Baltimore, MD - Container Ship Strikes Francis Scott Key Bridge - Mass Casualty Situation

[musicaljoke]

Rescue efforts are underway, with it believed that 20 construction crew were on the bridge at the time as well as around 20 cars crossing the bridge

The Dali container ship had undergone 27 inspections since 2015, and it had been found to have two 'deficiencies', according to a CNN review of records from the Electronic Quality Shipping Information System (Equasis).

Notably, this included a June 2023 inspection in San Antonio, Chile, where a deficiency was found in the 'propulsion and auxiliary machinery' - with propulsion faults also noted in the early CISA report. .'

No deficiencies were found when the vessel was last inspected on September 9, 2023 by the US Coast Guard in New York.

Professor Helen Sampson, an expert at the Seafarers International Research Centre at Cardiff University, speculated that human error may have also contributed to the accident.

Because the ship crashed at 1:30am, she told Sky News: 'The time makes me also wonder whether there was an element of fatigue at play.

'It's almost always the case that we focus on human error at the individual level, it's almost always the case that there's a broader context which has resulted in that human error, like fatigue and the demands made on pilots or on crews.'

The early CISA report noted that the crew warned officials that they had lost control of the vessel moments before impact.

REVEALED: Doomed Baltimore cargo ship was piloted by specialist crew

Questions are swirling as to how a cargo ship smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore overnight - with it believed a propulsion error may have been the cause.

www.dailymail.co.uk

It would be odd indeed for fatigue to have played a role. The ship was just starting its journey.

 

[TwoBlueJays]

This is a tragedy for all involved. So thankful this did not happen at the Bay bridge.

 

[Herat]

The pilots directing the ship at the time of the disaster were BALTIMORE pilots, as I thought they might be.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/26/us/baltimore-bridge-collapse/13b48cb7-4673-549e-83cd-13b7b9256af6?smid=url-share

Would the pilots have time to call in a group of tugs to get the disabled ship to clear the pylon and get it to a safe berth?

 

[branmuffin]

Yep.

Maybe not feasible... but I'd request the shipping line for reimbursement first and foremost.

Yep.

Maybe not feasible... but I'd request the shipping line for reimbursement first and foremost.

Who paid for the bridge to be built? Local, state or federal or a combination of all?

 

[PrairieWind]

Do we know for sure that it was the same pilot both times?

A "pilot" is usually a local person, so it wouldn't be. The pilots steering this ship were local to Baltimore.

 

[iamshadow21]

According to this article on CNN, the ship did drop its anchor. I'm honestly impressed by how quickly the ship and its crew acted. I can't imagine how scary it would be to be on a ship that size and realize you had no control over it.

Live updates: Baltimore Key bridge collapses after ship collision

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after it was struck by a large ship, according to video obtained by CNN. Follow live updates here.

www.cnn.com

I think that people who work on these floating monoliths are more acutely aware of how precarious their control can be of all that mass than anyone. I can't imagine they wouldn't drill for just this kind of situation, hoping to never need that training in their whole career. I'm glad they did all they could. I'm sorry that it didn't prevent the disaster. But who knows, maybe the anchor was one of the reasons why the ship stopped when the bridge fell across the bow, rather than it ploughing on and it falling across the middle of the ship, where it might have taken more lives. The 'bridge', the place where the people controlling the ship would have been, I believe is that white bit projecting up over the containers stacked on the deck.

Ship sent ‘mayday’ warning before Baltimore bridge disaster as officials scrambled to halt traffic: ‘Saved lots of lives’

Six people still remain missing after multiple vehicles plunged into the chilly waters of the Patapsco River as the bridge crumbled.

nypost.com

MOO

 

[Elley Mae]

A "pilot" is usually a local person, so it wouldn't be. Whether a pilot was in command in the Baltimore collision is not yet known.

Synergy Marine Group — which owns and manages the ship, called the Dali — confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while in control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help navigate vessels safely into ports.

What we know about the cargo ship that struck Baltimore's Key Bridge

The container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday was headed to Sri Lanka.

www.wbaltv.com

 

[ifindedout]

Would the pilots have time to call in a group of tugs to get the disabled ship to clear the pylon and get it to a safe berth?

IMO no. Too big a ship, far too little time, probably not enough tugs anyway.

 

[ifindedout]

I think that people who work on these floating monoliths are more acutely aware of how precarious their control can be of all that mass than anyone. I can't imagine they wouldn't drill for just this kind of situation, hoping to never need that training in their whole career. I'm glad they did all they could. I'm sorry that it didn't prevent the disaster. But who knows, maybe the anchor was one of the reasons why the ship stopped when the bridge fell across the bow, rather than it ploughing on and it falling across the middle of the ship, where it might have taken more lives. The 'bridge', the place where the people controlling the ship would have been, I believe is that white bit projecting up over the containers stacked on the deck.

