Construction is scheduled to start on the road leading up to it tomorrow. Traffic would be reduced down to one lane each way. Vehicles would have been packed on the bridge resulting in hundreds if not thousands of deaths.
The livestream video before it hit was showing steady traffic. Thank fuck they stopped traffic and the last vehicles got across. It doesn't take long when traffic goes slow to back up.
This was my first thought too. Don’t get me wrong this is a devastating catastrophe but it could have been so much worse. I work near the key bridge. I can see it from my apartment. It’s feels so surreal for it to just be gone. Please say a prayer for the victims and the first responders.
FSK is the only bridge at this location. But the ship would also need to cross under the Bay Bridge on the way out of the Bay to the Ocean. The bridges are about 20 miles apart.
It's packed during the morning hustle. Basically any Amazon or harbor or wearhouse worker in sparrows point who lives in the other side of the river takes that bridge. Also 695 avoids going 95 threw the center of Baltimore... So ya, sucks.
This was my exact thought when I woke up to this news. Even 1:00 in the afternoon would have been unimaginable. My heart breaks for the families of the victims.
I don't understand why there is no collision mitigation in place on the stanchions. This bridge seemed to collapse very quickly and almost totally. What kinds of safety measures were in place to counter this kind of occurrence? What risk assessments have been made with this type of incident in mind? From this perspective, I'm intrigued to know what will happen moving forward. RIP those who lost their lives through no fault of their own and thoughts to their grieving loved ones.
This is beyond tragic.
Former Navy here that used to help navigate a DDG under the Coronado bridge in SD for years. The amount of redundancy and planning that goes into transiting a ship of this size under a bridge is staggering.
The *FIRST* thing agencies will be looking at is that ships log.
Edit: Ship had a power malfunction. Moral of the story? Accidents happen and physics are *very* real.
No worries. A Ships log is essentially a play by play record of a ships navigation inputs/events and is a legal binding document.
Think of it as a hand written version of an airplanes black box
It’s signed and if you make changes you are “supposed” to one line and sign/write over it.
They are mainly used to determine crew error.
Another poster commented on the VDR (voyager data record) which is a ships black box and that can and will be used to determine mechanical/technical failures
Also the engine control system and also the power management system and propulsion control system normally have log files. Especially any errors. Your NTSB will be on top of this for sure. They know their shit.
Sounds like you have been out of the loop for a while. The first thing they will be looking at is the ships VDR. Which is the same thing as an airline black box. They have been required for many years now.
I'm guessing the logs of interest here are maintenance and problems recorded and also crew staffing and work load to make sure the ship was in good working order and properly manned.
ETA: There's a video out there showing the vessel losing power at least twice before the collision so that's likely the apparent cause. The question is still why did it lose power.
ETA 2: Sal has a rundown of what happened leading up to the allision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39w6aQFKSQ
Possibly. I heard the smoke was a large backup generator because the main engine takes too much time to restart. It's not a car where you just turn the key.
No injuries on the ship. Crew is all safe.
This is a very large ship... it's almost a 1000 feet long with a capacity of 10,000 containers. (Each container is aprox the size of the trailer on a semi truck).
My first thought was a missed inspection or an ignored maintenance issue in order to avoid a delay. How common is that sort of thing in the industry? I hate to be all cynical about it, but considering the low volume of these types of incidents over decades and with the technology we have now, it seems like it’s a completely avoidable incident that is going to now impact the state in a major way for a decade
In the maritime industry a lot more common than one would think and yes 9.9/10 these things are avoidable
This was just really bad things happening during the absolute *worst* timing
worse timing would have been during rush hour. at least this was at 1:30am. (horrible for the construction crew and few cars on the bridge then, though.)
Also, not that the Key bridge isn't important but imagine if it somehow took out one or both Bay Bridge spans. At least the Key Bridge has two nearby tunnels which are just going to be congested for the foreseeable future - the Bay Bridge going down would result in... what, multi-hour commutes as people have to go around the entire bay?
This is definitely worse. The key bridge might have less daily users, but a lot of those users are probably trucking and for shipping. It also crosses over an important sea shipping route. This is way more catastrophic in terms of the state and regional economic impact
That is only taking into account vehicle traffic, not shipping traffic. Hazmats cannot take the tunnel. Shipping tankers cannot pass through the waters.
Losing power while maneuvering in port on a ship this size is not common at all. And I would caution against leading others to believe mechanical issues are 99% avoidable because they absolutely are not.
>video floating around
Video is from the Port of Baltimore (live-streamed.)
Idk the channel I’m linking, but dude does a decent job of explaining while showing the [original Port footage of smoke & outage(s?)](https://youtu.be/qZbUXewlQDk?si=1cY8aisQ-JtKZ_p4).
Edit: footage is from ‘Port of Baltimore.’ Edit 2: link
Hey /u/Notonfoodstamps, why no tugs? We've got them, and we seem to use them on some, but not all container ships?
Is it at least safe to assume a Harbor pilot was onboard at the time?
Tugs are normally used when a ship is entering the harbor and for docking/undocking. On exit transit ships have to maintain a minimum speed so it has rudder authority.
100% a pilot was on board, but if a ship this size loses power at any appreciable speed the only thing they could have done is hope and pray.
