BRKG Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has collapsed

[Plain Jane]

Central American and Mexican families mourn the workers lost in the Baltimore bridge collapse

The missing workers from the Baltimore bridge collapse were from Mexico or Central America.

apnews.com

Central American and Mexican families mourn the workers lost in the Baltimore bridge collapse​

CLAUDIO ESCALÓN
Updated 2:09 AM EDT, March 28, 2024
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Follow AP for live coverage of Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse
AZACUALPA, Honduras (AP) — The construction workers who went missing in the Baltimore bridge collapse came to the Maryland area from Mexico or Central America, including an enterprising Honduran father and husband who started a delivery business before the pandemic forced him to find other work, according to his family.

Police managed to close bridge traffic seconds before a cargo ship slammed into one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s supports early Tuesday, causing the span to fall into the frigid Patapsco River. There wasn’t time for a maintenance crew filling potholes on the span to get to safety.

At least eight people fell into the water and two were rescued. Two bodies were recovered Wednesday and four remained missing and were presumed dead.

Here’s what to know:

• Victims: At least eight people went into the water. Two were rescued but the other six, part of a construction crew that had been filling potholes on the bridge, are missing and presumed dead.
• Investigation: The cargo ship, called Dali, lost power and issued a mayday call shortly before it rammed the bridge. The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel Wednesday to collect evidence about the exact circumstances of the crash.
• Impact: The collapse is diverting shipping and trucking around one of the busiest ports on America’s East Coast, creating delays and raising costs in the latest disruption to global supply chains. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says it’s too soon to say how long it will take to reopen the port or replace the bridge.

The governments of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras confirmed that their citizens were among the missing.



Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 38, was the youngest of eight siblings from Azacualpa, a rural mountainous area in northwestern Honduras along the border with Guatemala.

Eighteen years ago, he set out on his own for the U.S. looking for opportunities. He had worked as an industrial technician in Honduras, repairing equipment in the large assembly plants, but the pay was too low to get ahead, one of his brothers, Martín Suazo Sandoval, said Wednesday while standing in the dirt street in front of the family’s small hotel in Honduras.

“He always dreamed of having his own business,” he said.

Another brother, Carlos Suazo Sandoval, said Maynor hoped to retire one day back in Guatemala.

“He was the baby for all of us, the youngest. He was someone who was always happy, was always thinking about the future. He was a visionary,” he told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday from Dundalk, Maryland, near the site of the bridge collapse.

Maynor entered the United States illegally and settled in Maryland. At first, he did any work he could find, including construction and clearing brush. Eventually, he started a package delivery business in the Baltimore-Washington area, Martín Suazo Sandoval said.

Other siblings and relatives followed him north.

“He was the fundamental pillar, the bastion so that other members of the family could also travel there and later get visas and everything,” Martín Suazo Sandoval said. “He was really the driving force so that most of the family could travel.”

Maynor has a wife and two children ages 17 and 5, he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Maynor to find other work, and he joined Brawner Builders, the company that was performing maintenance on the bridge when it collapsed.

Martín Suazo Sandoval said Maynor never talked about being scared of the work, despite the heights he worked at on the bridges. “He always told us that you had to triple your effort to get ahead,” Martín Suazo Sandoval said. “He said it didn’t matter what time or where the job was, you had to be where the work was.”

Things had been going well for him until the collapse. He was moving through the steps to get legal residency and planned to return to Honduras this year to complete the process, his brother said.

Even though Maynor had not been able to return to Honduras, he had financially supported various nongovernmental social organizations in town, as well as the youth soccer league, his brother said. The area depends largely upon agriculture — coffee, cattle, sugarcane — he said.

Maynor’s employer broke the news of his disappearance to his family, leaving them devastated, especially his mother, who still lives in Azacualpa, Martín Suazo Sandoval said.

“These are difficult moments, and the only thing we can do is keep the faith,” he said, noting that his younger brother knew how to swim and could have ended up anywhere. If the worst outcome is confirmed, he said the family would work to return his body to Honduras.

The tragedy illustrated the contributions that migrants make to the U.S. economy, López Obrador said.

“This demonstrates that migrants go out and do risky jobs at midnight. And for this reason, they do not deserve to be treated as they are by certain insensitive, irresponsible politicians in the United States,” he said.

Later, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of Maryland State Police, announced that the bodies of two men, ages 35 and 26, had been located by divers inside a red pickup submerged in about 25 feet (7.6 meters) of water near the bridge’s middle span.

One was Guatemalan Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, and the other 35-year-old Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, originally from Mexico.

Guatemala’s Foreign Affairs Ministry had earlier confirmed that two of its citizens were among the missing. And El Salvador’s foreign minister, Alexandra Hill Tinoco, posted Wednesday on X that one Salvadoran citizen, Miguel Luna, was among the missing workers.

Federal and state investigators have said the crash appears to have been an accident.