Ship sent ‘mayday’ warning before Baltimore bridge disaster as officials scrambled to halt traffic: ‘Saved lots of lives’

Six people still remain missing after multiple vehicles plunged into the chilly waters of the Patapsco River as the bridge crumbled.

nypost.com

MOO

A good question is, do these ships have stern anchors as well? Lowering a stern anchor might've prevented the ship from swinging around. MOO

 

[iamshadow21]

A "pilot" is usually a local person, so it wouldn't be. The pilots steering this ship were local to Baltimore.

You're right, it was local Baltimore pilots.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/26/us/baltimore-bridge-collapse/13b48cb7-4673-549e-83cd-13b7b9256af6?smid=url-share

 

[Dotta]

File:Crossing the Key Bridge (Baltimore).webm - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Who paid for the bridge to be built? Local, state or federal or a combination of all?

Funded entirely by Maryland Transportation Authority toll bonds, the bridge cost $60.3 million.

This Day in Maryland History: Francis Scott Key Bridge Opens in 1977 - Preservation Maryland

On this day in history – March 23, 1977 – the Francis Scott Key Bridge that spans the Patapsco River in Baltimore opened to traffic. Besides the famous name, the […]

preservationmaryland.org

 

[PrairieWind]

Would the pilots have time to call in a group of tugs to get the disabled ship to clear the pylon and get it to a safe berth?

No, it appears the power goes out a minute or so before the collision, briefly comes back and then out. The ship can't stop and can't steer at that point and can't reverse engines to slow/stop. There just was no time. I am guessing that the loss of ship power was just catastrophic. I don't know enough about ships to know, are there not redundant steering and command options?

 

[iamshadow21]

A good question is, do these ships have stern anchors as well? Lowering a stern anchor might've prevented the ship from swinging around. MOO

No idea, but I imagine they tried everything. You can see the bow anchor chain is at full stretch on an angle pointing backwards if you look at that picture I just put in my reply above. I'll see if I can find a rear view anywhere.

 

[Chimera]

Reporting 6 missing, the 6 are construction workers? What about the tractor trailer and the cars?

I was wondering if they were the vehicles of the workers ?

 

[musicaljoke]

The ship would have collided with the pylons and not the bridge supports. All you need to do is "catch" a powerless ship and prevent it from hitting a key support for this type of bridge. Many bridges have these sorts of systems that prevent larger ships from approaching, Similar to how those yellow concrete poles in a parking lot prevent cars from going through the front of a store in a strip mall.

Yes, I was surprised to see that the bridge supports were not protected at all. I thought there would be concrete formations at the footings that would redirect any ship on a collision course with the supports. Perhaps this is more common in areas that get ice forming.

I was also surprised to see that taking out one support lead to a complete collapse, even downing the portion that was beyond the next pier. It will be interesting to see what advances in bridge engineering will be put in place in the new bridge.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

I was wondering if they were the vehicles of the workers ?

Per WBAL, there were four employee pickups but not verified they have found them yet
*update: there were seven (7) workers in total
1 worker discharged from hospital
8th person, not a worker, walked away
So that makes 6 workers missing in the water

 

[iamshadow21]

Would the pilots have time to call in a group of tugs to get the disabled ship to clear the pylon and get it to a safe berth?

Have you watched the video? From first lights out to impact, it's about forty seconds. I'm honestly surprised they had time to prevent more people driving onto the bridge. That crew acted fast, they knew they were in trouble, and they told people on land immediately. There is no doubt they saved lives.

There is no way a tug could have got to them in time, or arrested the momentum.

MOO

 

[musicaljoke]

Federal pockets = Tax payers

Yes, I believe bridges are a federal expense. That saves local taxpayers from costs that would otherwise be unmanageable. And no doubt there will be insurance claims and settlements.

 

[musicaljoke]

I was wondering if they were the vehicles of the workers ?

Yes.

Mr. Van Hollen said that the investigation was still in its early stages but added that early indications suggested that because of the closure, no traffic was crossing the bridge during the collapse. He said vehicles used by a road crew fixing potholes had been parked on the bridge and appear to have been plunged into the water.

Live Updates: Major Bridge in Baltimore Collapses After Being Struck by Cargo Ship

The authorities said that two people had been pulled from the water after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday and that a search was underway for “upwards of seven people.”

www.nytimes.com