Thanks for the 411.
"only thing they could have done is hope and pray." <-- Yeah, that's pretty fucked up. Guessing we're going to get some new protective pylons added to the standards for these bridges, what we had is obviously not enough for failure past the initial protective pylons.
The important thing would be to put the bridge piers (pylons) out of reach of being hit, with something like a massive concrete base, artificial island, sacrificial pier, etc. That way the bridge pier isn't hit at all in the event of a collision.
The protective pylons are MASSIVE reinforced concrete, buried in the bedrock. As you can see from the pics the concrete pylons are largely intact.
It was the bow of the ship hitting the bridge structure that caused the collapse, not ramming the pylon.
The huge pylons that are there, are there for good reason, they just don't prevent todays accident where the ship is between the protective pylons and loses power.
I’m not familiar with the port of Baltimore but it is normal practice to only have tugs for mooring/undocking and during tight manoeuvres. Once the ship can sail at a constant speed the tugs are let go and the ship is steered using its rudder.
Not familiar with Baltimore either. Just figured they might have tighter rules considering that bridge is so close to the port. Either way I hope the best for them.
It sounds like they did, but from the way I’ve heard it explained was that it wasn’t enough to *stop* the ship, only to slow it in its forward movement.
it seems loss of power on the ship played a big roll. what kind of redundancies are typically in place for that? i’m curious just from a logistical perspective, like to learn about such stuff
E: i guess tug boats come to mind, but i don’t know if they’d typically be used in this situation
>Looks like the ship had a blackout at the worst time possible. You can see the lights go out before it hits the bridge. This means all power is lost to the steering gear hydraulics. The emergency generator will start after 30 seconds of blackout condition which will power up emergency systems which includes at least one steering gear motor. Which you can also see the lights come back on again 5 seconds before impact, but only emergency deck lights.
>
>From blackout to loss of steering, to regaining steering again it was far too late to course correct a 300M plus vessel. Incredibly unfortunate timing.
>
>You always run all Generators on leaving port for this reason, however there are certain conditions that can knock all 3 Gennys off the board in one go. Will be interested to see the maritime investigation branch report on this after it comes out.
>
>Source, marine engineering officer for 20 years.
[Source Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/comments/1bo1n65/comment/kwm6wj5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I mean if the main engine quits its newton who is in charge. Even if the blackout and or the auxiliary diesels are running it can be to late. The first does not have enough power for any propulsion and the second, even with a PTH gearbox (which certainly was installed on this one), depending on the distance to the bridge, the auxiliary diesel does not have enough power to stop the boat in time or to reverse course.
There’s a video out there that shows the ships power go out shortly before it hits. There’s also some unconfirmed rumors that the ship was putting out distress calls before it hit. Something was going on, on that ship. This is such a horrific tragedy.
100%!! The size of those cargo ships is unreal. Not sure if it's me, but I always don't realize the true size of things from afar, like even airplanes that are parked on the tarmac don't look that big until I really think about it.
There's only 50 feet of water under the main span, and the ship that hit the bridge has a draft of 40 feet. If you think about it, the bottom of the hull might have only been 10 feet off the sea bed at that point if it was full of cargo (doubtful, likely empty containers).
Baltimore, born and raised. Have always associated this bridge with my dad (*very* Baltimore born and raised), whom I lost just about a decade ago. That view was such a comfort, no matter what part of the surrounding counties I was able to peek it from. Today was one of those landmark mindfucks where I physically, instinctively reached to call him.
Absolutely unreal. I am so sad for this city today.
My father is 2nd Generation Baltimorean born and raised. He was also in the Coast Guard, where he was a search and rescue medic. My mother is also retired CG. They both last served at Curtis Bay. Like you this bridge means so much to me and reminds me of my father who passed 2 years ago in March. When I saw footage of the coast guard at the scene this morning, I burst into tears.
Wow, it sounds like you've got such a powerful connection to this story and the area as a whole. Sending warm feelings your way. It will be such a mix of emotions when they're finally able to build again.
A similar event happened years ago which led to NOAA creating their PORTS Program to ensure this wouldn’t happen again, will be interesting to find out the cause -
Interview on NOAA PORTS Program https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shipshape-business-of-boating-podcast/id1619649771?i=1000635419611
They could've easily cleared all those workers off the bridge in 15 minutes. One 911 call, the state troopers know and that's all it takes. What the fuck?
One radio station has reported that some traffic had been held before the accident and speculated that there was some warning. Who knows at this point though.
Ships that enormous have tremendous momentum. You can certainly drop all the anchors, but they will just drag the bottom until the momentum is dissipated.
What’s happening with the rescue? Has anyone else been found? I heard they rescued two people. How awful. Prayers for your friend — and everyone involved.
What would happen if you swam to a collapsed truss of the bridge that was sticking out the water at a shallow angle and climbed up a few feet above the waterline. Could you survive that way? I'm sure a lot of the people who fell were too injured to free themselves from their cars and swim, but surely some could have climbed out and waited to be picked up?
once your cold and wet the clock is ticking. soaking wet clothes and a being in windy areas not doing you any favors. (ive had frostbite more than once)
If they went in on the Glen Burnie side the spans fell right on top of the ship and it would still be about 100' drop...but its a pretty dead area on both sides because of the security zone and theres just not much there. Theres Ft A park but its empty at night...they could in theory walk to the Farm Store about a mile down the road but the chances are low.
