Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses. (North Beach: most dangerous, beach, design)

[Maintainschaos]

What a tragedy and hard to comprehend the reverberations of this event…

[YorktownGal]

The container ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge on Tuesday "lost propulsion" as it was leaving port, and crew on board notified Maryland officials they had lost control of the vessel, ABC News reported, citing an unclassified U.S. intelligence report.

https://www.france24.com/en/video/20...lision-reports

Ship owner involved in at least 3 deadly events in recent years, records show

SINGAPORE — Synergy Marine Group, the owner and manager of the Dali ship, was involved in at least three seafaring events since 2018 that led to the deaths of crew members, according to investigation records from transportation safety agencies and government statements.

In 2018, a technician onboard a vessel managed by Synergy was killed when a personnel elevator malfunctioned, according to authorities in Australia, where the vessel was registered.

Required “safety barriers” were not put in place before the technician began his work, and “aspects of the supervision and communications throughout the task were ineffective,” said an investigation report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

In 2019, an officer on a Synergy-registered vessel was reported missing. An investigation by authorities in Singapore, where that vessel was registered, found that the officer had probably fallen overboard while working alone on a lifeboat and that it was “probable” that he was not wearing a personal flotation device.

And in 2023, a tanker partly managed by Synergy collided with a dredger off the coast of the Philippines, killing two seafarers: a Filipino national and a Chinese national, according to Philippine Coast Guard officials.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md...DPBRTUEEFEZZP4

I've never had a fear of bridges before, but . . . . such a terrible story! No tug boats? Don't they lead boats of the harbor anymore?

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by YorktownGal

https://www.france24.com/en/video/20...lision-reports

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md...DPBRTUEEFEZZP4

I've never had a fear of bridges before, but . . . . such a terrible story! No tug boats? Don't they lead boats of the harbor anymore?

Some of them. This one would have had a Maryland based pilot aboard.

[westsideboy]

Nuts. Thoughts and prayers to all involved.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Some of them. This one would have had a Maryland based pilot aboard.

It's been reported that this ship was under the control of a local pilot. But that doesn't mean much. The San Francisco Bay Bridge has been struck at least two times in the last 20 years by ships being operated by incompetent local pilots. I actually felt sorry for the shipping companies in those cases. They thought they were hiring competent local pilots, and ended up with billions of dollars in lawsuits.

[ion475]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

It's been reported that this ship was under the control of a local pilot. But that doesn't mean much. The San Francisco Bay Bridge has been struck at least two times in the last 20 years by ships being operated by incompetent local pilots. I actually felt sorry for the shipping companies in those cases. They thought they were hiring competent local pilots, and ended up with billions of dollars in lawsuits.

Not much anybody can do when the ship is in trouble (losing power) and call out Mayday.

The "Mayday" call did save some life as traffic was stopped prior to the collision. There were still 8 workers on the bridge, though, 6 of them still missing .

[Boothwynman]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Some of them. This one would have had a Maryland based pilot aboard.

Don't ship's captains have the right to overrule pilots if they see fit or necessary? I remember reading that on the thread on P&OC that was pulled.

[Veritas Vincit]

There's some massive distribution centers near the harbor. If Baltimore is shut down that means there's gonna be a ton of delays on shipments for people in the Mid-Atlantic region. It's a big deal for the economy of this region.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by ion475

Not much anybody can do when the ship is in trouble (losing power) and call out Mayday.

The "Mayday" call did save some life as traffic was stopped prior to the collision. There were still 8 workers on the bridge, though, 6 of them still missing .

I agree. One thing I thought was interesting is that they were able to stop traffic onto the bridge. Which doesn't really surprise me. I noticed in the video that traffic stopped flowing right before the collapse. But still it will be interesting to hear who and how they did that. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like anybody warned the construction workers to get off the bridge.

[memph]

Originally Posted by YorktownGal

https://www.france24.com/en/video/20...lision-reports

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md...DPBRTUEEFEZZP4

I've never had a fear of bridges before, but . . . . such a terrible story! No tug boats? Don't they lead boats of the harbor anymore?

Looks like tugboats were with the ship when it was leaving Point Breeze but then left the ship once it was on course towards the bridge.
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/statu...99911973831054

Then the ship lost power and that caused the ship to drift off course and crash into the pillars.

It seems like the Port of Baltimore isn't huge huge for US container shipping (1.6%) so it shouldn't disrupt national supply chains too much but it will be rough for the local economy.
edit: but maybe I'm underestimating the local impacts. Baltimore is 1.6% of shipping volume, but maybe the shipping it does do is more essential? I'm not a logistics expert.