___​

Associated Press reporters Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City, Marcos Aléman in San Salvador, El Salvador, Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Will Weissert in Dundalk, Maryland, contributed to this report.

___​

This story was updated to correct Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval’s age. He was 38 years old, not 39.

 

[Blacula]

Sounds like all the construction guys were illegals. Guess all clouds do have a silver lining.

 

[CTFIREBATTCHIEF]

so this construction company gets state contracts, hires illegals to work on those projects and they suffer no consequences? WTF over? The State of MD should answer for this. the company should have to answer for this. In other words, people need to go to jail. Will it happen. no. but I've got news for this Lopez Obrador guy, a lot of CITIZENS go out there every damned night to work risky jobs. But we like being paid a decent wage for our work pal. Its not my fault that you wetbacks come up here and work for peanuts driving down wages for legal workers. I'm truly sorry these folks died. but save the "noble cause" BS, ya putz.

 

[naegling62]

How come I have to provide I9 forms for my workers but these companies don’t?

 

[CTFIREBATTCHIEF]

How come I have to provide I9 forms for my workers but these companies don’t?

EXACTLY!!!!

 

[northern watch]

 

[Red Baron]

In this episode - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the three salvage operations that have to be attempted and the lack of an incident commander to oversee the situation.

Runtime 9:42

Who Is In Charge of the Salvage in Baltimore?​

View: https://youtu.be/alpaDfnT-Bk

 

[bw]

Who Is In Charge of the Salvage in Baltimore?

He's right. ICS is the best way to get this going, but politics is going to get them wrapped around the axle. He says the channel can be open in five days. He mentioned the environment, but it's worth pointing out that Chesapeake Bay is a major fishery.

 

[Hognutz]

Sounds like all the construction guys were illegals. Guess all clouds do have a silver lining.

6down, 20million more to go…

 

[Slydersan]

How come I have to provide I9 forms for my workers but these companies don’t?

They probably did provide the forms. It doesn't mean they weren't forgeries. Happens all the time around here. "Oh we only hire 'legal' immigrants, with paperwork." If anyone does any checking, probably find hundreds of people around the country with the exact same "name" from the exact same "place" with the exact same "birth date."

 

[Shadow]

I don't personally see that the crew - considering what was happening to them with things going to crap one thing after another in quick succession - did much of anything wrong. They and the ship's officers seem to have reacted with incredible quickness, which speaks well of the captain's training of them in emergency response.

I think it's pretty amazing, for instance, that the crew on the front anchor windlass got that anchor dropped. Think about it - they're exposed on that front deck with the bridge looming ever larger in their sight, and they get the chock removed and the anchor dropped, before running for their lives. That bridge ended up right where they had to be standing at their emergency stations.

The engineering crew also gets my respect. When the ship went dark, they got the switchgear re-energized so the ship's power was momentarily restored, before it failed again. They didn't have time to do it again before it had hit the pier. But they reacted well. I read somewhere that the crew was primarily Indian.

The Ukrainian captain and bridge crew get my respect as well. Not only did he execute a crash reverse when the power was restored, he got off a mayday message when the initial problem was detected and apparently sounded the ship's horn when it became obvious they were going to collide with the bridge.

Finally, I've got to hand it to the Port Authority communications dispatcher and the Baltimore police force. They did an incredible job passing through the mayday message, and the cops responded incredibly fast to seal off the bridge approaches. They were trying to get someone out to warn the construction workers (who have been reported as heroes but they're really just victims) to get out of there.

I'm sure there'll be some outstanding yeoman work done in the next couple weeks to clear the channel so the port traffic is restored as much as it can be.

But there's a bunch of attaboys which need to be acknowledged out there in the midst of assigning blame.

Very well Said!
I depart from your assessment on a few points.

The time lag to reestablish emergency power indicates that the emergency generator was not already running. It should have been.

The refrigeration units should have been load shed before being put on the emergency generator since it had previously caused a power failure. The start up current on those units causing a failure was foreseeable. In fact I would have shed them on the main generator until out in the open given the previous experience.

I did not hear the ships horn in any of the videos with audio or the police radio record. I could have missed it. And I wondered about that.

Shadow

ETA: I am coming from more than four decades of commercial aircraft maintenance. Under our standards that ship would not have left the dock with those open discrepancies. Current modern commercial aircraft generate enough power to operate al loads on one generator. Older aircraft would load shed as they lost power resources.

As power loss was critical to the operation given the computerized nature of ships systems, and the re-boot time of the computers, It seems that not enough available precautions were taken. The loss of power appears to have been the root cause of this catastrophe.

A bit of Monday morning quarterbacking I know. But I get a bit riled thinking this was avoidable, specially as you protract the consequences to so many.

Shadow

 

[Walrus]

Very well Said!
I depart from your assessment on a few points.