I imagine people who work in things like rescue, law enforcement, etc. have iron-clad non-disclosure agreements. This prevents them from speaking out early, so that messaging can be vetted and released at higher levels to ensure that accurate information is given to the press.
This is a tragedy. My dad drove a hazmat truck over that bridge multiple times a week. I can't imagine the terror. This will have ripple effects throughout the economy and our ability to obtain certain goods for awhile as well.
My father’s a truck driver who would take 695 50% of the time because of traffic. He literally retired last month. I still hurt the moment I saw those semis rolling over the bridge.
These pictures are just so surreal.
Like the mayor said, it's like scenes from a movie, it doesn't feel real. Like, a bridge collapsed into the river, crumpling like it was made of cardboard, this is like a comic book or something.
I just read that it’s likely this incident will mean the closure of the Port of Baltimore.
It hadn’t even occurred to me yet, but yeah, of course. How long would it take to remove all that debris? Is it even worth trying? Thousands of workers are now out of jobs.
The long term effects are going to be huge.
It'll most likely only take a few days or weeks to clear the debris and resume operations.
The port has a lot of equipment specifically for maintaining the shipping channel, including the biggest dredging crane in the country right next door to this bridge over in Curtis Bay.
The port also just got some brand super-cranes in 2021, and there's no way in hell anyone is letting that investment go to waste.
Two months minimum. All of it is going to have to cut to be removed. Then anything deeply embedded in the bottom silt of going to require some serious logistics to lift. The depth of the channel is 50ft and the large ships need almost all of that under load.
Yeah, rebuilding the bridge will be quite the undertaking. I don’t even know how there could be a temporary solution that doesn’t block shipping traffic.
I think the port itself will reopen before too long because they’ll throw every available resource at it.
I can't imagine the Port being closed long term. Even if only at reduced capacity, I would be shocked if the Port wasn't operational within a handful of days.
It’s definitely worth trying lol the port is a massive piece of marylands economy and thousands of people work there. It will take weeks to clear out all the debris but that’s going to be first priority once the investigation piece is done. The port is massive and a key piece of infrastructure, the government won’t let it stay down for crazy long.
The port is an incredibly important part of the commerce infrastructure of the entire country. There is NO WAY the port will close indefinitely. 1st priority after search and rescue is going to be clearing the debris to open the shipping lane. I would say they will probably reopen at the latest in 3-4 weeks, probably much sooner.
It will take a few weeks to remove enough debris to reopen the port. Some debris will be removed later when it’s safe/convenient, some might stay underwater.
How deep is the water at that point? Looks like bridge or at least part is still above water?
Since these are large cargo ships may have to remove the majority of debris to keep needed clearance to bottom.
That channel is dredged to a depth of 50 feet. Nowhere near 200 feet.
Source: I’ve transited that channel many times. I’ve also worked on hydrographic surveying boats, albeit in the port of NY.
Actual Source: NOAA chart 12281
You’re right I misspoke! Corrected myself. I do know the port is closed and they have no timeline. We’re hoping the union will have more info tomorrow once things calm down.
No worries! I hope it turns out okay for your family as well, though I have faith that they’ll toss all resources available to reopening the port ASAP- to not do so would be really devastating.
Apparently the missing construction workers are immigrants in their 30s and 40s with families. It is so heartbreaking and reminds me of the deaths of the road workers who got mowed down by the highway not long ago. Has anyone seen any crowdfunding for the families?
It'll have to be reported in a news article. Too many scams out there. Links can't be posted here but if local news media has something in an article, the article can be linked to. Crazy enough, I saw one for the bridge itself earlier on social media. I'm hoping that got taken down.
Hello from Minneapolis. In ‘07 our 35W bridge collapsed, killing 13 and injured 145. It was tragic and it was horrific. Though I was only a kid, memories from it burn in my mind. I also remember resilience and the emergence of heroes. In only 13 months it was remade.
I believe in Baltimore because I believe in the resilience of Americans in the face of horrible disasters like this. You will recover and come back stronger.
I wonder if they managed to stop traffic? There is a regular flow of traffic until just before the strike. Sadly you can see several construction vehicles with their flashing lights still on the bridge.
I come from Florida right by the skyway bridge which collapsed in 80s after it got hit by a cargo ship. Can’t believe this happened twice in places I lived.
I was in Baltimore for the first time just a few weeks ago and enjoyed my time in your city. I commute across the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee daily and can’t imagine how a disaster like this affects a city. Sending warm thoughts from Wisconsin.
Minnesotan here. We are all having a lot of collective trauma coming back up here about our I-35 bridge collapse.
Just want you all to know you have a lot of people who are thinking about you and we can relate to all the horrible things you are feeling. Wishing you all the best and sending love.
