re: Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has collapsed - container ship wrecked into it

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The black smoke was likely an indication that the vessel was trying to back down

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I heard the YouTube guy say that and wondered

What does that mean?

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don't know what you're getting at. Generally when a ship is in a port underway, the local pilot has the conn and navigates the ship. This is worldwide also.

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Pilot can give a command and the capt can disregard, misunderstand, not hear it, or otherwise, make a mistake that leaves the pilot removed from the situation.

The pilot does not take the wheel.

There’s a reason for that

According to this Story from the Economic Times, the crew was 22 in number and all Indian. No injuries to any crew on the vessel.

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think about this a lot. Could really cripple an entire region if you hit a few bridges, railways, and key power grid targets.

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This isn’t new. In war your target rail lines, manufacturing plants, bridges, or other transportation lines. Been pretty much a thing since, well forever

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The pilot does not take the wheel. There’s a reason for that

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The pilot does not “take the wheel” because steering a ship in a channel is a singular task. Constant inputs must be given to keep the ship on course. The pilot can give the helmsman a course to steady up on and make traffic arrangements etc etc. A pilot may be on a vessel several hours whereas no at helmsmen are relieved every hour or less

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They dropped one and unfortunately it looks like it snagged the bottom and directed the ship into the bridge.

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Exactly the reason why dropping anchor can be a bad move

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A port worker has said the cargo ship that rammed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was experiencing technical issues for two days before the crash. Julie Mitchell, Co-Administrator of Container Royal, which tracks the tonnage on container ships in Baltimore port, told ITV News the ship was "having serious power outages". She said: "The reefer boxes that we have, one of which is the refrigerated boxes, were actually tripping the breakers or mechanics that were keeping the generators running on those while they were trying to fix the ship. "They weren’t even holding that, they were tripping breakers on that, they had a severe electrical problem. " ITV News is unable to independently verify this information, but the ship's operators reported losing power moments before the collision. While it is unclear why the ship did not stop, video shows all the lights on the huge vessel turning black seconds before hitting the bridge. It has also emerged the container ship dropped its anchor prior to impact as part of its emergency procedures after losing propulsion, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement Tuesday.

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Six people, who were repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the crash, remain missing and are now presumed dead by their employers, Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said. The bodies of the workers have not yet been recovered, but they are presumed to have died given the water’s depth and the amount of time that has passed since the crash, he said. Two people were pulled from the water, with one person taken to hospital in a serious condition, James Wallace, Chief of Baltimore City Fire Department said during a press conference. They have now been discharged, the hospital has confirmed to ITV News.

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In June inspectors found a problem with the ship's machinery but according to the shipping information system Equasis, a more recent examination the Dali, did not identify any deficiencies. Officials are assessing the condition of the bridge following the collapse but in a previous inspections it was rated as being in fair condition.

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https://www.itv.com/news/2024-03-26/major-bridge-in-baltimore-collapses-following-collision-with-cargo-ship

50feet

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It wasn't any police who stopped traffic. They didn't have enough time to get a call and react. It was construction workers who were able to get off of the bridge in time.

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I’m going to ask a dumb question as someone who knows nothing about ships. Is there not a horn blasting that would be part of an emergency like this?

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Engineer regiment or Seabees?

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I was Infantry on active duty and when I transitioned to the Army reserves I rebranched to the Engineers and was a company commander in an Engineer battalion attached to a Chemical Brigade.