Posted on 03/25/2024 11:45:29 PM PDT by Drago
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland which crosses the Patapsco River has reportedly Collapsed within the last few minutes after being Struck by a Large Container Ship
(Excerpt) Read more at x.com ...
It is a horrible thing. I just tried to find out how many casualties there were, and they're only speculating, and people are still missing. I feel so sorry for those families. I'm assuming people use that bridge to get to work and back everyday. What the heck are they going to do now if that's their only way to go?
You really need lay off the alcohol. I have no idea what you are babbling about.
I'm late getting to you reply. I just did a search, and it said the ship hadn't sunk, and its lights were still on. I don't think there's been any mention yet as where the tanker is from, and who was piloting it at the time.
C’mon……I was responding to what I read…..at 3AM…in the heat of the moment…( I believe Daily Mail)
……which was soon corrected
A link to some comment by a USCG Master Mariner and graduate of SUNY Maritime:
https://gcaptain.com/ship-lost-control-before-hitting-baltimore-bridge/
What is the deal with the explosions on the bridge itself?
https://x.com/jackfought_1/status/1772671678620864979?s=61
Gosh. Had no idea you were so delicate. Too bad about your butthurt.
Next time just lay back and enjoy it and I won’t need to be so rough on ya.
Oh there are plenty of other bridges, tunnels, bridge-tunnels and ferries if need be for folks to traverse these rivers and lakes and bays on the eastern shore.
I drove the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel for 8 years and this Francis Scott Key Bridge for my last 7 years at Western Electric...now the CIA.
:essee///there was mighty Bethlehem Steel, a Chevrolet plant-or maybe Ford...getting old...western electric...subsidiary of AT&T....all kinds of industry used either a bridge or a tunnel to get from west to east and such.
But Lord it will be a mess.
And also....what with all these bridges and tunnels all about, should we do something about them? Maybe re-inspect them, give them another lookover.
But hey, we have Buttigieg so I worry not.
Those bridges are supposed to be inspected regularly. In this instance, I don't think any bridge would have survive being rammed by a tanker that size.
I remember when the NY State Thruway bridge over Schoharie creek collapsed in 1987, killing 10 people. It's just a road bridge over the creek. It happened after a heavy rainfall which caused flooding and a heavier flow. Mario Cuomo was Governor at the time. Apparently there hadn't been regular inspections of that bridge, because it was discovered during the investigation, that gradual erosion around one of the plinths that held the bridge up had weakened it, and it collapsed from the force of the rushing water, and took the rest of the bridge with it. It was also discovered that when the bridge was originally built, steel sheet piling wasn't used, and would have prevented the collapse. The bridge was built in 1953 when Thomas E. Dewey was Governor.
I’ve seen the point made (various sources) that the anchor likely just sort of slid through the mud or silt on the river bottom.
“P=mv
F=ma”
You are correct, perhaps that is why I only got a B in
university Physics. I always mixed those two up.
I am humbled.
Looks like you were right. From patriots.win:
From Lara Logan on x:
Multiple intel sources: Baltimore bridge collapse was an “absolutely brilliant strategic attack” on US critical infrastructure - most likely cyber - & our intel agencies know it. In information warfare terms, they just divided the US along the Mason Dixon line exactly like the Civil War.
Second busiest strategic roadway in the nation for hazardous material now down for 4-5 years - which is how long they say it will take to recover. Bridge was built specifically to move hazardous material - fuel, diesel, propane gas, nitrogen, highly flammable materials, chemicals and oversized cargo that cannot fit in the tunnels - that supply chain now crippled.
Make no mistake: this was an extraordinary attack in terms of planning, timing & execution.
The two critical components on that bridge are the two load-bearing pylons on each end, closest to the shore. They are bigger, thicker and deeper than anything else. These are the anchor points and they knew that hitting either one one of them would be a fatal wound to the integrity of the bridge.
Half a mile of bridge went in the river - likely you will have to build a new one. Also caused so much damage to the structural integrity of the bottom concrete part that you cannot see & won’t know until they take the wreckage apart. Structural destruction likely absolute.
Attack perfectly targeted.
“They have figured out how to bring us down. As long as you stay away from the teeth of the US military, you can pick the US apart. We are arrogant and ignorant - lethal combination. Obama said they would fundamentally change America and they did. We are in a free-fall ride on a roller coaster right now - no brakes - just picking up speed.”
The footage shows the cargo ship never got in the approach lane in the channel. You have to be in the channel before you get into that turn. Location was precise/deliberate: chose a bend in the river where you have to slow down and commit yourself - once you are committed in that area there is not enough room to maneuver.
Should have had a harbor pilot to pilot the boat. You are not supposed to traverse any obstacles without the harbor pilot.
They chose a full moon so they would have maximum tidal shift - rise and fall. Brisk flow in that river on a normal day & have had a lot of rain recently so water was already moving along at a good pace.
Hit it with enough kinetic energy to knock the load-bearing pylon out from under the highway - which fatally weakens the span and then 50 percent of the bridge fell into the water.
All these factors when you look at it - this is how you teach people how to do this type of attack and there are so few people left in the system who know this. We have a Junior varsity team on the field.
Tremendous navigational obstruction. Huge logistical nightmare to clean this up. Number of dead is tragic but not the whole measure of the attack.
That kind-of bridge constantly under repair - always at night because there is so much traffic and they cannot obstruct that during the day. So concern is for repair guys who were on foot (out of their vehicles) working who may now be in the water - 48 degrees at most at this time of year.
When you choke off Baltimore you have cut the main north-south hazardous corridor (I95) in half. Now has to go around the city - or go somewhere else.
To move some of that cargo through the tunnel you may be able to get a permit but those are slow to get and require an escort system that is expensive and has to be done at night.
For every $100 dollars that goes into the city, $12 comes from shipping. Believe this will cripple the city of Baltimore at a time when they do not have the resources to recover.
Correction to my post: e = 1/2(m)(v^2).
A calculation of impact force might be even more useful, but I am unsure what the effective “distance of impact” should really be. The numbers are huge regardless.
Energy equations are good.
Seems possible.
Sucks when there are few options.
The ship WAS in the proper lane until it lost power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39w6aQFKSQ&t=33s
Try listening to actual shipping experts.
Man, ain't that the truth!
The whole Beltway racetrack, for that matter.
The footage shows the cargo ship never got in the approach lane in the channel. Should have had a harbor pilot to pilot the boat.
It seems to me, that if this were a deliberate and planned attack, why the power failure? Why deploy an anchor? Why issue a May Day call? Why hit the bridge at 1:30 am instead of when it would be crowded?
But no matter what, the bridge is down, Baltimore Harbor is effectively closed for some time. But we can all take heart that ‘Mayor Pete’ will take care of the mess.
I’ve actually experienced that in a johnboat, trying to fish in the calm(er) water area of a land breeze. Soft bottom, kinda windy, anchor wouldn’t really grab. Same thing on a river with just modest current involved.
Apparently the ship’s crew did manage to radio the Port Authority (I would guess?) who then either directly or via the Transportation / Highway Dept. got the “Bridge Closed” signs “on” in time to stop ordinary traffic that would have gone onto the bridge. Very good work there. But the pothole repair crew was still on the bridge... :-(
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