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

[Herat]

SBM
More of the fixed ramps (non-truss spans) fell than I had from the Wikipedia article, this graphic shows, in red, from west to east (south to north), what collapsed.
View attachment 493010

Gosh, what a wonderful schematic that is. Yes, the bridge did unpeel substantially into the longer ramp.

I'd love to hear the analysis on why it happened that the failure propagated ( released so much more kinetic energy) to that side so much more than the other fixed ramp, closer to the accident.

The moment arm of the impact is towards the shorter, undamaged ramp.

 

[Herat]

Jeebus, that ain't spooky at all

Very little noise is apparent at all. No shouting or screaming, There is no noise of the ship engine. Or the sound of alarms or sirens.

 

[Herat]

^^BBM

I think OP misunderstood the quoted MSM.

The article was describing the longer route the Dali was about to take to Sri Lanka.

To arrive Sri Lanka in 28 days, they planed to sail "around South Africa to avoid the Red Sea and the Houthis.” This route was longer but the course was in response to Israel’s bombing in Gaza, Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have been designated a terrorist group by the U.S., have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and military forces in the area.

Recent Port Calls by Dali included the Panama Canal on March 13 for 7.5 hours, NY on March 19 for almost 2 days, Norfolk on March 22 for 19.5 hours, and Baltimore on March 23 for more than 2 days - 10 hours. I'm not seeing anything unusual about the time in Port considering the long journey ahead.

DALI, Container Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9697428 - VesselFinder

Vessel DALI (IMO 9697428, MMSI 563004200) is a Container Ship built in 2015 and currently sailing under the flag of Singapore.

www.vesselfinder.com

That Apostleship of the Sea is very interesting. What a kindness to extend to these seamen who are at sea for a month at a time. I am glad they are there for the crew of the DALI. They have been through a terrible trauma, too.

 

[Chimera]

When we lived near Washington, DC, we traveled across the Francis Scott Key Bridge a number of times when driving to New England. I preferred crossing the bridge to taking the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.

Baltimore Harbor Tunnel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Newly added sentence:
After the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on March 26, 2024, the Harbor Tunnel became one of the primary alternate routes for drivers and trucks containing non-hazardous loads.[15]

Thanks for this information !
I didn't know there was a tunnel.
Hopefully people who needed to cross the bridge for work or whatever , will be able to resume their lives somewhat.
Omo.

 

[airportwoman]

There was an I-40 bridge in Oklahoma that wasn't so lucky, in 2002, though there was no previous structural weakness or failure:

I also remember the bridge collapse in the Twin Cities. The thing that really got to me was the little girl in a day camp van who said, "Mommy, the bridge broke when we went over it."

 

[Herat]

I also remember the bridge collapse in the Twin Cities. The thing that really got to me was the little girl in a day camp van who said, "Mommy, the bridge broke when we went over it."

I was trying to remember the particulars of that accident, too. We were all stunned.

Minnesotans are giving a signal to Baltimore tonight:

Minneapolis's 35W bridge, which collapsed in 2007, lights up in Maryland colors in show of support of Baltimore

In the 2007 tragedy, 13 people lost their lives after the bridge suddenly collapsed into the Mississippi River, and 145 more people were injured. The bridge was under construction at the time of the crash, but the moment of failure happened at the height of the afternoon rush hour.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[airportwoman]

I am also reading that the total weight of the barge/vessel was in excess of 200,000 lbs.

This ship was more than 1,000 feet long. 200,000 TONS might be more like it. All of those containers are the size of railroad cars.

 

[airportwoman]

Interesting thought, Elly Mae.

I think you're correct. Sites are reporting the journey is up to 30% longer if they cannot use the Suez Canal.

The longer trip makes port in Capetown, so they would not need to depart Baltimore with fuel for the entire 28-day journey.

Routing - Fluent Cargo

www.fluentcargo.com

They may also have been dropping off or picking up cargo in Capetown.

 

[Herat]

This bridge collapse was astonishing:

Ponti Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy

Corrosion, faulty concrete suspected in Genoa, Italy bridge collapse | Global Resilience Institute

During a heavy downpour on August 14, a 656 foot section of the the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy collapsed, killing 43 people. The 51-year-old bridge linked two major highways in the city and was…

globalresilience.northeastern.edu

 

[ifindedout]

Thanks for this information !
I didn't know there was a tunnel.
Hopefully people who needed to cross the bridge for work or whatever , will be able to resume their lives somewhat.
Omo.

There are two tunnels. The second is much newer than the Harbor Tunnel and carries 8 lanes of I-95 in four pairs of 2-lane tubes.

Fort McHenry Tunnel - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Herat]

This ship was more than 1,000 feet long. 200,000 TONS might be more like it. All of those containers are the size of railroad cars.

If the gross weight of the ship is found to be a major factor, there may need to be limits on the gross loaded weight of vessels allowed into certain harbors. Ports are major sources of revenue for cities worldwide, and puting limits on freight for safety will not be popular.

That could be a very difficult issue for international trade, and add substantial expense to imported goods.

 

[Chimera]

If the gross weight of the ship is found to be a major factor, there may need to be limits on the gross loaded weight of vessels allowed into certain harbors. Ports are major sources of revenue for cities worldwide, and puting limits on freight for safety will not be popular.

That could be a very difficult issue for international trade, and add substantial expense to imported goods.

I've seen photos of cargo ships where I had no idea how that thing stayed afloat.