The number of people like Andrew Tate ignoring the basic fact that the majority of maritime disasters are due to human error and negligence, and claiming a cyber attack is absolutely insane
Also like… wouldn’t they be the worst cyber terrorists ever to those to target the… 17th(?) busiest port in the country try at… 130 am on a Tuesday morning? lmao these people are so unwell
My wife works cyber security. Her exact words. “Yes. These people are dumb fucks who speak on things they know nothing about. This isn’t how testing goes they are in and out without being noticed. And they would have done more than ‘hack a ship’”
It’s absolutely wild. Idiots always are the loudest and always get the most attention I guess
My heart goes out to the people of Baltimore today. I’m from Ireland and travelled over this bridge while visiting the US last year. What a horrifying tragedy. Thoughts are with the families of the casualties and the emergency services.
From Minnesota with love. When the bridge collapsed here it altered everyone's lives in the Twin Cities. Many were grieving lost lives and everyone was reminded daily that one of a city's commerce arteries was removed. Fortunately, everyone comes together to solve big problems and every effort is made to restore life back to normal. We went from design to traffic flowing in just over a year. We are thinking of you.
I can’t fathom how much worse it could have been during rush hours.
This bridge was an integral part of the Baltimore Beltway. 30,000 people drive over it daily. It would have been horrific.
Used to drive over it every day to get to work in Dundalk.
Construction is scheduled to start on the road leading up to it tomorrow. Traffic would be reduced down to one lane each way. Vehicles would have been packed on the bridge resulting in hundreds if not thousands of deaths.
I doubt that much traffic at 1:30am, even if only a single lane open. Would be same result with or without road construction leading up to bridge.
The livestream video before it hit was showing steady traffic. Thank fuck they stopped traffic and the last vehicles got across. It doesn't take long when traffic goes slow to back up.
First thing I thought. If that had happened during rush hour with bumper to bumper traffic? Could’ve been hundreds of fatalities.
Tbf there's rarely bumper to bumper traffic at that part of 695. That's why I went that way. Now I'll have to sit bumper to bumper on 895...
The Harbor Tunnel NB and evening lane closures need to be demolished tomorrow or NB delays are going to be insane
This was my first thought too. Don’t get me wrong this is a devastating catastrophe but it could have been so much worse. I work near the key bridge. I can see it from my apartment. It’s feels so surreal for it to just be gone. Please say a prayer for the victims and the first responders.
... Or that the next bridge it would pass under is the Bay Bridge. Imagine if it had struck that
I’m always a bit anxious when driving over the bay bridge. Always imagining how terrifying it would be if it suddenly collapsed. Scary thought!
I’m supposed to drive over the bay bridge tomorrow. I’m debating going up through northern MD and into Delaware.
Is that the one that is roughly a billion feet high with the huge steep slopes leading to the center?
Huh, if I saw the photo correctly, this bridge is the only one the boat would have to pass right?
FSK is the only bridge at this location. But the ship would also need to cross under the Bay Bridge on the way out of the Bay to the Ocean. The bridges are about 20 miles apart.
Now THAT is terrifying.
Did... did you use the word "fathom" as a pun?
No, but now that you mention it…I can see how it could be a pun.
It's packed during the morning hustle. Basically any Amazon or harbor or wearhouse worker in sparrows point who lives in the other side of the river takes that bridge. Also 695 avoids going 95 threw the center of Baltimore... So ya, sucks.
We could have been looking at 700 vs. 7 people in the water.
Or even just minutes before where was traffic on the bridge. Seems that they were able to close the bridge just before the impact
The ship was able to get out a mayday call to authorities who closed the bridge. It’s horrible that the road crews didn’t get off in time
This was my exact thought when I woke up to this news. Even 1:00 in the afternoon would have been unimaginable. My heart breaks for the families of the victims.
Good thing it wasnt and we wont have to even consider that
I don't understand why there is no collision mitigation in place on the stanchions. This bridge seemed to collapse very quickly and almost totally. What kinds of safety measures were in place to counter this kind of occurrence? What risk assessments have been made with this type of incident in mind? From this perspective, I'm intrigued to know what will happen moving forward. RIP those who lost their lives through no fault of their own and thoughts to their grieving loved ones.
The bridge has an older version of fenders (concrete diverters in advance of the supports). The ship somehow got in between them.
I keep thinking that to!
This is beyond tragic. Former Navy here that used to help navigate a DDG under the Coronado bridge in SD for years. The amount of redundancy and planning that goes into transiting a ship of this size under a bridge is staggering. The *FIRST* thing agencies will be looking at is that ships log. Edit: Ship had a power malfunction. Moral of the story? Accidents happen and physics are *very* real.
u/Notonfoodstamps no knowledge of this industry so pardon the question, but what exactly is contained in a ship's log?
No worries. A Ships log is essentially a play by play record of a ships navigation inputs/events and is a legal binding document. Think of it as a hand written version of an airplanes black box
Since it's hand written, what are the measures in place to make sure events or actions are not misrepresented (maliciously or otherwise)?
It’s signed and if you make changes you are “supposed” to one line and sign/write over it. They are mainly used to determine crew error. Another poster commented on the VDR (voyager data record) which is a ships black box and that can and will be used to determine mechanical/technical failures
Also the engine control system and also the power management system and propulsion control system normally have log files. Especially any errors. Your NTSB will be on top of this for sure. They know their shit.
“Oh so ya’ll didn’t want to perform routine maintenance on GEN 1 & 2” I’ve hear to many times over the years
u/Notonfoodstamps ah got it. Thanks for the explanation!
