Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapses After Ship Strike

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  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    tempo_n_groove said:
    mickeyrat said:
    from its wiki page...

    I served on 2 different aircraft carriers. cv 62 and 64. each displaced 80ish tons fully loaded. felt very little movement with the bering sea being an exception.



    A 1000 foot ship is a luxury liner, lol.  Try being on a 100' ship in that crap.  I once saw 60' swells in the gulf of Alaska.  20' were common in the Bering.  Very cool u got to be up there too.

    Brian big ships occasionally get whacked from the odd rogue waves.  Those are the widowmakers.

    Not fun!  I'm still surprised to see those containers stacked up the way they are.  I would think even just normal rough seas would cause them to come loss and fall into the ocean.  They must have some strong cinching mechanisms.  
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,373
    in answer to the question @brianlux ....

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  • tbergs
    tbergs Posts: 10,401
    All this talk about cargo ships and ports in Baltimore just makes me think of season 2 of The Wire. Ol' Frank Sobotka's crew would be out of work. Damn cans.
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    mickeyrat said:
    in answer to the question @brianlux ....


    Excellent and informative, thanks!  Amazing that the larger ships can hold 24,000 of those large containers.  That's a lot of shit!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,373

     

    Fourth temporary channel to open allowing stranded ships to leave Port of Baltimore

    baltimore

    By Christian Olaniran, Alex Glaze

    Updated on: April 25, 2024 / 5:25 AM EDT / CBS Baltimore

    BALTIMORE -- A fourth temporary channel is scheduled to open at the Port of Baltimore on Thursday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port. 

    That fourth channel will only be open for four days, but at 35 feet deep and 300 feet wide it will allow several ships that are stuck in the Port of Baltimore to get out.

    Many ships have been stranded at the port since the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

    "Around that 35-foot draft is where you're really starting to get some of the inventory that's coming onboard that had really been some of the hallmarks of The Port of Baltimore," Governor Moore explained in a press conference Tuesday.

    channeljpg

    Captain David O'Connell - with the U.S. Coast Guard - says there are currently seven ships ready to get out of the port. Five will be able to get out, including a loaded car-carrier.   

    Dr. Christina DePasquale, a professor at Johns Hopkins's Carey Business School who focuses on economics, says having a car transporter being able to use the temporary 35-foot shipping channel is huge. 

    "That's one of the port's claims to fame, right? We have the most car imports in the U.S. coming through that port," DePasquale said.

    Commercial ships will also be using the fourth temporary channel to come into the port. 

    "I know we have a container barge, which is scheduled to come in. We have another small bulker coming in, and another aluminum ship would be scheduled to come in during that time frame as well," O'Connell said. 

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to reopen the main shipping channel - which is 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep - by the end of May. 

    "There's no way around it that in terms of the impact on the local and the state economy, we want to resume 100 percent of pre-collapse activity because it just contributes to so many jobs in the economy, contributes to so much income that flows through both the city, the county and the rest of the state," DePasquale said.

    A third temporary channel has opened at the Port of Baltimore, according to a statement from the Baltimore Captain of the Port (COTP).

    It's a sign of progress, as the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is already expected to trigger an increase in the cost of goods.

    Unlike previous channels, this has a depth of 20 feet, which could allow larger commercial vessels to transport goods in and out of the port. 

    "As previously shared, the first two temporary alternate channels opened by the COTP are not deep enough to accommodate the larger oceangoing container vessels that Maersk and other carriers use to call upon Baltimore and other USEC ports," the COTP said.   

    With the main channel closed, businesses have had to use alternative methods to transport their products. 

    With nearly half of the 700-foot main shipping channel cleared, salvage teams are now focused on the portion of the span on top of the Dali.  

    Christian Olaniran

    Christian Olaniran is a Digital Producer for CBS News Baltimore, where he writes stories on diverse topics including politics, arts, culture, sports and more. He also creates engaging social media content to complement news coverage.

    First published on April 24, 2024 / 3:17 PM EDT

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    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,373
    https://apnews.com/article/baltimore-bridge-collapse-controlled-demolition-1575472095b90256ce00bc69a88d5acb   Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives

     
    Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
    By LEA SKENE
    36 mins ago

    BALTIMORE (AP) — Crews set off a chain of carefully placed explosives Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and with a boom and a splash, the mangled steel trusses came crashing down into the river below.

    The explosives flashed orange and let off plumes of black smoke upon detonation. The longest trusses toppled away from the grounded Dali container ship and slid off its bow, sending a wall of water splashing back toward the ship.

    It marked a major step in freeing the Dali, which has been stuck among the wreckage since it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26.

    The collapse killed six construction workers and halted most maritime traffic through Baltimore’s busy port. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and restore traffic through the port, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners who have seen their jobs impacted by the closure.

    Officials said the detonation went as planned. They said the next step in the dynamic cleanup process is to assess the few remaining trusses on the Dali’s bow and make sure none of the underwater wreckage is preventing the ship from being refloated and moved.