The time lag to reestablish emergency power indicates that the emergency generator was not already running. It should have been.

The refrigeration units should have been load shed before being put on the emergency generator since it had previously caused a power failure. The start up current on those units causing a failure was foreseeable. In fact I would have shed them on the main generator until out in the open given the previous experience.

I did not hear the ships horn in any of the videos with audio or the police radio record. I could have missed it. And I wondered about that.

Shadow

Thanks for your thoughts. In the case of the ship's horn, you could very well be correct. I don't recall now where I read that info, but it might've been from the NTSB's initial look at the VDR "black box". It's been kind of a blur and I've not heard any video which had recorded the sounds.

IIRC, Capt Eddie had looked into the ship's specs enough to note that there were duplicate "main" generators along with an auxiliary emergency unit. I'm not sure that the auxiliary could've handled the sudden load, and I'm also uncertain about how many containers were refrigerated. But either way, I'm still thinking there was a problem either in the main bus or the distribution system. I did a bit of study on the CCTV video last night, and it does look to me as if the electrical power had not been restored by the time of the impact. (This was after the second blackout)

Kind of horrible to rewatch it, knowing what was about to happen. I still don't know how the bo'sun and the forward deck crew on the windlass got out of there, as a bunch of the containers capsized on the port side. I suspect some of the containers went overboard even, but nobody but shippers and insurance companies care about them, I suppose.

One thing which really stood out was how there was some light traffic seriously booking it over the bridge during the last few seconds. Whoever that was escaped death by mere seconds!

 

[mecoastie]

Very well Said!
I depart from your assessment on a few points.

The time lag to reestablish emergency power indicates that the emergency generator was not already running. It should have been.

The refrigeration units should have been load shed before being put on the emergency generator since it had previously caused a power failure. The start up current on those units causing a failure was foreseeable. In fact I would have shed them on the main generator until out in the open given the previous experience.

I did not hear the ships horn in any of the videos with audio or the police radio record. I could have missed it. And I wondered about that.

Shadow

Why would the Emergency Generator be running as they transited?

Ships emergency generator would not be tied to the reefer boxes. It is required to be on a seperate circuit and only powers critical loads such as a steering pump, emergency bilge pump, firefighting and basic nav and comms. Not cargo.

 

[Shadow]

Thanks for your thoughts. In the case of the ship's horn, you could very well be correct. I don't recall now where I read that info, but it might've been from the NTSB's initial look at the VDR "black box". It's been kind of a blur and I've not heard any video which had recorded the sounds.

IIRC, Capt Eddie had looked into the ship's specs enough to note that there were duplicate "main" generators along with an auxiliary emergency unit. I'm not sure that the auxiliary could've handled the sudden load, and I'm also uncertain about how many containers were refrigerated. But either way, I'm still thinking there was a problem either in the main bus or the distribution system. I did a bit of study on the CCTV video last night, and it does look to me as if the electrical power had not been restored by the time of the impact. (This was after the second blackout)

Kind of horrible to rewatch it, knowing what was about to happen. I still don't know how the bo'sun and the forward deck crew on the windlass got out of there, as a bunch of the containers capsized on the port side. I suspect some of the containers went overboard even, but nobody but shippers and insurance companies care about them, I suppose.

One thing which really stood out was how there was some light traffic seriously booking it over the bridge during the last few seconds. Whoever that was escaped death by mere seconds!

Enough good things cannot be said about the crew, given what they had to work with and the circumstances they were working under.

I have worked on aircraft that later crashed. Nothing to do with my work, but, the waiting until you find that out wrings you out. It is horrible! So I may be more than a little critical about this situation.

Shadow

 

[Shadow]

Why would the Emergency Generator be running as they transited?

Ships emergency generator would not be tied to the reefer boxes. It is required to be on a seperate circuit and only powers critical loads such as a steering pump, emergency bilge pump, firefighting and basic nav and comms. Not cargo.

Given the previous failures of the power system, apparently unresolved, all available power should have been operational until clear of the danger area.

Unless the steering toward the bridge was intentional, the loss of steering due to power loss was central to this catastrophe.

Shadow

 

[CaryC]

Thanks for your thoughts. In the case of the ship's horn, you could very well be correct. I don't recall now where I read that info, but it might've been from the NTSB's initial look at the VDR "black box". It's been kind of a blur and I've not heard any video which had recorded the sounds.

IIRC, Capt Eddie had looked into the ship's specs enough to note that there were duplicate "main" generators along with an auxiliary emergency unit. I'm not sure that the auxiliary could've handled the sudden load, and I'm also uncertain about how many containers were refrigerated. But either way, I'm still thinking there was a problem either in the main bus or the distribution system. I did a bit of study on the CCTV video last night, and it does look to me as if the electrical power had not been restored by the time of the impact. (This was after the second blackout)

Kind of horrible to rewatch it, knowing what was about to happen. I still don't know how the bo'sun and the forward deck crew on the windlass got out of there, as a bunch of the containers capsized on the port side. I suspect some of the containers went overboard even, but nobody but shippers and insurance companies care about them, I suppose.

