Francis Scott Key Bridge Disaster Analysis
Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore Maryland
Step back from the hype and hysteria.
Immediate effects and second order ramifications- the How and Why left to further investigation as appropriate.
Fair winds and following seas.
Category: Breaking News
Fire Fighter Close Calls has the audio but I haven’t listened yet. No act of terroism sais the govt without checking out the ship and crew members. Strange that it lost power just before the bridge. I imagine the crew members are from different countries, which countries and their political beliefs hopefully will be checked out
I watched the live stream with Sal & Mooch earlier. The whole crew is Indian and ship is flagged in Singapore. Despite all the chatter from the Structural Engineering Experts <heavy sarcasm> on X I think was an unfortunate accident. The Skyway Bridge between St. Pete and Bradenton in 1980 had a similar fate. A ship crossing under in a squall lost its bearing and struck the piling killing around 30. They built another bridge with Islands protecting the support structures now (see the pic). FSK Bridge was built the same way with bigger and bigger ships passing under it was bound to happen. The MV Dali is the size of Nimitz class but with more displacement. By the way, I drew and arrow where some stopped 10′ short of driving off the bridge. As I recall, it was raining so hard he couldn’t see, so he stopped and save his life.
They should have built protective islands when they put the big electric transmission towers in. They built islands around them. I would be willing to bet that port authorities, everywhere will be looking to do that now.
Shoulda coulda woulda.
Thanks for that heads up on the makeup of the crew members HT3. Will see what happens after the onboard recorder comes out with info on the power loss.
The big problem may be lack of detail. From what I read today, ship recorders are not as detailed as most people expect from airplane flight recorders. The ship recorders have voice recordings from the bridge, GPS, engine orders, but no real data regarding anything from the engine room where evidently whatever was the main issue that caused this whole situation occurred. There could have been warning signs something bad was about to happen like extreme high temp or extreme low pressure on an engine cylinder, and the investigators will never know with certainty.
Blogs/news feeds full of all kinds of Hows and Whys. We’ll see…or not. The finger pointing will be epic…so will the repair bill.
A Prayer of Condolences for the Families of the deceased.
Anyone else see the other Port Authorities along the East Coast rubbing their hands with glee? You know that they did.
And still are rubbing their hands, and other appendages, with glee.
They probably needed a smoke afterwards.
Sad.
In the speeded up version of the video available, it does appear (to me) it would have floated by, but at the last little bit, it turned hard right. It was reported the winds were calm to minimal.
To those who know, had they dropped anchor when the problem began, how long would it have taken for it to come to a stop, or at least pivot around its anchor point. Is there such a thing as just drop the anchor? This seems like it would have been a great idea to try out if not.
They dropped the port anchor, but it likely took them a bit of effort if they had to manually release it due power being out. I would like to know if they had an aft steering watch set. Doesn’t look like they had a lot of time.
Odie, love you like a brother. A nautically challenged brother.
Nautical challenged ain’t the half of it 🙄
Nautically. Sometimes my spelling is suspect, and other times, I blame auto correct.
Hey come on, I saw BATTLESHIP (the movie), they were able to drop anchor and J turn right around the alien vessel…how hard can it be with a professional crew compared to a bunch of recruits and Old Timers!?
What strikes me (even before I heard the other conspiracy theories) is how uniformly the rest of the bridge came down…. just from hitting the central pilon. I know it is a tension bridge but man it just snapped and everything just dropped. I can’t pick out the supposed explosions but it sure was well done if it was. Wonder what occupations the six construction workers from Central American counties were back in their home country?
Bridge demolition? I wonder if they had that “one guy” on the crew who seemed to have bad luck follow him regardless of what he was doing.
My life’s experience with boats extends no further than unloading jet fuel in Okinawa, canoeing on Ozark rivers, and a couple of white water raft trips in Colorado. A former co worker has a 29 or so foot fountain powered by a 572 engine. That’s why I asked about dropping the anchor and time involved from beginning to end.
While wind may have been minimal, keep in mind this ship was one huge flat surface that wouldn’t take much wind to catch and alter the course of. Add to that this harbor is a flowing river. How much current was present and in what direction was it flowing?
In my experience navigating warships with much less flat surface above the waterline, we had some conditions where a combination of wind and current meant we had to steer nearly 20 to 30 degrees off projected course just to keep moving straight.
Thanks for all the info and lessons. One can learn a lot here.
There was one poignant radio transmission that really struck me for some reason, some poor cop, ” The bridge has collapsed….send everything!”
Steve BoTTyJudGE is one the way!
And he hasn’t shown up or said anything yet.
I believe he did show up, but only because he had to. He really didn’t say anything because there was nothing to say at that time. He had no more info than what had been reported by the news already.
No doubt he is going to say it collapsed because of the racist fittings used to build the darn thing.
Well, it did prevent the Indians from getting to the other side….😏
NO, not enough DEI-picked Workers used to build it!
