saw no attempt at correction to port during brief period with power between the two outages, nor does it appear any reduction in speed was attempted.

Wild guesses with limited info, but as they say, there are two kinds of people in the world: Those that can extrapolate from limited data.

 

Well.... we're waiting... What's the other kind?

 

It looks like this bridge did have 4 protection columns in line with the main supports, but they are so far from the bridge that the ship angled between them and right into the support. But it's not even close to the protection built around the Skyway.

 

Nothing substantial that I can see. NCI, Naval Reserve Center, and the Coast Guard Yard are within the area. Annapolis and Norfolk are much further south of this location.

 

Where are the tugs?

Why is noone talking about the tugs?

Don't you need tugs about a ship this size when towing out of the harbour?

Someone please enlighten me why this ship was operating under its own power without a tug, which would have easily prevented any incident.

(seriously, someone give me a crash course in maritime procedure here)

 

I was a little boy living in Bradenton. My grandparents were set to cross the skyway from their home in Clearwater that morning and were stuck in the traffic. They were minutes from being on the skyway that AM.

My grandmother told us many times about my grandfather running late that morning. (Which he never did).

She went to her grave believing it may have saved their lives.

 

Well, in Tampa Bay they have (or at least had) local harbor pilots who man the ship wheel out of the bay and past the skyway.

The Summit Venture was under the hand of a harbor pilot that day, not the ships actual pilot.

No need for tugs in that open water I believe.

 

Hard to imagine how grim the economic outlook for one of the most miserable cities in the US. The port …

$80 billion in goods per year

11 million cars over the bridge every year

15,000 jobs directly linked to the port and supports 140,000 jobs per year

port generates $3.3 billion income per year

 

Outside the harbor, under control of local pilot. Systems dont account for catastrophic mechanical failure.

Could this be a new terrorist tool to attack weak spots in critical infrastructure?

 

That’s not where you would use tugs, and reporting I’ve seen has been that there were two harbor pilots on board.

Also said that they had notified the Maryland Department of Transportation shortly before it occurred of a loss of control and that an impact with the bridge was possible.

 

Biggest impacts moving forward are that it will completely close maritime operations at the Port of Baltimore for at least some period of time until the span can be removed from the channel, and for trucking that bridge was the HAZMAT route across Baltimore Harbor (the other primary crossings are all tunnels which are prohibited for all HAZMAT cargo) meaning that HAZMAT shipments are likely going to have to get rerouted way out of the way to go around Baltimore, either around the city by land to the north, or much further south to get to another bridge.

 

This bridge is almost identical to the Hart Bridge in Jax, both in engineering and appearance.

 

Anapolis is a good deal south, so thankfully not impacted.

 

Yeah, three options: go around the other way on 695, which is a beltway around Baltimore, but means you need to go around three sides of the city instead of 1, take the Bay Bridge over at Annapolis and go up 301 on the Eastern Shore, or drive through the city to I83. None are great options.

 

They will suck during busy times, but at least there are doable options. Maybe add 45 minutes to a normally 4 or five hour DC to NYC drive for example.

 

I'm assuming that's what the blue dots are. Looks like they got it turned around until it was time for it to move under it's own power.

 

I work in software

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

 

Was just talking with my commercial insurance broker and this came up. She said the captain will be held liable first with the company second. They'll be out of business.