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 had an Indian crew. In general, they are in the top half of competencies.
It appears a generator failed, and then the backup generator failed. He said there have been issues with "green" diesel. He also said the generators might not have been tested properly, as they are not allowed to run generators more than a couple minutes while moored, they need to hook to the port electric asap upon docking, and can only start the generators up right at departure, due to air pollution concerns.
The smoke could have been from a "full astern" order.
The 8-9 knots it was going was normal. The ship is actually easier to steer at higher speeds. Also, it is unlikely that the ship would have any internet connection to the stuff that failed.
This is lifted from a co-worker on his FB page: vessel leaving port should have two generators on line and have the steering gear in operation able to powered by the emergency buss. I’ve seen folks test gear and place the running steering gear leaving the nonemergency powered unit on line for departure. If done correctly the emerg generator should have powered the steering gear when they lost the plant.
So anyway, I share this because it was nice to hear from people that actually do this for a living.
I’ll stick with Sal and his analysis . He keeps it understandable, more people should watch his videos and less of the political pundits.
I stopped watching the talking heads for sanity’s sake.
I’ll watch people making stuff, fixing stuff
Australian machinist, he welds, fabricates , mainly components from earth moving/ mining equipment .language warning at times. lol
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cutting+edge+engineering+australia+pty+ltd
Much milder machinist who specializes in vintage machinery
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=keith+rucker+vintage+machinery
A lunatic that restores tools
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hand+tool+rescue
Another machinist that makes tools and machines.
https://www.youtube.com/@CaLem
There’s a British sailor restoring a century old sailing yacht .Very neat if you like wood working , shipwright stuff. Haven’t watched it for a while, he has years worth of videos. It is quite a rabbit hole
Fellow YouTubers have helped him , including casting the capstan . Prior to casting a pattern maker made the pattern . .
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tally+ho+boat+restoration
“I’ll stick with Sal and his analysis . He keeps it understandable, more people should watch his videos and less of the political pundits.”
Exactly. And if Hannity et al were doing a good job they would invite Sal and John Konrad on their programs so that the public at large would benefit from their maritime knowledge. Most people won’t know that those guys exist.
Thanks for the “insider” info.!
Discussion of port anchor drop - Sal spotted that in one of the daylight vids.
Before that he talks briefly about how an emergency backdown can throw the ship out of control. :-(
Most (but not all) single-screw ships have a "right-handed" propeller that turns cockwise when the ship is going ahead. Prop walk, also known as paddlewheel effect or asymmetric blade thrust, is the tendency of a propeller to push a boat’s stern sideways. This has a tendency of walking the stern continuously towards starboard (thus the bow to port) over time. A small bit of starboard rudder will counteract that port tendency.
Thus prop walk is most noticeable in reverse on single-screw vessels, and it can make close-quarters maneuvering, including docking, a daunting challenge. Backing hard on single-screw right-handed propeller while having appreciable headway will cause the stern to walk to port, and the bow towards starboard. This is especially true if steering control has been totally lost,
The interview is very interesting, thanks for the ping.
I’m active law enforcement. Just over 20 years. As we both know, people can be very, very evil. But 95 times out of 100, people are just stupid idiots, not evil. This was vast incompetence coupled with mechanical failure and flat out bad luck that they were pointed at the pylon. At least that’s what I’m hearing.
No, command of the ship belongs to the captain of the ship as per the vessel's owner. Local pilots advise the captain of the ship, but they are never in command.
The United States Coast Guard Captain of the Port (USCG COTP) may set requirements for all vessels under purview to be accompanied by escort tugboats until clear of the FSK Bridge. This would to be to mitigate risk of the terrible incidents like what took place this morning. This may be broken down by displacement tonnage or draft or certain dangerous cargoes or other conditions of visibility which may be a risk hazard along the route. The safety of the bridge and all those that use it and depended on it deserves that much consideration
There were tugs present.
They tried to drop anchor
About all they had
Maybe start requiring tugs
Much as I hated paying em
Actually the kinetic energy is 1/2 * mv^2.
But the momentum is mv. The force would be the difference from that to 0 mv. That is a huge amount.
That’s actually not totally true
Pilots think they are actually in command and typically capt gives them the helm
They are not simply advising
They can be overruled and argue
I’ve seen it with my own eyes
And been on radio directing my capt to take the helm minutes before a scrape with downstream Chem carrier while we were upstream for comet American rice on the calcasieu at lake Charles
One thing pilots will do is immediately disclaim any responsibility when they do screw up
Bar pilots I’m more fond of than river or harbor pilots
All are overpriced in the USA especially lower Miss river ports
But if there were tugs present where we’re they?
That was a “love tap” from China to Turkey...
Caption (Kirk): “Switch to Auxiliary Power”
Yes, but they did not stay with the ship entire way. IF What’s New In Shipping’s YouTube was correct.
No terror involved. A ship lost power and control and smashed a support structure, so the bridge did NOT collapse, it was rammed. Such accidents caused by ships are very rare. Cars were stopped when the ship control problem was identified. Unfortunately, there were men working high up on the bridge structure who could not get down in time, and they were the 8 who fell into the water.
“Maybe start requiring tugs
Much as I hated paying em”
Somebody asked Sal Mercogliano about that. Cost is why ships don’t want to do it but after this calamity Baltimore may require it.
Of course it may also depend on what kind of bridge they build as a replacement. I suppose a suspension bridge wouldn’t be subject to the same kind of failure if that’s an option.
How symbolic.
Yeah - putting twice as much traffic on an already congested commute is going to be a nightmare.
It was the Oso, Washington landslide. They just had the 10 year anniversary and finished a nice memorial at the site. It wiped out a very rural neighborhood up in the mountains alongside a river. 43 people died, 49 houses destroyed.
I don’t think too many people “commuted” along that road, but those trying to get to doctor visits, etc. and getting food and supplies up to the upstream towns was a hassle.
I just looked - the 2-lane highway was reopened 6 months to the day of the slide. However, a one-lane gravel road was completed after 3 months. I don’t know if that was open to everyone or maybe just critical things. Obviously still lots of construction going on. The slide took out 600 feet of the road. The road was at the tail end of the slide run out.
Am going to opinion was terrorism until proved otherwise.
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