Major Bridge in Baltimore Collapses After Being Struck by Cargo Ship

[Sluggy]

Today would be a good day to call in sick if you relied on that bridge....

 

[Wes in TN]

It was also 1:30am. Looks like there is a construction crew up there though.

Word circulating around the industry is there was deck repair ongoing at the time. Couldn't imagine being busy just doing your job then suddenly you're free-falling.

 

[Void_of_Light]

Today would be a good day to call in sick if you relied on that bridge....

What do you mean you want to work from home? This isn't covid, it's just a missing piece of important infrastructure.

 

[Sluggy]

I think id have a better chance out of the vehicle...

Word circulating around the industry is there was deck repair ongoing at the time. Couldn't imagine being busy just doing your job then suddenly you're free-falling.

 

[JD Mark]

tinfoil speculation time

Problem being...after the last roughly 8 years, is it really a stretch?

 

[DWT]

Fits right in with the rest of Baltimore now.

That's no shit. Baltimore is easily one of the top 3 trashiest cities I've ever been too.

 

[Sluggy]

Well it's not far from DC...

 

[snivilous]

All I can think is how "lucky" it was to happen at 130am. Imagine it happening during the day let alone rush hour. Couple people vs hundreds or thousands...

 

[DWT]

If they start today, it’s going to take years to get a new bridge built and open.

The most American thing I can think of is our ability to get shit done in a faster timeline than should be possible. I'll bet you $20 there is a new bridge in place by Easter 2025.

 

[Sceep]

Singapore Imports from United States	Value	Year
Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers	$17.14B	2022
Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products	$9.91B	2022
Electrical, electronic equipment	$4.40B	2022
Aircraft, spacecraft	$4.40B	2022
Optical, photo, technical, medical apparatus	$3.67B	2022
Miscellaneous chemical products	$1.60B	2022
Plastics	$1.55B	2022
Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins	$1.54B	2022
Pharmaceutical products	$808.70M	2022
Organic chemicals	$741.30M	2022
Animal, vegetable fats and oils, cleavage products	$629.16M	2022
Essential oils, perfumes, cosmetics, toileteries	$454.37M	2022
Works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques	$420.66M	2022
Articles of iron or steel	$364.27M	2022
Tanning, dyeing extracts, tannins, derivatives, pigments	$321.36M	2022
Inorganic chemicals, precious metal compound, isotope	$260.50M	2022
Soaps, lubricants, waxes, candles, modelling pastes	$249.43M	2022
Vehicles other than railway, tramway	$248.98M	2022
Rubbers	$243.53M	2022
Commodities not specified according to kind	$236.59M	2022
Miscellaneous edible preparations	$163.74M	2022
Albuminoids, modified starches, glues, enzymes	$150.24M	2022
Beverages, spirits and vinegar	$148.55M	2022
Aluminum	$121.11M	2022
Photographic or cinematographic goods	$112.52M	2022
Meat and edible meat offal	$88.83M	2022
Edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruit, melons	$87.32M	2022
Tools, implements, cutlery of base metal	$84.54M	2022
Glass and glassware	$83.29M	2022
Miscellaneous articles of base metal	$82.19M	2022
Vegetable, fruit, nut food preparations	$78.42M	2022
Furniture, lighting signs, prefabricated buildings	$77.71M	2022
Nickel	$70.91M	2022
Dairy products, eggs, honey, edible products	$64.97M	2022
Toys, games, sports requisites	$62.04M	2022
Printed books, newspapers, pictures	$59.15M	2022
Paper and paperboard, articles of pulp, paper and board	$57.50M	2022
Iron and steel	$52.20M	2022
Base metals not specified elsewhere, cermets.	$47.03M	2022
Sugars and sugar confectionery	$46.27M	2022

 

[CDA 455 II]

Francis Scott Key wrote the words to The Star Spangled Banner.

Interesting coincidence or a message being sent?

There's a marker by that bridge where the British ship was anchored when F. S. Key wrote his poem.

You can see the bridge and marker from Fort McHenry.
I've ridden over the bridge countless times the first 10 years of my existence ('65 to '75).

 

[aczlan]

Is it just me, or did they seem like they had stopped traffic across the bridge? I see a bunch of cars going across, then don't see anymore as it got closer

Looks like it to me as well. Just based on headlights I don't see anything moving across that wasn't clear (but headlights from cars on the far side may not have been visible).
It looks (from the timestamps on the video) like from when the ship regained power the first time and started to turn it was about 2 minutes, so hopefully the construction crew had time to get clear.

Aaron Z

 

[CDA 455 II]

That's no shit. Baltimore is easily one of the top 3 trashiest cities I've ever been too.

After about 1973; Baltimore went from an FDR Democrat mayor to a modern pinko-lib progressive mayor.
And it's been that way ever since.

They can't keep a mayor in office because the last three resign/was indicted on corruption charges.
They had a DA resign on corruption charges just a couple of years ago.