The ship involved in this accident, the Dali, looked pretty well packed.

 

[Warwick1991]

I'm reading that the original bridge design didn't include bumpers/fenders that would be standard in many places nowadays. That's obviously the biggest design flaw. The pylons (and their secure attachment to bedrocks) are fine. It's the flimsy (metal?) elements that immediately failed.

I am also reading that the total weight of the barge/vessel was in excess of 200,000 lbs.

I think the trussed metal elements are not flimsy at all - they just look flimsy as the structure is failing. If built like other steel US bridges, the trussed elements are steel box beams, welded and made of very heavy material. The box beams can be seen in close up pictures where they landed on the Dali. The force exerted by the Dali was huge - similar to an explosion. With a heavily loaded ship of the size and mass of the Dali, fenders, piles and other protective measures would have done little.

IMO, we should look at the ship instead of the design of the fallen bridge. What is interesting to me is the inspection of the Dali noted earlier in the thread, the inspection in Chile that found problems with the propulsion system and auxiliary systems. The auxiliary system probably referred to the generator.

IMO, the inspection in Chile may have identified poor maintenance and failure to maintain the ship's generator. Since the power briefly returned after the initial power failure, it appears that the generator started, but failed soon afterwards. Smoke also arose, which could have been the generator seizing up. This points to poor maintenance. The owners may have skipped important maintenance that would require taking the ship out of service so they could maximize the Dali's time at sea.

 

[Herat]

I think the trussed metal elements are not flimsy at all - they just look flimsy as the structure is failing. If built like other steel US bridges, the trussed elements are steel box beams, welded and made of very heavy material. The box beams can be seen in close up pictures where they landed on the Dali. The force exerted by the Dali was huge - similar to an explosion. With a heavily loaded ship of the size and mass of the Dali, fenders, piles and other protective measures would have done little.

IMO, we should look at the ship instead of the design of the fallen bridge. What is interesting to me is the inspection of the Dali noted earlier in the thread, the inspection in Chile that found problems with the propulsion system and auxiliary systems. The auxiliary system probably referred to the generator.

IMO, the inspection in Chile may have identified poor maintenance and failure to maintain the ship's generator. Since the power briefly returned after the initial power failure, it appears that the generator started, but failed soon afterwards. Smoke also arose, which could have been the generator seizing up. This points to poor maintenance. The owners may have skipped important maintenance that would require taking the ship out of service so they could maximize the Dali's time at sea.

There are a lot of things about the bridge to consider, but a significant part of the causality has to be the failure of power and steering on the vessel apparently due to some electrical malfunction. I appreciate your comments about the prior ship's maintenance issues.

After all the ship hit the bridge first, the bridge did not primarily fail, causing the accident.

 

[Warwick1991]

Gosh, what a wonderful schematic that is. Yes, the bridge did unpeel substantially into the longer ramp.

I'd love to hear the analysis on why it happened that the failure propagated ( released so much more kinetic energy) to that side so much more than the other fixed ramp, closer to the accident.

The moment arm of the impact is towards the shorter, undamaged ramp.

I think an engineering analysis of the bridge collapse will be prepared for the coming lawsuits against the Dali's owner. Until that happens, we can just speculate. IMO the failure locations might be explained by various connection types and locations - joints may have been pinned in locations where long lengths of structure collapsed. If separation was prevented by the connection, sections would fail together as a unit.

 

[Arkay]

A giant ship. A power blackout. A scramble to stop traffic: How Baltimore bridge collapsed

The container ship Dali departed just after midnight, facing a 28-day journey to the other side of the world. Barely out of the harbor, trouble began.

www.usatoday.com

This article is a narrative of what happened leading up to the crash and then the aftermath. Some details I hadn’t heard elsewhere.

 

[Warwick1991]

According to this source, the maximum weight that could be carried by the Dali was about 116,861 tons (DWT): DALI, Container Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9697428 - VesselFinder

That does not include the weight of the vessel itself.

 

[ifindedout]

This bridge collapse was astonishing:

Ponti Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy

Corrosion, faulty concrete suspected in Genoa, Italy bridge collapse | Global Resilience Institute

During a heavy downpour on August 14, a 656 foot section of the the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy collapsed, killing 43 people. The 51-year-old bridge linked two major highways in the city and was…

globalresilience.northeastern.edu

Our thread for that bridge

Italy - Bridge collapses on Genoa highway, 14 Aug 2018 *charges*

Motorway bridge collapses in Italy Motorway bridge collapses near Italian city of Genoa, but no word yet on possible casualties - police This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

www.websleuths.com

 

[Arkay]

Here is one bridge dying in a very unusual manner. “Aero flutter dynamics” that were not accounted for when this occurred in 1940. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

It’s astonishing, like the bridge turned into ocean waves.

**Trigger alert for the bridge-phobic** but this bridge was rebuilt with new safety features, and it provided lessons for America’s bridge engineers.

 

[nerosleuth]

I believe that commercial vehicle traffic on the Baltimore area freeways will be a nightmare during the next decade before a new bridge is built to replace the collapsed bridge.

It is my understanding that the tunnels going to the ports in the harbor area have restrictions on hazardous cargoes and trailer sizes.

A lot of the semi truck traffic will have to go take the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) going around Baltimore to get to the harbor area ports due to the tunnels restrictions.

Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Here's the latest detour and cmv travel info