It used to be my job to drive ships under bridges. Things do go wrong

Daily Telegraph ^ | 28 March 2024 | Tom Sharpe

[protest1]

This is an article by a former Royal Navy officer giving his perspective on the tragic collision between the ship Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

It is based, as he says, on the best information he had available at time of writing.

[Lizavetta]

That boat and everything on it it were insured, correct? Why is President Senile getting involved and saying the government is paying for this?

[mewzilla]

Unstated: Sharpe was hired by the rag last year. He works for it.

[mewzilla]

Why is the UK’s Deep State sticking its oar in on this...

[HighSierra5]

As far as finding blame for this catastrophe, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there.

[EVO X]

Somebody has to pay for the salvage operations and a new bridge while the owners and operators of the vessel duke it out in court.

[protest1]

Yes, that also occurred to me. These ships must be fully insured.

[Degaston]

You can’t cross a bridge that has collapsed into the river.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Finally a coherent expert weighs in, and the ultracrepidarians are already at work.

[Rockingham]

My late father — a graduate of Kings Point and a former merchant marine and naval officer — would vigorously disagree. Until there has been a full investigation, we cannot be sure what went wrong and the degree to which human mistakes played a role.

[golux]

The Dali suffered a loss of electrical power, indicated by all the internal and upper-deck lights going out...

I watched the video carefully. I am a licensed Master. I disagree with many of the things posited here. There are also no "internal lights" that should be on, on the bridge at least, at night on a ship. Nav and deck (work) lights were on when she hit the bridge. Blowing smoke as if full power astern. No conspiracy theories... Just too much I would share here. I'll just say I miss Kenny Bunk.

[protest1]

It would seem so.

[Jimmy Valentine]

I said on another thread that we need to hear what the harbor pilot and the Bay pilot say which will be important. Also the ships maintenance logs as this has evidently happened in an other port with this ship.

[Qwapisking]

sure you can...underwater.

[Dixie Yooper]

After almost two days, I haven’t heard any word on the role of any HARBOR PIOLT being on board while this ship was leaving the harbor.

[SJackson]

Why everything I don’t know but I’ve read the bridge ownership/maintainance is 90% federal, 10% state. I don’t think that’s unusual for an interstate.

[Paul R.]

She (the Dali) went pretty dark for a bit there, then lit back up B4 hitting the bridge.

The prelim NTSB info taken from the VDR clears up a few things, more to come, I expect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FczgLhdqw0M

12:35 VDR timeline

[3RIVRS]

Yeah. Usually that’s not tolerated.

[trebb]

Wow - a guy tries to excuse the accident and you try to excuse him...when “things go wrong”, there’s usually someone at fault.....

[escapefromboston]

The bridge was asking for it