 

[plym49.2]

Evidently the ship lost power and was unable to navigate.

I am wondering if they lost steering. The black smoke could indicate that the engine was thrown into reverse and the stern pivoting around in response to the torque from the propeller.

 

[Coyote]

This young man is getting an education today. Mayor of Baltimore.

 

[bgaidan]

There seems to be protection barriers around the power poles but nothing around the bridge legs? I doubt they would be very effective against a fully loaded ship, but seems weird to have 1 but not the other.

It look like they had a single protection pile on either side of each of the two center piers, but they only work if they ship is coming head-on. Even a little bit of skew would make them entirely worthless.

Perspective kinda fucks with the scale, but you can see one clearly in front of the ship in the first pic. That would have been on the opposite side of the bridge from where the ship hit.

And the second pic, you can see it about 3/4 of the way back toward the stern. Looks like he snaked right by it and straight in to the pier.

Fuuuuu

So yeah, a couple/few million $$ worth of added pier protection could have probably prevented this.

 

[xr-nut]

Bridge/highway closed and the port will be for quite some time.

Coincidence?

Nope

There's a ton of ships bound for Baltimore that are just sitting near Annapolis right now.

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stopping imports, part of the plan

I'd bet there were already salvage crews en route within hours of that thing going down last night. I bet they'll have the main channel opened back up in under a week. Way too much money riding on keeping that port moving.

npr said this morning that all new car imports come through that port. thousands per day. PLUS all the other imports.

tinfoil speculation time

my first thought exactly

Problem being...after the last roughly 8 years, is it really a stretch?

nope. kind of sad isnt it.

 

[plym49.2]

We drove across that bridge last year. It was long as hell, for a bridge, can’t imagine falling off of it.

Back when I frequently drove that corridor I always used the tunnel, and the 'little' one at that. But now I avoid the NE corridor like the plague. I'll drive the extra miles on 81.

 

[xr-nut]

So yeah, a couple/few million $$ worth of added pier protection could have probably prevented this.

not if it was on purpose.

can someone say anything definitive about ships being under tug control until after that bridge?

 

[bgaidan]

npr said this morning that all new car imports come through that port. thousands per day. PLUS all the other imports.

I wouldn't count on NPR actually reporting anything factual. There's no way that ALL new cars come through Baltimore. Maybe all cars for the East costs, but I even doubt that. I lived in Charleston in the 90's and there were tons coming through there.

Did they also find a way to tie this to climate change?

 

[Scooter]

Some cars come through there, 800k per year, not all, the Port of Newark would like a word with anyone that says all cars come through Baltimore.

 

[Rockbuggy84]

Anymore, when I see shit like this, I immediately think it was on purpose.

 

[87manche]

not if it was on purpose.

can someone say anything definitive about ships being under tug control until after that bridge?

apparently not uncommon for the tugs to leave once ship is underway in the channel.

 

[Thefishguy77]

tinfoil speculation time

That’s is damn near DC. What’s on board that ship that shouldn’t be? #tinfoil

 

[plym49.2]

I don't know shit about boats but in that last linked vid, obviously the footage is sped up, but look how big the splash/impact was. Seems like the thing was hauling ass to make that big a splash? She's got a 6'min-70'max Draught and that splash was over the deck (@ 0:44 seconds)

A report I saw stated a bit over 7 knots.

 

[CDA 455 II]

not if it was on purpose.

can someone say anything definitive about ships being under tug control until after that bridge?

Exactly.

I read there were two pilots onboard?
Pilots usually live local.
Get a pilot that's pissed off/depressed/suicidal/in the middle of a divorce/going through bankruptcy etc, and you might end up with something like the F.S. Key collision.

It's happened enough in the airline industry.

 

[Brian468]

Cannot imagine getting plunged into the water in the dark like that. Driving along like usual and all of the sudden you’re in a free fall with the bridge.

This has been my fear every time I've ever crossed a bridge for my entire life

 

[Motorcharge]

I wouldn't count on NPR actually reporting anything factual. There's no way that ALL new cars come through Baltimore. Maybe all cars for the East costs, but I even doubt that. I lived in Charleston in the 90's and there were tons coming through there.

Did they also find a way to tie this to climate change?

It's definitely not all Baltimore. It's a major port for cars but far from the only one. I know for a fact we get some through the Port of Richmond. All Nissans come through here iirc. I know Baltimore gets all Subarus for the US that are imported.

 

[plym49.2]

Fuuuuu

The piers are hollow; makes sense, I guess.

They gonna be hella strong in compression. In shear, not so much.

 

[Motorcharge]

This has been my fear every time I've ever crossed a bridge for my entire life

Bridges, tunnels, parking decks, etc. I'll use them because there's not really another choice but I don't like doing it. Much rather go over a bridge than be in a tunnel or deck collapse though.