One thing which really stood out was how there was some light traffic seriously booking it over the bridge during the last few seconds. Whoever that was escaped death by mere seconds!

Big dummy here, so this may not even be in the realm of possibility:

I assume the horn would have run off of compressed air.

With the loss of power, could the "tank" that held the compressed air, leaked out, through other ....things, do dads that use, run off of, or use compressed air, leaving the horn without any?

Cooper Tire the whole plant had one huge compressor, and tank. When the motor went out for any reason, the tank would loose pressure in a matter of seconds all over the plant, no air. The plant was down until they got the motor running again. Which ended up throwing away some 300+ tires as scrap. Us in the mold shop using sand and ice blasters were done just like that.

Maybe a stupid question, you ship guys know what is what.

 

[mecoastie]

Given the previous failures of the power system, apparently unresolved, all available power should have been operational until clear of the danger area.

Unless the steering toward the bridge was intentional, the loss of steering due to power loss was central to this catastrophe.

Shadow

If the reports of the ship electrical failing in port are true ship shouldnt have left the dock.

 

[Millwright]

If the reports of the ship electrical failing in port are true ship shouldnt have left the dock.

Schedule overrides.

Are there substantial docking fees if they aren't loading?

Would the owners have pushed the Capt to get out of port, even being under minimum requirements?

The Capt has final say...until his job is threatened.

 

[Shadow]

If the reports of the ship electrical failing in port are true ship shouldnt have left the dock.

Perhaps they thought, in good faith, that they had it fixed.

When I taxi an aircraft I have all engines and the APU running, even though it could be done with only one engine. I have both engine driven hydraulic pumps running as well as electric hydraulic pumps. I want all available resources at hand. I taxi in close proximity to buildings and other aircraft, within feet.

I am imposing, perhaps unfairly, my point of view on this situation.

Shadow

 

[Profit of Doom]

Cooper Tire the whole plant had one huge compressor, and tank. When the motor went out for any reason, the tank would loose pressure in a matter of seconds all over the plant, no air. The plant was down until they got the motor running again. Which ended up throwing away some 300+ tires as scrap. Us in the mold shop using sand and ice blasters were done just like that.

Apparently they never heard of N+1

 

[mecoastie]

Schedule overrides.

Are there substantial docking fees if they aren't loading?

Would the owners have pushed the Capt to get out of port, even being under minimum requirements?

The Capt has final say...until his job is threatened.

Yup.

That is a casualty that is supposed to be reported to the USCG as it clearly has an impact on safety and navigation. It is not common that those reports come from the master. A lot of times it would be reported by either the crew, dock workers etc. We would then come up with some reason to go visit the ship and "discover" the issue. We would then tell them they cant leave until it is fixed, provide work arounds until next port call etc. Being stuck in port is very expensive. Docking fees, anchor fees, fines for not meeting schedule etc.

Again that is if those reports are true. I dont want to insinuate that the crew is at fault for this without much more evidence.

 

[33dInd]

Sounds like all the construction guys were illegals. Guess all clouds do have a silver lining.

????????????
Really

 

[Profit of Doom]

All computers and critical booting stuff should have been on UPS, possibly redundant. Data Center, 4 utility feeds, X1,Y1, X2,Y2. X was UPS power, Y was mechanical. 1 was primary grid block, 2 was backup grid block. 4 very large UPS units feeding 16 static switches with zero transfer time. On the computer floor, some servers had redundant diode-ORed power supplies fed by two PDUs. Others had rack mounted smart switches. Never lost power on my shift. There’s no excuse for critical computers to lose power.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Not saying it's a conspiracy or anything BUUUUUT

View attachment 467593

There's an thread in Alt News for this type of stuff.

 

[Profit of Doom]

But then again, I have seen redundant supplies on a shared input circuit fail together. Idiot electricians.
Engineers should be responsible for those designs.

 

[Intestinal Fortitude]

It used to be my job to drive ships under bridges. Things do go wrong

There but for the grace of God, as many mariners will be saying

www.telegraph.co.uk

It used to be my job to drive ships under bridges. Things do go wrong​

There but for the grace of God, as many mariners will be saying
Tom Sharpe 28 March 2024 • 8:52am

• 
  
  At midnight plus 30 local time on 26 March, the container ship Dali left the port of Baltimore, did a tug-assisted turn and started her passage out to sea. The tugs were then detached so they could proceed to their next job and to allow the Dali to safely increase speed. Two Baltimore harbour pilots, experts in navigating ships in confined waters and hugely knowledgeable about Baltimore harbour specifically, remained onboard.
  
