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Started By
Message
Hold All Traffic on The Key Bridge
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:12 am
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:12 am
“Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge.”
The terse command from an officer in Baltimore’s busy commercial shipping port was one of the first warnings of a disaster that experts now predict will transform shipping on the Eastern Seaboard and change how ships and bridges function around the world. But after the cargo ship Dali lost power early Tuesday, there were precious few minutes to act.
In those minutes, many people — from the ship’s crew, who sent out a mayday signal, to the transportation authority police officers, who stopped traffic heading onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge — did what they could to avert catastrophe, most likely saving many lives.
And yet — no matter what anyone did — several factors made catastrophe all but inevitable. When a ship of this size loses engine power, there is little to be done to correct its course, even dropping an anchor down. And the Key Bridge was particularly vulnerable. As long ago as 1980, engineers had warned that the bridge, because of its design, would never be able to survive a direct hit from a container ship.
The collision and subsequent collapse of the bridge swallowed up seven road workers and an inspector who could not be alerted and pulled off the bridge in time; two were pulled alive out of the water, but four others are still missing and presumed dead. Two bodies were retrieved on Wednesday, authorities said.
LINK
The terse command from an officer in Baltimore’s busy commercial shipping port was one of the first warnings of a disaster that experts now predict will transform shipping on the Eastern Seaboard and change how ships and bridges function around the world. But after the cargo ship Dali lost power early Tuesday, there were precious few minutes to act.
In those minutes, many people — from the ship’s crew, who sent out a mayday signal, to the transportation authority police officers, who stopped traffic heading onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge — did what they could to avert catastrophe, most likely saving many lives.
And yet — no matter what anyone did — several factors made catastrophe all but inevitable. When a ship of this size loses engine power, there is little to be done to correct its course, even dropping an anchor down. And the Key Bridge was particularly vulnerable. As long ago as 1980, engineers had warned that the bridge, because of its design, would never be able to survive a direct hit from a container ship.
The collision and subsequent collapse of the bridge swallowed up seven road workers and an inspector who could not be alerted and pulled off the bridge in time; two were pulled alive out of the water, but four others are still missing and presumed dead. Two bodies were retrieved on Wednesday, authorities said.
LINK
This post was edited on 3/28/24 at 9:15 am
10
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:15 am to Eurocat
there's an 11 million post thread about this
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:15 am to Eurocat
Are dolphins going to be standard from here on out? I read in the other thread that they might not have even saved this bridge.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:15 am to MorbidTheClown
quote:
there's an 11 million post thread about this
He's European. They don't know how to post
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:29 am to Eurocat
quote:
The collision and subsequent collapse of the bridge swallowed up seven road workers and an inspector who could not be alerted and pulled off the bridge in time; two were pulled alive out of the water, but four others are still missing and presumed dead. Two bodies were retrieved on Wednesday, authorities said.
The two that were recovered were found in a vehicle, right? That makes me think they did get the message and were trying to drive off the bridge and just did not get off in time.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:31 am to Eurocat
It was an allision...
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:32 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
It was an allision...
Correct!
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:40 am to Eurocat
Seems like critical systems such as steering on a ship of that size would have backup power sources or there'd be some kind of redundancy to keep it from losing complete control in the event of a power loss. I would think that forward momentum would allow it to be steered for some time after engine thrust is lost.
I don't know crap about ships, though.
I don't know crap about ships, though.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:42 am to Eurocat
quote:
The collision and subsequent collapse of the bridge swallowed up seven road workers and an inspector who could not be alerted and pulled off the bridge in time; two were pulled alive out of the water, but four others are still missing and presumed dead. Two bodies were retrieved on Wednesday, authorities said.
So 6 dead
A different part of the day and it could have been 600
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:43 am to tigerpimpbot
quote:
Are dolphins going to be standard from here on out? I read in the other thread that they might not have even saved this bridge.
The ship did eventually come to a stop upon impact.