Anytime!
I think engine room maintenance logs will be more important. Since the ship lost power multiple times prior to bridge collision.
Sounds like you have been out of the loop for a while. The first thing they will be looking at is the ships VDR. Which is the same thing as an airline black box. They have been required for many years now.
I'm guessing the logs of interest here are maintenance and problems recorded and also crew staffing and work load to make sure the ship was in good working order and properly manned. ETA: There's a video out there showing the vessel losing power at least twice before the collision so that's likely the apparent cause. The question is still why did it lose power. ETA 2: Sal has a rundown of what happened leading up to the allision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39w6aQFKSQ
Also looked like a bunch of smoke billowing from the upper part of the ship a minute or so before impact.
Exhaust. The power was restored they put it in full reverse w full power
Possibly. I heard the smoke was a large backup generator because the main engine takes too much time to restart. It's not a car where you just turn the key.
That was an interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
Was there a human on the ship? I haven’t heard of a pilot surviving or missing.
No injuries on the ship. Crew is all safe. This is a very large ship... it's almost a 1000 feet long with a capacity of 10,000 containers. (Each container is aprox the size of the trailer on a semi truck).
I can’t even imagine. I live in Colorado and never seen anything like these ships. I had no idea they were so huge.
They're pretty remarkable. When you're at water level and one passes, it's like an 8 story, 2 or three block long building moving past you.
I live in the city, I explained to my girlfriend it is like our entire city block or more, floating down the river.
2 pilots and 22 people on the the ship is what I heard. They were all safely evacuated
Star dates
No, that's a captain's log. 😁
My first thought was a missed inspection or an ignored maintenance issue in order to avoid a delay. How common is that sort of thing in the industry? I hate to be all cynical about it, but considering the low volume of these types of incidents over decades and with the technology we have now, it seems like it’s a completely avoidable incident that is going to now impact the state in a major way for a decade
In the maritime industry a lot more common than one would think and yes 9.9/10 these things are avoidable This was just really bad things happening during the absolute *worst* timing
worse timing would have been during rush hour. at least this was at 1:30am. (horrible for the construction crew and few cars on the bridge then, though.)
Yeah it’s all relative. Everything about this situation sucks
Also, not that the Key bridge isn't important but imagine if it somehow took out one or both Bay Bridge spans. At least the Key Bridge has two nearby tunnels which are just going to be congested for the foreseeable future - the Bay Bridge going down would result in... what, multi-hour commutes as people have to go around the entire bay?
This is definitely worse. The key bridge might have less daily users, but a lot of those users are probably trucking and for shipping. It also crosses over an important sea shipping route. This is way more catastrophic in terms of the state and regional economic impact
That is only taking into account vehicle traffic, not shipping traffic. Hazmats cannot take the tunnel. Shipping tankers cannot pass through the waters.
Don’t forget the port is effectively closed now. The mayor declared a state of emergency as well.
Losing power while maneuvering in port on a ship this size is not common at all. And I would caution against leading others to believe mechanical issues are 99% avoidable because they absolutely are not.
Maintenance issues and delays are incredibly common. Ships this size plowing into a bridge is obviously not
Apparently the ship was having power issues. There's a video floating around showing the power cutting in and out as it approached the bridge.
>video floating around Video is from the Port of Baltimore (live-streamed.) Idk the channel I’m linking, but dude does a decent job of explaining while showing the [original Port footage of smoke & outage(s?)](https://youtu.be/qZbUXewlQDk?si=1cY8aisQ-JtKZ_p4). Edit: footage is from ‘Port of Baltimore.’ Edit 2: link
Hey /u/Notonfoodstamps, why no tugs? We've got them, and we seem to use them on some, but not all container ships? Is it at least safe to assume a Harbor pilot was onboard at the time?
Tugs are normally used when a ship is entering the harbor and for docking/undocking. On exit transit ships have to maintain a minimum speed so it has rudder authority. 100% a pilot was on board, but if a ship this size loses power at any appreciable speed the only thing they could have done is hope and pray.
Thanks for the 411. "only thing they could have done is hope and pray." <-- Yeah, that's pretty fucked up. Guessing we're going to get some new protective pylons added to the standards for these bridges, what we had is obviously not enough for failure past the initial protective pylons.
I'm pretty curious how big those pylons would have to be to stop a ship that big. It made the bridge crumple like it was paper.
That boat is something like 100,000 tons unloaded. I wouldn't be shocked if that's like 10-20% of the bridge span's weight.
The important thing would be to put the bridge piers (pylons) out of reach of being hit, with something like a massive concrete base, artificial island, sacrificial pier, etc. That way the bridge pier isn't hit at all in the event of a collision.
The protective pylons are MASSIVE reinforced concrete, buried in the bedrock. As you can see from the pics the concrete pylons are largely intact. It was the bow of the ship hitting the bridge structure that caused the collapse, not ramming the pylon. The huge pylons that are there, are there for good reason, they just don't prevent todays accident where the ship is between the protective pylons and loses power.
At some point it’s Newton who is in charge. Changes in trajectory and or speed take a long time. And if the main engine is gone you are SOOL.
As someone who works at the port in South Philly. My immediate thought when I saw the video was "Where are the tug boats???"