  So far so normal: an evolution that takes place a thousand times a day around the world, normally without drama and always unnoticed. However, just over an hour later the Dali suffered what maritime accident investigators call “a loss of control” and hit a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key bridge, which subsequently collapsed resulting in a tragic loss of life.
  
  
  
  As ever with maritime incidents in the early stages there is much information missing which will emerge over time as investigations are completed. I’ll try to keep this to what we know, and make it clear if I’m filling in gaps based on my own long experience of handling ships.
  
  Regarding that experience: I commanded four different ships during my 27 year seagoing career, one of which almost sank under me (not due to a collison, I hasten to add). Just for extra backup I have consulted various other people I know in the writing of this article. Even the Telegraph editor handling this piece has experienced a loss of control while handling a ship passing through bridges – in his case the Forth bridges of Scotland, fortunately without any collision. Both of us have had the slightly tense experience of conning ships through London’s Tower Bridge.
  
  One thing that the emerging videos and reports of this incident make clear is that on approaching the bridge, the Dali suffered a loss of electrical power, indicated by all the internal and upper-deck lights going out. This is a horrible thing to happen at the best of times. Everything goes dark on the bridge. Radars, radios and any number of little lights, all dimmed to keep your night vision, all simultaneously go out. The constant hiss of the air conditioning which you never notice becomes deafening in its silence. Then the alarms start. Alarm panels on battery backup flash into life and all start beeping to tell you something is wrong. These need to be cancelled so you can hear yourself think.
  
  Then you need to quickly assess what systems you have available. One of the problems with ‘dropping the plant’ is that the resultant equipment failures are never the same. Have you lost propulsion? If ‘no’, do you still have control over it or is it stuck at whatever setting you last ordered? How long before you can switch over to backup systems? Critically, do you have control over the rudder, if not, what angle is that stuck at? While you work this out you must ask are you navigationally safe and if not, how long have you got?
  
  A total electrical failure (TLF) happens when whatever is producing your power trips out. There is always redundancy, especially when operating in confined waters, but the surge in load on those secondary systems can cause them to trip as well. It can also happen when the switchboard, or whatever you have in place to manage that power, itself trips. There are lots of variations within this: the point being, that the order in which it happens determines what systems you lose along the way and in those first few seconds, you don’t know.
  
  
  
  
  An aerial view of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland on March 26. Moving ships through bridges is an enterprise fraught with peril Credit: ABC Affiliate WJLA
  
  In this case, Dali lost control and started being set to starboard (to the right as you look forward in a ship) either because the rudder was stuck in that direction, or by the wind (10 knots on her port beam) or by the current (unknown but can be significant).
  
  On realising this was going to take them out of the navigable channel, and without knowing how long it would take to recover (the lights went out a second time indicating that all was still not well) the bridge team would have had no option but to try and slow the ship by coming hard astern. This could account for the black smoke coming from the funnel although this is just as likely to have been from an emergency generator kicking in. The way the ship sheers towards the pillar towards the end suggests that she was going hard astern – single screw ships react differently under astern propulsion and can swing, sometimes dramatically.
  
  Stopping distances in ships of that size are significant. At 300 metres long and able to carry 9,971 twenty-foot containers (TEU), the Dali is large but not a monster – there are container ships of 400m and over 20,000 TEU. Either way, on realising they weren’t stopping in time, the ship’s Master ‘let go’ the port anchor. It’s unlikely this would stop the ship but would certainly slow it. What they did with the starboard anchor is unknown as that was lost in the collision.
  
  While doing all this a Mayday call was issued (indicating an incident with risk to life is imminent), alerting the harbour authorities that the Dali had “lost control and that a collision with the bridge was possible”. This quick thinking allowed traffic to be stopped from heading on to the bridge and likely saved many lives.
  
  Many have asked why tugs weren’t used. This is an important point and points to broader questions that will be asked of Baltimore port control about their overall safety management system, something that is every bit as relevant to this accident as the ‘loss of control’ suffered on the ship. Dali was doing about eight knots at the time of the incident which is approaching the upper speed of most tugs, certainly the upper speed at which they can have any lateral effect on a ship of that size, so a tug forward ‘pushing off’ in the traditional sense would have struggled. But there is no reason (other than time and money) why she couldn’t have had a tug attached aft or at least had one close by. This would have given the ship so many more options.
  
  
  
  She also had a bow thruster but these are only effective at slow speed and that assumes they are working at all. In this case, given how much had failed, it is likely that the Dali’s bow thruster was not.
  When accidents like this happen it is rarely caused by a single issue. That the ship suffered a ‘loss of control’ is clear and I have had a go at describing how that might have happened. But zoom out and we have reports that there were engineering difficulties onboard including dirty fuel that will now be investigated.
  Then we have the tug management issue. This ship (with a questionable engineering state) was navigating a narrow channel, at night, under a bridge which (it’s clear to everyone now) had zero resilience. Who was adding all these together and evaluating how the port safety resources should be managed, or were they just treating this like every other movement?
  