Apparently the Mayor of Baltimore went on a rant about people complaining about DEI.. on Joyless Reid show, which pretty much says all you need to know..
The bridge was destined to collapse because it embodied “transphobia” /s
chest feeding takes its toll on a man/zim?
Joe said that he had traveled that bridge often, on his way home to Delaware either in a car or on the train. Never let it be said that facts confuse Joe, there were no tracks on the FSK Bridge.
That’s bullshit. You only take that route if your heading to the port area or Dundalk. He’d have taken I-95 or I-895 out of DC heading back to Delaware but never -695. Another fucking lie from the Pedo-in-Chief. Back in my Teamster days, I took I-695 East/FSK bridge when hauling hazmat loads south from NJ. You can’t pull hazmats through the tunnels.
HT3,
I drove over the FSK Bridge OFTEN, between 2012-2016, as the I-695 EAST LOOP LOW TRAFFIC
enjoyable scenic drive (compared to the other I-x95 choices)
from PA to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD.
NOTE – Maps page of the Fu of Google
now prevents showing routes that go over FSK.
I’d be hauling petro-chemicals/hazmats from Gateway Terminals/GATX in Carteret, NJ down to the Carolinas cira late ’80s thru ’90s. I’d leave before midnight to be South of DC before morning rush-hour. I went over the bridge North & South a bazillion times. The crash video shows a few trucks passing over the center span 5 – 10 seconds before impact. I wonder if they felt/heard/saw the bridge go down in their mirrors. That would be a totally excusable reason to shit your drawers in my opinion.
I would say it’s a safe bet to say those drivers at least felt it’s they didn’t see it. I would imagine every light on the bridge went out, not just the part that fell. I bet also they felt it through the steering wheel as the pavement got rocked from end to end.
I wonder if waivers will be issued for hazmat through downtown, or just how much further trucks will have to go to make a delivery just across the river.
HT3,
Also, for those averse to paying tolls on an I-95 trip
(—> ME before 2005)
the I-695 WEST LOOP is TOLL FREE,
but a traffic nightmare.
It’s the highway of choice for not only all poor people of Baltimore and the region, but also all those who don’t want their cars getting photographed (stolen cars, bad plates, drugs, etc).
You are forgetting the times he was a heavy haul trucker….
Angelo Negri will vouch for him being on the train on the Key Bridge.
Is Angelo Corn Pops brother from another mother?
I wouldn’t a bet plug nickel for the Dali’s CHENG career about now. He may have been on watch since they were just getting underway. Whether or not he was the EOOW, its his plant that went down putting the whole shi-bang in motion. Main control or the switchboard dropped the load causing the loss of power. Sea & Anchor detail dropped the hook, but that’s more wishful thinking. At least the made the “Mayday” call and the cops closed the bridge to new traffic. There has to be more bridges with the support columns like The Key Bridge out there.
They’ve had a problem before, it seems:
https://gcaptain.com/breaking-mv-dali-cited-for-propulsion-issues-before-baltimore-incident/
I heard on the news today that the ships owner/company said it would be unfair to talk about past issues with this boat.
I wonder why they would make that statement at this time.
I have doubts they are carrying $15B in insurance, but Joe has their back. He says the yoU Suckers Gonna pay for it.
He did say that right out of the gate. Gotta get that rail line open again so he can go home.
The ship will get reloaded and Joe will send them off with well wishes. Sail away, and crash no more.
Unbelievable accident, perhaps negligence. Dunno.
My prayers are for all involved, directly and indirectly.
Tragedy like this should not fall on any man, nor any nation professing its ‘greatness’.
May this strengthen the resolve of our countrymen to have real accountability of dollars spent in the bellowed-yet-empty calls for ‘safety’ and ‘infrastructure’, so crap like this never happens again.
If there is negligence, it will be found in whatever passes for that ship’s maintenance log. You don’t lose power that completely without everything going down at once and losing it a second time after only partial power is restored. Someone was goldbricking the logs and necessary maintenance wasn’t performed.
On top of that, there is a local regulation that ships are required to be escorted by tug past that bridge, but the harbormaster and everyone else involved (tug owners, ship’s crews, pilots) got complacent and the tugs were let go right after the ship entered the channel. Apparently large cargo ships leaving port had gotten to be too routine and no one wanted to obey the regulations anymore. Had they been there, there MIGHT have been a chance of maneuvering the ship away from the bridge support column.
Heads will definitely roll over this.
Any way you see it it is going to make the cheese more bindin.
I watched the video AW1Ed posted above.
Being personally somewhat nautically challenged (gabn), nonetheless I have some experience with (very small) water vessels, a rudimentary grasp of physics (e.g. Newton’s Law of Motion), and a firm grasp on logic. I also was a student under a professor who had worked on merchant ships, and had a relative of my parents’ generation who was in the Merchant Maine.
The discussion between the two guys in the video makes sense, and neither one is driven to overstep the evidence with their opinions/disaster-proclamations.