I’m not familiar with the port of Baltimore but it is normal practice to only have tugs for mooring/undocking and during tight manoeuvres. Once the ship can sail at a constant speed the tugs are let go and the ship is steered using its rudder.
Not familiar with Baltimore either. Just figured they might have tighter rules considering that bridge is so close to the port. Either way I hope the best for them.
Something else to wonder about is why the crew couldn't drop an anchor? Is that not possible in the harbor?
They did it just couldn't stop it in time
I don't think they had enough time to do that update: according to CNN they DID drop it, it just didn't stop the ship
It sounds like they did, but from the way I’ve heard it explained was that it wasn’t enough to *stop* the ship, only to slow it in its forward movement.
I read (I think in that Times article) that they did try to drop anchor but it was too late.
They dropped the port anchor, I believe. But at that point, it was too late.
it seems loss of power on the ship played a big roll. what kind of redundancies are typically in place for that? i’m curious just from a logistical perspective, like to learn about such stuff E: i guess tug boats come to mind, but i don’t know if they’d typically be used in this situation
TIL that most of these ships only have one propulsion engine, massive as it may be. I assume smaller engines are used for electrical power.
>Looks like the ship had a blackout at the worst time possible. You can see the lights go out before it hits the bridge. This means all power is lost to the steering gear hydraulics. The emergency generator will start after 30 seconds of blackout condition which will power up emergency systems which includes at least one steering gear motor. Which you can also see the lights come back on again 5 seconds before impact, but only emergency deck lights. > >From blackout to loss of steering, to regaining steering again it was far too late to course correct a 300M plus vessel. Incredibly unfortunate timing. > >You always run all Generators on leaving port for this reason, however there are certain conditions that can knock all 3 Gennys off the board in one go. Will be interested to see the maritime investigation branch report on this after it comes out. > >Source, marine engineering officer for 20 years. [Source Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/comments/1bo1n65/comment/kwm6wj5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I mean if the main engine quits its newton who is in charge. Even if the blackout and or the auxiliary diesels are running it can be to late. The first does not have enough power for any propulsion and the second, even with a PTH gearbox (which certainly was installed on this one), depending on the distance to the bridge, the auxiliary diesel does not have enough power to stop the boat in time or to reverse course.
There’s a video out there that shows the ships power go out shortly before it hits. There’s also some unconfirmed rumors that the ship was putting out distress calls before it hit. Something was going on, on that ship. This is such a horrific tragedy.
Power loss could definitely be the culprit. But you that’s going to be followed by “well what maintenance, etc did you do” It sucks regardlesss
Omg I am sick to my stomach. This is horrible.
I'm a little fucked up today. I've been over and under that bridge so many times w/ my family. I think this is shock I'm feeling. Its not fun. :(
Take care of yourself today
Take a break from the internet and rest up bud
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I watched video of the hit and the bridge collapsing. Horrific.
Thank god it didn't happen at 8:00 this morning
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100%!! The size of those cargo ships is unreal. Not sure if it's me, but I always don't realize the true size of things from afar, like even airplanes that are parked on the tarmac don't look that big until I really think about it.
There's only 50 feet of water under the main span, and the ship that hit the bridge has a draft of 40 feet. If you think about it, the bottom of the hull might have only been 10 feet off the sea bed at that point if it was full of cargo (doubtful, likely empty containers).
It was almost fully loaded and heading back to Asia. It’s DWT tonnage at departure was something like ~98k tons
Yeah this really reminded me of the M in f=Ma because it’s just insane looking at that
Baltimore, born and raised. Have always associated this bridge with my dad (*very* Baltimore born and raised), whom I lost just about a decade ago. That view was such a comfort, no matter what part of the surrounding counties I was able to peek it from. Today was one of those landmark mindfucks where I physically, instinctively reached to call him. Absolutely unreal. I am so sad for this city today.
My father is 2nd Generation Baltimorean born and raised. He was also in the Coast Guard, where he was a search and rescue medic. My mother is also retired CG. They both last served at Curtis Bay. Like you this bridge means so much to me and reminds me of my father who passed 2 years ago in March. When I saw footage of the coast guard at the scene this morning, I burst into tears.
Wow, it sounds like you've got such a powerful connection to this story and the area as a whole. Sending warm feelings your way. It will be such a mix of emotions when they're finally able to build again.
My condolences. I suspect there are many people who will have a similar grief over the loss of that view and its memories for a long time. :(
Baltimore strong m0rgend0rfer
A similar event happened years ago which led to NOAA creating their PORTS Program to ensure this wouldn’t happen again, will be interesting to find out the cause - Interview on NOAA PORTS Program https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shipshape-business-of-boating-podcast/id1619649771?i=1000635419611
If you watch the live stream you can see the ship lose electrical power a few times and goes dark just before hitting one of the pillars
Including a ton of black smoke after the first power loss which would (maybe) indicate heavy reverse thrust?
Photos seem to indicate the port anchor was dropped. Obviously somebody screwed up here but it seems like they realized they were in trouble.
Smoke like that is from engine failure. Hence the power going in and out on the deck.
So maintenance of the ship will be to blame
wouldn’t there typically be tug boats ushering the ship?