  The investigation will now look at all of this so that lessons can be learned and culpability assigned, if appropriate. In the past, major investigations like this have been conducted by multiple agencies some of whom come with an agenda. This will need to be avoided.
  
  My overall assessment of this though is that this was a tragic maritime accident. Those pointing to a cyber-attack or terrorism should stand down. It is also far from unprecedented. A 2018 report for the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure catalogued 35 bridge collapses caused by boat strikes between 1960 and 2015. It’s a function of the complexity and harshness of life at sea that when you need power most, you are most likely not to have it. Every mariner seeing this incident will recall when something similar happened to them and ‘by the grace of God’ got away with it.
  
  But that is no excuse. Maritime transport infrastructure must be resilient – seaborne trade is our lifeblood. ‘Freedom of Navigation’ is a basic human requirement and whilst the expression tends to be used in the context of those who wish to deny it, this incident makes it clear that it is equally applicable far away from those adversaries. The key port of Baltimore has now lost her freedom of navigation, potentially for a long time.
  
  If we are to honour those who died and those who have yet to be found in this horrific accident then the global maritime and transport community will need to find out the facts and learn from them as quickly as possible.
  

  ---

  Tom Sharpe is a former Royal Navy officer who commanded four different ships during his seagoing career
  
  
  
  
  
  Related Topics

 

[Lone_Hawk]

I'd guess they are working on getting a gimongous crane on site.

Snatch the big chunks of bridge up and get that waterway open.

You don't just call them like a wrecker tho.

May have to come from the oil patch in the gulf.

When I talked to my son night before last he named specific cranes that they have in their stable, and those of the companies in Baltimore, that are up to the task. As he is certified on any class of crane on the face of the earth and does this for a living, I think I will take his word for it. Safety isn't just a mantra for that kid, it is a way of life. He doesn't want to die or kill anyone in an accident. He has pissed off more that one boss when he refused to make a pick.

 

[Delta]

I think Tom Sharpe's report from the Telegraph very helpful.

I had noticed the ship going dark before it hit the bridge. Nice that that is recorded.

As far as leaving port with faulty system (power, electronics, fuel) the only thing to add is: a ship is only making money while underway "at sea". In port it is costing a fortune. As Sharpe put it: "time and money". If that turns out to be the reason for the disaster, deciding to fix the problem while underway was catastrophically wrong.

 

[Plain Jane]

Baltimore Union Warns Of Job Loss Tsunami After Bridge Collapse Paralyzes Port | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Baltimore Union Warns Of Job Loss Tsunami After Bridge Collapse Paralyzes Port​

BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, MAR 28, 2024 - 02:25 PM
The lengthy disruption at the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest ports on the US East Coasts, will unleash supply chain snarls and resulting financial pressures for the local economy of Baltimore, Maryland, as it's only a matter of time before companies with direct and indirect exposure of the port fire workers.

"I have 2,400 ILA members who are soon going to be without jobs," Scott Cowan, president of the labor union's Baltimore local, said in an interview Wednesday, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Cowan said, "Getting them on the payroll, and keeping their families fed, putting food on the table is my first and foremost thought on my mind."

Source: Bloomberg

On Wednesday, Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, said it was "too soon to be certain" how long it would take salvage crews to remove the mangled Francis Scott Key Bridge from the shipping channel after a container ship rammed it on Tuesday. The bridge collapsed into the only shipping channel entering and exiting the harbor.

"Rebuilding will not be quick or easy or cheap, but we will get it done," Buttigieg said, adding the economic impact of the port shutdown would "ripple out" beyond the Baltimore metro area.

"This is an important port for both imports and exports. No matter how quickly the channels can be reopened, we know that it can't happen overnight. And so we're going to have to manage the impacts," he said.



On Thursday, Mediterranean Shipping Company, operator of the world's largest container ship fleet, warned customers it could be "several months" before port operations are completely restored.

Cowan said since dock workers are based on what's needed at the port, an extended port closure will result in job loss and ripple through the local economy. He said the federal government has discussed with ILA and the port director how to assist if there's no work.

"These longshore workers, if goods aren't moving, they're not working," Buttigieg said.

Can longshore workers expect stimmy checks? That could be a likely solution in an election year.

Meanwhile, federal officials told Maryland lawmakers in Annapolis that replacing the bridge and salvage work could exceed $2 billion.

According to Lloyd's of London Chief Executive Officer John Neal, insurance payouts are expected to be the highest ever recorded for marine insurance.

Jim Monkmeyer, president of transportation at DHL Supply Chain, said there are some indications that the port could reopen in May. However, it could be 3-5 years before a new bridge is constructed, which only suggests local supply chains will be disrupted for years.

