Key Bridge in Baltimore Collapses After Vessel Strike

[iluvatar5150]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/26/us/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-tuesday

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

A Singapore-flagged vessel struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday. Part of the span has collapsed, and an emergency response is underway, the authorities said, with people possibly in the water.

www.nytimes.com

https://x.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1772533011403137388?s=46

Better version of cnn video:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/s/xizL720HHk

 

[iluvatar5150]

Baltimore FD scanner:

Baltimore City Fire Live Audio Feed

Baltimore City Fire Live Audio Feed on Broadcastify.com

www.broadcastify.com

 

[Matt5]

It looks there was a power loss. Initially, I thought the pilot was on drugs as it plowed right into a pier support.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Ahhh thank you for doing this thread. I just saw it here...

That bridge just folded like a house of cards...

I'm going blind so it's pretty impossible to see what exactly happened but my question is does it look like there might have been structural issues with the bridge as well as it being struck?

It just looks strange to me on the video, but I'm thinking it might be because I can't see well at all ..

As for the bridge collapse itself, my heart and my prayers go out to the victims of this tragedy... Such a shame. And such a mess for those living there.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Ahhh thank you for doing this thread. I just saw it here...

That bridge just folded like a house of cards...

I'm going blind so it's pretty impossible to see what exactly happened but my question is does it look like there might have been structural issues with the bridge on top of it being struck?

It just looks strange to me on the video, but I'm thinking it might be because I can't see well at all ..

As for the bridge collapse itself, my heart and my prayers go out to the victims of this tragedy... Such a shame.

No structural issues that I’m aware of. There’s just not much redundancy in that sort of design where one section is reliant on adjacent sections to stay up, so if you lose a critical piece, the whole thing falls.

Note that the concrete sections on either side are still standing.

 

[Hazelelponi]

No structural issues that I’m aware of. There’s just not much redundancy in that sort of design where one section is reliant on adjacent sections to stay up, so if you lose a critical piece, the whole thing falls.

Note that the concrete sections on either side are still standing.

Cool, thank you for your insight..

 

[iluvatar5150]

Cool, thank you for your insight..

Helicopter shots now that the sun is up make it look like the ship took out a good chunk of the pier on which the bridge was resting.

 

[Desk trauma]

I'm going blind so it's pretty impossible to see what exactly happened but my question is does it look like there might have been structural issues with the bridge as well as it being struck?

From what I read it fell apart due to the nature of its construction. Each part is holding tension on the others remove one and all the rest follow.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

When I heard "collapsed bridge" this morning on the news, I was wondering if it was going to be a case where it was a poorly maintained infrastructure situation. The "crumbling infrastructure" we tend to hear about.

Doesn't appear to be the case for this one, as most things crumble when a vessel of that size runs into it in the middle of the night. I guess I just assumed the vessels coming in and out of that section would A) be familiar with the route, and B) would have some sort of lighting of their own to be able to see what's in front of them should the lighting on the bridge go out.

 

[durangodawood]

When I heard "collapsed bridge" this morning on the news, I was wondering if it was going to be a case where it was a poorly maintained infrastructure situation. The "crumbling infrastructure" we tend to hear about.

Doesn't appear to be the case for this one, as most things crumble when a vessel of that size runs into it in the middle of the night. I guess I just assumed the vessels coming in and out of that section would A) be familiar with the route, and B) would have some sort of lighting of their own to be able to see what's in front of them should the lighting on the bridge go out.

Ships in these situations are typically helmed by local pilots until they get out toward the open water.

 

[Desk trauma]

Ships in these situations are typically helmed by local pilots until they get out toward the open water.

Per the boats owner there were two pilots onboard at the time.

 

[Paulos23]

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

Sounds like the ship lost power, issued a Mayday, and authorities were stopping traffic from getting on the bridge before it hit.

Looks like everyone did what they could when the ship lost power (I am assuming that is when the smoke appeared.)

 

[Desk trauma]

Currents. Without power or rudder control, the ship is at the mercy of the current. And it wasn't a sharp turn - based on the telemetry I've seen, it deviated about 5-10 degrees off course, which, in a narrow channel, was enough to take it into the bridge pier.

Im no expert on ships but i don’t think anything says a rudder get jammed straight when control systems fail.

 

[Arcangl86]

Im no expert on ships but i don’t think anything says a rudder get jammed straight when control systems fail.

It wouldn't need to be jammed straight though. Current can change pretty radically in a short distance, so the rudder might need to be trimmed left for a certain stretch and then changed. That could be what happened here.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

Im no expert on ships but i don’t think anything says a rudder get jammed straight when control systems fail.

Very true.

 

[BCP1928]

Looking at the video, it appears that power was lost twice before the collision. Loss of power means loss of control, and restoration of power does not mean that full control would be instantly restored. It also appears from the video that the ship was going rather fast. It's going to be a very interesting investigation with many factors to consider.

 

[Paulos23]

Some good analysis by someone who reports on shipping. You may want to stop at 5:20 if you don't want to see the bridge collapse.

 

[Paulos23]

There is already disinformation spreading out there on X. Be careful of your sources.

 

[Desk trauma]

There is already disinformation spreading out there on X

That was happening before the bridge was done collapsing.

 

[durangodawood]

There is already disinformation spreading out there on X. Be careful of your sources.

I took a cruise with my family once, so feel free to ask me any technical questions about large ship engineering and operation.