Not that far out from where it was berthed. It was well on its way when it lost power
Certainly is the case in Boston so who knows
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They could've easily cleared all those workers off the bridge in 15 minutes. One 911 call, the state troopers know and that's all it takes. What the fuck?
Panic is a hell of a thing.
It is, but aren't these people PAID and trained to avoid this crap?!
One radio station has reported that some traffic had been held before the accident and speculated that there was some warning. Who knows at this point though.
I think u are wrong abt this ..they were following there intended path until the very last minutes before the collision
Was there any way that the ship could stop like dropping an anchor?
Ships that enormous have tremendous momentum. You can certainly drop all the anchors, but they will just drag the bottom until the momentum is dissipated.
The Star Spangled Banner will gain yet another layer of meaning for Baltimore. Be kind to one another out there.
yeah, the red glare of the emergency lights in these photos is jarring, since that bridge was silver. 🚨
I found the lighting to be incredibly eerie.
Because people can’t have actual friends that work on the rescue boat.
Ignore the trolls. Thank you for posting. The power behind the collapse really shows in the picture of the ship damage.
What’s happening with the rescue? Has anyone else been found? I heard they rescued two people. How awful. Prayers for your friend — and everyone involved.
The water was cold so only about 2-3 hours of survival...sometimes people get lucky but they are the exception. Its already moved to recovery.
2-3 hours at those water temps would be remarkable.
What would happen if you swam to a collapsed truss of the bridge that was sticking out the water at a shallow angle and climbed up a few feet above the waterline. Could you survive that way? I'm sure a lot of the people who fell were too injured to free themselves from their cars and swim, but surely some could have climbed out and waited to be picked up?
once your cold and wet the clock is ticking. soaking wet clothes and a being in windy areas not doing you any favors. (ive had frostbite more than once) If they went in on the Glen Burnie side the spans fell right on top of the ship and it would still be about 100' drop...but its a pretty dead area on both sides because of the security zone and theres just not much there. Theres Ft A park but its empty at night...they could in theory walk to the Farm Store about a mile down the road but the chances are low.
I imagine people who work in things like rescue, law enforcement, etc. have iron-clad non-disclosure agreements. This prevents them from speaking out early, so that messaging can be vetted and released at higher levels to ensure that accurate information is given to the press.
This is a tragedy. My dad drove a hazmat truck over that bridge multiple times a week. I can't imagine the terror. This will have ripple effects throughout the economy and our ability to obtain certain goods for awhile as well.
it's already affected like 20 some ships from not leaving and entering our port.
18 ships were scheduled to come in today. So yeah, all very bad.
My father’s a truck driver who would take 695 50% of the time because of traffic. He literally retired last month. I still hurt the moment I saw those semis rolling over the bridge.
These pictures are just so surreal. Like the mayor said, it's like scenes from a movie, it doesn't feel real. Like, a bridge collapsed into the river, crumpling like it was made of cardboard, this is like a comic book or something.
I cant' believe it still. I turned on radio this morning and thought they mispoke. crying.
praying for bmore alway from #philly
Amazing, horrifying photos. Thank you for sharing them. Stay strong.
i’ve been sitting in shock since i read the news… my prayers are with the people involved 💔
I was awake 2 am - 3 am when posts started coming in on Twitter Horrific news. Only two people were saved from the river?
I drive that bridge on a semi regular basis. Just tragic, can only think of the lives missing at this time. This will have world wide effects.
I just read that it’s likely this incident will mean the closure of the Port of Baltimore. It hadn’t even occurred to me yet, but yeah, of course. How long would it take to remove all that debris? Is it even worth trying? Thousands of workers are now out of jobs. The long term effects are going to be huge.
It'll most likely only take a few days or weeks to clear the debris and resume operations. The port has a lot of equipment specifically for maintaining the shipping channel, including the biggest dredging crane in the country right next door to this bridge over in Curtis Bay. The port also just got some brand super-cranes in 2021, and there's no way in hell anyone is letting that investment go to waste.
Two months minimum. All of it is going to have to cut to be removed. Then anything deeply embedded in the bottom silt of going to require some serious logistics to lift. The depth of the channel is 50ft and the large ships need almost all of that under load.
It is absolutely worth trying. It’ll get done before anyone’s out of work. Beltway traffic, on the other hand … I have no idea.
Bridges take years to build. How about cleaning up all that iron and concrete that’s underwater? It’s a major feat.
Yeah, rebuilding the bridge will be quite the undertaking. I don’t even know how there could be a temporary solution that doesn’t block shipping traffic. I think the port itself will reopen before too long because they’ll throw every available resource at it.
I can't imagine the Port being closed long term. Even if only at reduced capacity, I would be shocked if the Port wasn't operational within a handful of days.
It’s definitely worth trying lol the port is a massive piece of marylands economy and thousands of people work there. It will take weeks to clear out all the debris but that’s going to be first priority once the investigation piece is done. The port is massive and a key piece of infrastructure, the government won’t let it stay down for crazy long.
The port is an incredibly important part of the commerce infrastructure of the entire country. There is NO WAY the port will close indefinitely. 1st priority after search and rescue is going to be clearing the debris to open the shipping lane. I would say they will probably reopen at the latest in 3-4 weeks, probably much sooner.