We have detailed emerging supply chain disruptions:

• Baltimore Bridge Collapse May Cost Billions, Dramatically Disrupt Supply Chains
• Baltimore Coal Exports Blocked After Bridge Collapse

Some bridge engineers who spoke with the New York Times questioned why the 1.6-mile-long bridge had zero deflection safety systems to protect from ship strikes.

Source: NYT
Why is that? Why did state and government officials neglect the safety of a bridge that spanned the only port exit and entry? Were they too busy focusing on woke policies?

 

[BornFree]

The front of the hull traveled past the pier before it stoped. Wether this distance would have been enough to breach a sacrificial pier and still bring the bridge down is up for grabs.

Perhaps this incident will yield enough information for engineers to design a sacrificial pier sufficient for this size ship. It seems shipping, like the airline industry, reacts after accidents rather than proactively.

Shadow

Doesn't look like it to me. The front of the ship has a drastic angle on it. The lower part that got stopped by the pier, did not go past the pier. The bridge structure landed on the nose of the ship. The part that sticks out beyond the lower hull. If the ship had traveled beyond the pier than the wreckage would have landed farther back. A picture speaks a thousand words. Look at the remaining pier on the right as reference. If anything it looks like the ship may have bounced back after striking the pier. But it definitely did not go past it.

 

[BornFree]

Baltimore Union Warns Of Job Loss Tsunami After Bridge Collapse Paralyzes Port | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Baltimore Union Warns Of Job Loss Tsunami After Bridge Collapse Paralyzes Port​

BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, MAR 28, 2024 - 02:25 PM
The lengthy disruption at the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest ports on the US East Coasts, will unleash supply chain snarls and resulting financial pressures for the local economy of Baltimore, Maryland, as it's only a matter of time before companies with direct and indirect exposure of the port fire workers.

"I have 2,400 ILA members who are soon going to be without jobs," Scott Cowan, president of the labor union's Baltimore local, said in an interview Wednesday, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Cowan said, "Getting them on the payroll, and keeping their families fed, putting food on the table is my first and foremost thought on my mind."

Source: Bloomberg

On Wednesday, Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, said it was "too soon to be certain" how long it would take salvage crews to remove the mangled Francis Scott Key Bridge from the shipping channel after a container ship rammed it on Tuesday. The bridge collapsed into the only shipping channel entering and exiting the harbor.

"Rebuilding will not be quick or easy or cheap, but we will get it done," Buttigieg said, adding the economic impact of the port shutdown would "ripple out" beyond the Baltimore metro area.

"This is an important port for both imports and exports. No matter how quickly the channels can be reopened, we know that it can't happen overnight. And so we're going to have to manage the impacts," he said.



On Thursday, Mediterranean Shipping Company, operator of the world's largest container ship fleet, warned customers it could be "several months" before port operations are completely restored.

Cowan said since dock workers are based on what's needed at the port, an extended port closure will result in job loss and ripple through the local economy. He said the federal government has discussed with ILA and the port director how to assist if there's no work.

"These longshore workers, if goods aren't moving, they're not working," Buttigieg said.

Can longshore workers expect stimmy checks? That could be a likely solution in an election year.

Meanwhile, federal officials told Maryland lawmakers in Annapolis that replacing the bridge and salvage work could exceed $2 billion.

According to Lloyd's of London Chief Executive Officer John Neal, insurance payouts are expected to be the highest ever recorded for marine insurance.

Jim Monkmeyer, president of transportation at DHL Supply Chain, said there are some indications that the port could reopen in May. However, it could be 3-5 years before a new bridge is constructed, which only suggests local supply chains will be disrupted for years.

We have detailed emerging supply chain disruptions:

• Baltimore Bridge Collapse May Cost Billions, Dramatically Disrupt Supply Chains
• Baltimore Coal Exports Blocked After Bridge Collapse

Some bridge engineers who spoke with the New York Times questioned why the 1.6-mile-long bridge had zero deflection safety systems to protect from ship strikes.

Source: NYT
Why is that? Why did state and government officials neglect the safety of a bridge that spanned the only port exit and entry? Were they too busy focusing on woke policies?

The cleanup should already be in progress. They need to clear some of it to even get to those poor workers who died. I don't know if getting large cranes in their takes a long time. But nothing visible is happening yet.

 

[Kayak]

The cleanup should already be in progress. They need to clear some of it to even get to those poor workers who died. I don't know if getting large cranes in their takes a long time. But nothing visible is happening yet.

It seems to be -- there are cranes in place, and they look like they're setting up to move one of the larger pieces. Here's the live feed:

 

[BornFree]

It seems to be -- there are cranes in place, and they look like they're setting up to move one of the larger pieces. Here's the live feed:

That would be great.

 

[Millwright]

It seems to be -- there are cranes in place, and they look like they're setting up to move one of the larger pieces. Here's the live feed:

I only saw one barge mounted crane, guessing it's for recovering any vehicles they locate.