Saw a post by someone on The Bouk of Faces claiming that all those ships had redundant systems so that steering could not have been truly lost.
Sez I to myself: The Idiots Self-Identify, again!
I would have watched the video, but all I get is a gray box for whatever reason. It will eventually be visible, but as of now, and earlier, not so much.
Commander Carroll has a YouTube channel as does his guest. You can probably find the video there
Sleepy Creepy Joe is at it again. It always has to be about him. PINO also just can’t resist telling tall tales. Did you know he rode a train across the Francis Scott Key bridge? No, seriously – not a joke, folks. 🫤
Joe Biden makes blunder addressing tragic Baltimore bridge collapse (youtube.com)
I watched the footage of the strike, and it just looks awful. My wife’s scared of bridges, and while I don’t mind driving over them, my fear is deep and murky water. Imagine driving one second, then realizing that a) the bridge is disappearing behind or in front of you, and/or b) you’re suddenly losing forward momentum and feeling some g forces as your vehicle is dropping. Imagine just filling potholes on another routine shift as a road worker. You’ve got your PPE, the lane(s) safety closed off, and it’s just another thankless day, where commuters will blame you for any delays as rush hour approaches in a few hours.
I hope the bodies are recovered soon and that the families get some form of closure. It looks like two have already been found. NBC is reporting that all six workers are from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala: Baltimore Key Bridge collapse latest news and what we know (nbcnews.com). We often opine on illegals from south of the border, but we have to hand it to those hard-working immigrants who do the physically tough labor jobs.
Some of my family helped build the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel back in the ’60s; that was always a memorable drive going back and forth between Richmond and Delmarva. Before they added the second span, it was a bit sketchy sometimes, but the little snack bar and gift shop on one of the tunnel islands made it worth the ride as a kid, especially since I got to use the coupon for a free drink or coffee.
Anyway, not much else to add. I might have driven over the Key bridge a few times over the decades, but always tried to avoid Baltimore. The PINO claiming to have taken a train over the bridge and the conspiracists claiming the bridge strike was planned are not much different in the end. Attention-mongers who want to act like they have some personal investment or inside knowledge. I’ll wait for the incident report.
I have done pothole patching and partial depth patching on bridges, and your head is always on a swivel, or it better be. We didn’t have to worry about ocean going vessels, and barges we paid no attention to. Vehicle traffic was our #1 concern, and you are correct, we would get blamed for delays. Most people waved as they went by, but you would be surprised at how many of those people had just one finger on their hand.
Your escape routes while working on a bridge are limited at best. Maybe there’s a shoulder, or a “walkway” on the outside of the bridge. Mostly what’s under bridges are, some type of water, train tracks, another highway or parking lots. Either way, it’s going to hurt at the very least should you have to make an exit.
My son in law is a bridge builder . Had a co worker killed last year. He has had a lot of close calls. Had a crane topple over two years ago.
I wonder how much traffic the bridge tunnel will pick up. I sometimes go that way to avoid 95.
This is gonna be a union job, 6/8 years is me estimate.
Probably longer since The Big Guy said that we’re footing the bill.
I’m sure there will be a bonus if completed ahead of schedule, less 10% for reasons.
Maybe zalenski could loan us some money.
As I recall, it took 5 years to build the bridge (early 1970’s). If the FJB administration is involved, rest assured it will take over a decade to build with millions in cost overruns, and substandard construction.
They’ll probably name it the “Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr.” bridge once it’s complete.
Ten cargo ships are trapped on the Baltimore side of the bridge collapse. In response, Department of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has leapt from not action and distributed Snickers Bars to all affected crew members, as they are not going anywhere for awhile.
https://abc7chicago.com/10-other-ships-stuck-in-port-of-baltimore/14578334/
Shore leave for the next couple of weeks. I’m certain there are some bars near the docks they can spend their time in.
Well, I can think of worse things. Here’s an old chestnut:
https://youtu.be/DVx8L7a3MuE?si=30J1-JbrADfnoKgX
Of all the places I could be stuck indefinitely, Baltimore is near the top of the list of places I would not want it to be.
Apparently there are at least 3 Military Sealift ships that may be bottled up in the harbor
Beautiful…fucking beautiful.
Likely the Gordon, Gilliland and Cape Wrath (not sure on the last one…) if so, they’re seldom used aside from turbo activations. Better off that way as they’re a hair width away from qualifying as derelicts.
I heard that one of the cruise ships departed Baltimore a day or so before the bridge collapse for a 12 day cruise. Since the channel leading the port is closed, they’ll have to offload passengers in Norfolk, who will then be bussed back to Baltimore.
(That’s a lot of busses, and those passengers will likely have to ensure a 5 hour bus ride back – which would suck for them.)
“endure” not “ensure”.
That sounds like a job for Bitme’s train. Oh , I forgot. The tracks on I-695 are out as well.