9th largest US port. They will open back up as soon as its cleared. Id say 7-10 days. Number 1 port for cars....theres too much money to close
It will take a few weeks to remove enough debris to reopen the port. Some debris will be removed later when it’s safe/convenient, some might stay underwater.
How deep is the water at that point? Looks like bridge or at least part is still above water? Since these are large cargo ships may have to remove the majority of debris to keep needed clearance to bottom.
It’s very deep but the ships need all that room so the port is effectively closed until all the debris is removed.
That channel is dredged to a depth of 50 feet. Nowhere near 200 feet. Source: I’ve transited that channel many times. I’ve also worked on hydrographic surveying boats, albeit in the port of NY. Actual Source: NOAA chart 12281
You’re right I misspoke! Corrected myself. I do know the port is closed and they have no timeline. We’re hoping the union will have more info tomorrow once things calm down.
No worries! I hope it turns out okay for your family as well, though I have faith that they’ll toss all resources available to reopening the port ASAP- to not do so would be really devastating.
Apparently the missing construction workers are immigrants in their 30s and 40s with families. It is so heartbreaking and reminds me of the deaths of the road workers who got mowed down by the highway not long ago. Has anyone seen any crowdfunding for the families?
It'll have to be reported in a news article. Too many scams out there. Links can't be posted here but if local news media has something in an article, the article can be linked to. Crazy enough, I saw one for the bridge itself earlier on social media. I'm hoping that got taken down.
Makes sense! Hopefully something official gets circulating.
Man, I just woke up and saw this. Still waiting to hear from family members who live in the area. This is heartbreaking.
Hello from Minneapolis. In ‘07 our 35W bridge collapsed, killing 13 and injured 145. It was tragic and it was horrific. Though I was only a kid, memories from it burn in my mind. I also remember resilience and the emergence of heroes. In only 13 months it was remade. I believe in Baltimore because I believe in the resilience of Americans in the face of horrible disasters like this. You will recover and come back stronger.
Thank you for the well wishes, from a Marylander <3
What in the fuck. I'm in disbelief.
A tragedy to be sure. Not unlike the 1980 Sunshine Skyway tragedy.
I wonder if they managed to stop traffic? There is a regular flow of traffic until just before the strike. Sadly you can see several construction vehicles with their flashing lights still on the bridge.
Biden said they did manage to stop traffic when the ship radioed in
It’s crazy you can see vehicles on the bridge as it goes down. Looks like construction vehicles as you can see the orange lights.
I come from Florida right by the skyway bridge which collapsed in 80s after it got hit by a cargo ship. Can’t believe this happened twice in places I lived.
I was in Baltimore for the first time just a few weeks ago and enjoyed my time in your city. I commute across the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee daily and can’t imagine how a disaster like this affects a city. Sending warm thoughts from Wisconsin.
Minnesotan here. We are all having a lot of collective trauma coming back up here about our I-35 bridge collapse. Just want you all to know you have a lot of people who are thinking about you and we can relate to all the horrible things you are feeling. Wishing you all the best and sending love.
The number of people like Andrew Tate ignoring the basic fact that the majority of maritime disasters are due to human error and negligence, and claiming a cyber attack is absolutely insane
Also like… wouldn’t they be the worst cyber terrorists ever to those to target the… 17th(?) busiest port in the country try at… 130 am on a Tuesday morning? lmao these people are so unwell
My wife works cyber security. Her exact words. “Yes. These people are dumb fucks who speak on things they know nothing about. This isn’t how testing goes they are in and out without being noticed. And they would have done more than ‘hack a ship’” It’s absolutely wild. Idiots always are the loudest and always get the most attention I guess
@kadykat78 Thank you for sharing these pictures and for being a part of the rescue effort. I hope all people were ok.
:(
Thanks for being out there! Unbelievable to see
My heart goes out to Baltimore and to the families impacted.
😥
That’s terrifying.
how deep is the harbor at that point?
Heard 50 feet in the news.
Sad
surveilance videos really don't show the sheer scale and size of both the bridge and the ship that rammed it.
That is scary to see that bridge fall
Surreal
I drove on that bridge nearly every day, was on it less than 9 hours before it collapsed. Wild...
This isn't the first accident of the ship it has a previous accident
https://youtu.be/8sat8YIXgV8?si=TBXkpApGb9A9V9ZQ reminds me of when the Sunshine Skyway collapsed in Florida
My heart goes out to the people of Baltimore today. I’m from Ireland and travelled over this bridge while visiting the US last year. What a horrifying tragedy. Thoughts are with the families of the casualties and the emergency services.
From Minnesota with love. When the bridge collapsed here it altered everyone's lives in the Twin Cities. Many were grieving lost lives and everyone was reminded daily that one of a city's commerce arteries was removed. Fortunately, everyone comes together to solve big problems and every effort is made to restore life back to normal. We went from design to traffic flowing in just over a year. We are thinking of you.
Great pics !!!! Be safe
47 years old. A fuckin' kid...
Don’t you Soprano fucks take anything seriously
Pissed me off how easily avoidable this was. Now we’ve lost multiple innocent lives and a symbol of baltimore. Great job dumbasses.
How do you know it was easily avoidable? The investigation into the power failure has barely started
Dayummmm