    “It’s a lot like peeling back an onion,” said Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    Officials expect to refloat the ship within the next few days. Then three or four tugboats will guide it to a nearby terminal at the port. It will likely remain there for a several weeks and undergo temporary repairs before being moved to a shipyard for more substantial repairs.

    “This was a very big milestone for our progression forward,” Col. Estee Pinchasin, Baltimore District Commander for the Army Corps of Engineers, said in the immediate aftermath of the demolition. She said crews don’t anticipate having to use any more explosives.

    The Dali’s crew remained on board the ship during the detonation, and no injuries or problems were reported, said Capt. David O’Connell, commander of the Port of Baltimore.

    The crew members haven’t been allowed to leave the grounded vessel since the disaster. Officials said they’ve been busy maintaining the ship and assisting investigators. Of the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan.

    Engineers spent weeks preparing to use explosives to break down the span, which was an estimated 500 feet (152 meters) long and weighs up to 600 tons (544 metric tons). The demolition was postponed Sunday because of thunderstorms.

    “This is a best practice,” Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference Monday, noting that there have been no injuries during the cleanup to date. “Safety in this operation is our top priority.”

    Fire teams were stationed in the area during the explosion in case of any problematic flying sparks, officials said.

    In a videographic released this week, authorities said engineers were using precision cuts to control how the trusses break down. They said the method allows for “surgical precision” and is one of the safest and most efficient ways to remove steel under a high level of tension. Hydraulic grabbers will now lift the broken sections of steel onto barges.

    The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting investigations into the bridge collapse. Officials have said the safety board investigation will focus on the ship’s electrical system.

    Danish shipping giant Maersk had chartered the Dali for a planned trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship didn’t get far. Its crew sent a mayday call saying they had lost power and had no control of the steering system. Minutes later, the ship rammed into the bridge.

    State and federal officials have commended the salvage crews and other members of the cleanup operation who helped recover the remains of the six construction workers. The last body was recovered from the underwater wreckage last week. All of the victims were Latino immigrants who came to the U.S. for job opportunities. They were filling potholes on an overnight shift when the bridge was destroyed.

    Officials said the operation remains on track to reopen the port’s 50-foot (15-meter) deep draft channel by the end of May. Until then, crews have established a temporary channel that’s slightly shallower. Officials said 365 commercial vessels have passed through the port in recent weeks. The port normally processes more cars and farm equipment than any other in the country.

    Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Baltimore native whose father and brother served as mayor decades ago, compared the Key Bridge disaster to the overnight bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, which long ago inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the War of 1812. She said both are a testament to Maryland’s resilience.

    Pelosi, a Democrat who represents California’s 11th district, attended Monday’s news conference with two of her relatives. She praised the collective response to the tragedy as various government agencies have come together, working quickly without sacrificing safety.

    “Proof through the night that our flag was still there,” she said. “That’s Baltimore strong.”


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    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
    memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
    another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,373
    preliminary report....



     

    Contact of Cargo Vessel Dali with Francis Scott Key Bridge and Subsequent Bridge Collapse

    What Happened

    ​​​​​​​​This information is preliminary and subject to change. Release Date: 14 May​ 2024

    On March 26, 2024, about 0129 eastern daylight time, the 947-foot-long Singapore-flagged cargo vessel (containership) Dali was transiting out of Baltimore Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, when it experienced a l​​​​​oss of electrical power and propulsion and struck the southern pier supporting the central truss spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (Key Bridge). A portion of the bridge subsequently collapsed into the river, and portions of the deck and the truss spans collapsed onto the vessel’s forward deck (see figure 1). A seven-person road maintenance crew employed by Brawner Builders—which was contracted by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA)—and one inspector employed by Eborn Enterprises, Inc., a subconsultant to the MDTA, were on the bridge when the vessel struck it. The inspector escaped unharmed, and one of the construction crewmembers survived with serious injuries. The bodies of the six fatally injured construction crewmembers have been recovered. One of the 23 persons aboard the Dali was injured.​​

    The US Coast Guard classified this accident as a major marine casualty. NTSB is leading the safety investigation​​​​. 

    ​​Read the Preliminary Report​.

    View on scene photos from NTSB Flickr.


    _____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________

    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
    memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
    another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,373
    shipping channel fully reopened...

    _____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________

    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
    memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
    another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
  • Halifax2TheMax
    Halifax2TheMax Posts: 42,126
    mickeyrat said:
    shipping channel fully reopened...

    Well, it should be closed. And Brandon got his clocked cleaned with all that steel from Chiiiiiiiiiina and Japan. What a disgrace. He should have paid five cents on the dollar for the removal and who was that dredging company they used? Nobody knows them and everyone tells me so, they say I’ve never heard of them before and they say everyone is saying the same thing. Well, I could have dredged it in half the time, you know why? Because I would have taken out the sharks too. And that way, you don’t have to worry about getting eaten by a shark when you have to jump out of your electric boat to avoid being elasticeracouted when it sinks. Such a disgrace! Enjoy your cruise to the bootaful city of Baltimore, the most corrupt city ever. Disgrace.
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