Major bridge collapse in Baltimore

If you are phobic about bridges, this one will curl your nuts for sure.

NOVA | How West Virginia's Silver Bridge Fell in 1967 | Season 46 | Episode 18 | PBS

 

I have never spoken with Lara Logan. For the record…

 

I saw that episode when it aired.

 

Since there was nothing in place to protect the bridge's support structures, I guess I'm wondering why there's no regulation regarding the use of tugboats. I don't know, can four tugboats, two on each side, adequately guide a ship that size?

 

I’m curious as to how long from the time they issued mayday til the time of contact with the bridge.
Ship is going a little over 9 mph……which if you think about it, for a ship that size, is moving along pretty good and doesn’t take long to get from point a to point b.
At 117,000 tons……anything in its path at any speed or momentum at all is no match.

 

“Well, There’s Your Problem” broke down a similar incident when a boat hit the Sunshine Skyway.

(Extremely NSFW)

 

As a resident of northern New Jersey, I can honestly say I have no fear of bridges and tunnels.

 

They are in navigable waters by that point. Other than losing power, there is no need for tugs.

 

I'm pretty sure Baltimore uses tugs, but they'd likely be out of the picture once the ship is in the channel. Plus there's not much a tug is doing in that situation other than getting crushed between the ship and the bridge.

 

Tugboats were used to get it away from the wharf. The ship was under way, traveling normally in the channel and being guided by a harbor pilot and the ship's master. Then the power went out and they were pretty much helpless.

I posted this on page five. Here's a guy analyzing what happened, using a couple of videos and the computer record of the ship's course. It explains very clearly what happened and the efforts that were made to stop the ship. Ironically, it appears that the best thing that they could have done when the power came on was to do nothing, simply coast and steer under the main span. Reversing the engines and dropping anchor seems to have made things worse, caused it to turn more directly into the pylon. OTOH, you'd have to be a very smart captain not to attempt to stop the ship when it regained power, which was essentially mathematically impossible. He'd have to be prescient to simply use the rudder and steer using momentum in that moment. You know the poor bastard was standing there trying to figure out what to do, then the power came back on and he tried. Power was not out that long, but it happened at about the worst possible time.

It's all largely speculation until the NTSB report comes out. No way to know if they still had rudder control when the power dropped or if there were problems restarting the engines.

It's a darn good explainer, especially to have been out as early as it was.

 

Reports of checkered history for vessel and Maersk.

Capitalist checklist (x=fatalities):

x-Boeing 737 Max

Norfolk Southern East Palestine (longterm effects not yet known)

Volkswagen emissions fraud (see annual deaths from particulates)

x-Toyota software fukcup

x-GM ignition defect

Hedge fund media destruction (reduced coverage of capitalists)

Tech giants abuses

 

I know that feeling. My mother's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. She was always determined to stop after two children and I have an older brother, so...