But the dolphins mignt need to be massive for them to work.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:45 am to Loup
quote:
I would think that forward momentum would allow it to be steered for some time after engine thrust is lost.
You realize the steering systems aren't manual right? The rudders themselves weigh tons. There is no maneuvering a ship that size without power steering
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:51 am to fr33manator
quote:
You realize the steering systems aren't manual right? The rudders themselves weigh tons. There is no maneuvering a ship that size without power steering
Yes, that's why I said in the first part of my post that it seems like they'd have backup power or something so that it wouldn't lose complete control from a power loss. I didn't think that the steering system looked like this
This post was edited on 3/28/24 at 9:52 am
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:52 am to Loup
quote:
Seems like critical systems such as steering on a ship of that size would have backup power sources or there'd be some kind of redundancy to keep it from losing complete control in the event of a power loss. I would think that forward momentum would allow it to be steered for some time after engine thrust is lost.
I would think this will be a big part of the investigation.
Also, it appears that two tugs helped get the ship out of the berth, but "peeled off" before the ship reached the bridge. This appears to be common at that port... the tugs sometimes accompany ships past the bridge, but it is not required, and sending them off early is certainly a cost saver.
I wonder if those two tugs, had they stayed, could have manuvered the ship away from the bridge support.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 9:56 am to Loup
I mean you bring a point up, but maybe instead have the power steering system completely isolated from the rest of the ship with an option to switch it to main power if it goes down instead of the other way around.
I would think losing steering would be even more critical than losing thrust. You lose the latter and you're at the mercy of the current but can still direct yourself somewhat.
You lose the former and you're a slow ram.
I would think losing steering would be even more critical than losing thrust. You lose the latter and you're at the mercy of the current but can still direct yourself somewhat.
You lose the former and you're a slow ram.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 10:00 am to LSUFanHouston
quote:
I wonder if those two tugs, had they stayed, could have manuvered the ship away from the bridge support.
A mass that big, with no help?
Honestly would depend on when and where they knew that was what had to be done. They could run their engines in red and barely shift it without any help from the ship. And it's a BIG ship so even if they were able to shift the bow clear the stern or the side may have smashed into the bridge.
It was just a case of the exact worst things going wrong in the worst place.
Once those foul stars aligned it was inevitable
Posted on 3/28/24 at 10:04 am to fr33manator
Tugs are all engine and gas tank. If they were already alongside they would have likely been able to save the ship.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 10:07 am to fr33manator
quote:
I mean you bring a point up, but maybe instead have the power steering system completely isolated from the rest of the ship with an option to switch it to main power if it goes down instead of the other way around.
Makes sense. Like I said, I have no idea how it works. Just seems odd that a backup generator or battery wouldn't have kicked in to allow some control.
Just found this on google.
quote:
If the ship lost all power, including backup systems, it would likely lose control due to the inability to steer or maintain propulsion. However, most ships are designed with redundant systems to prevent such total failures. For example, they may have emergency generators, battery backups, or even manual steering mechanisms to maintain control in case of power loss.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 10:31 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Tugs are all engine and gas tank. If they were already alongside they would have likely been able to save the ship.
I used to have to inspect tugs. Given enough notice and room, probably. Still a lot of factors involved and not a lot of room for error.
Regardless of what could have happened, it didn't.
I guarantee you it will be standard practice guiding ships past bridges from here on out though.
Posted on 3/28/24 at 10:33 am to Loup
quote:
even manual steering mechanisms to maintain control in case of power loss.
I'd love to see a manual steering mechanism for a ship that size.
Working the helm on a sailing vessel was hard enough. A massive container ship? Who's on the wheel, Hercules?
Posted on 3/28/24 at 10:33 am to fr33manator
Right, they would have had to been alongside already when the first blip happened to keep the ship in the channel.
Tugboat business finna feast.
Something will come out of it for sure.
quote:
guarantee you it will be standard practice guiding ships past bridges from here on out though.
Tugboat business finna feast.
Something will come out of it for sure.
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