The big ones look like container cranes for unloading ships.

 

[Kayak]

I only saw one barge mounted crane, guessing it's for recovering any vehicles they locate.

The big ones look like container cranes for unloading ships.

I should've done a screen shot when I posted the link -- they were zoomed in close, at the time. Here's the view now, in the zoomed in shot, the yellow crane looked to be close to being hooked up to the large piece of bridge under it.

 

[jward]

Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) ‍
@mercoglianos

NTSB Timeline Reveals Crucial Minutes Leading Up to Baltimore Bridge Strike

---

gcaptain.com
NTSB Timeline Reveals Crucial Minutes Leading Up to Baltimore Bridge Strike


A timeline of events released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTDA) dispatchers had less than three minutes warning that the MV DALI was having trouble as it departed the Port of Baltimore early Tuesday morning.

Moreover, dispatchers were told of the threat to the Francis Scott Key Bridge about a minute and half before the 984-foot containership, loaded with 4,679 twenty-foot equivalent containers, struck one of the bridge’s pillars, causing it to collapse. On board the ship were its 21 crew members and two local pilots.

In those crucial minutes, MDTA dispatchers were able to warn two patrol units located on either end of the bridge to close the bridge to vehicle traffic, an action that likely saved lives. Tragically, six workers on the bridge at the time of the collapse are presumed dead.

The timeline provides a harrowing account of just how quickly the situation unfolded.

Full Coverage: Baltimore Bridge Collapse

The NTSB released the timeline after boarding the ship on Wednesday to gather perishable, factual evidence. The agency also revealed 56 containers with hazardous materials, some of which were breached.

The U.S. Coast Guard recovered approximately 6 hours of voyage data recorder (VDR) data from the DALI on the morning of the accident and provided it to the NTSB. The data covers the period from 00:00 to 06:00 EDT on March 26, 2024. The NTSB is continuing to obtain the remaining 30 days of data that the VDR is required to record.

The VDR data, which includes audio from the ship’s bridge and VHF radios, varies in quality due to background noise and alarms. Further analysis will be conducted at the NTSB’s lab to enhance the audio clarity. All information is preliminary and subject to final validation and change.

The VDR also recorded limited system data such as ship speed, engine RPM, rudder angle, ship heading, and some alarm information.

The times expressed below are as recorded by the VDR and converted to local eastern daylight time, as shared by the NTSB:

The VDR recorded the ship’s departure from Seagirt Marine Terminal at approximately 00:39 EDT, recorded the ship’s transit outbound in the Fort McHenry Channel, and the striking of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (1-695).

By 01:07 EDT, the ship entered the Fort McHenry Channel.

By 01:24 EDT, the ship was underway on a true heading of approximately 141 degrees in the Fort McHenry Channel at an indicated speed over ground of approximately 8 knots/9 miles per hour.

At 01:24:59 EDT numerous aural alarms were recorded on the ship’s bridge audio. Around the same time, VDR ship system data ceased recording, however, the VDR audio continued to be recorded using the VDR’s redundant power source.

Around 01:26:02, the VDR resumed recording ship system data. During this time, there were steering commands and rudder orders on the VDR audio.

Around 01:26:39 the ship’s pilot made a general VHF radio call for tugs in the vicinity of the DALI. MDTA data from around this time indicated the pilot association dispatcher phoned the MDTA duty officer regarding the blackout.

Around 1:27:04, the pilot commanded the DALI to drop the port anchor and issued additional steering commands.

Around 1:27:25, the pilot issued a radio call over the VHF radio and reported the DALI had lost all power approaching the Key Bridge. Around this time, MDTA data shows the following occurred:

MDTA duty officer radios two units already, one on each side of the bridge, to close the bridge.

All lanes are shut down by MDTA.

Below is the released radio audio of the dispatch to the two patrol units [NOT INCLUDED IN THE NTSB TIMELINE]:

NTSB timeline continues:

Around 1:29:00, the ship’s speed over ground was recorded as just under 7 knots/8 miles per hour. From this moment until approximately 1:29:33, VR audio recorded sounds consistent with the collision with the Key bridge. Additionally, around this time, an MDTA dash camera shows the bridge lights extinguishing. Additional analysis of the VR audio and comparison of other time sources will be needed to determine the exact time of contact between the DALI and Key Bridge.

At 1:29:39 the pilot reported the Key Bridge down over VHF to the USCG.

NTSB engineers will continue working to identify and validate this data. The NTSB will also convene a group of technical experts at a later date to review the entire recording and develop a detailed transcript of the dialogue and events recorded.

NTSB Timeline Reveals Crucial Minutes Leading Up to Baltimore Bridge Strike

A timeline of events released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTDA) dispatchers had less than three minutes warning that the MV DALI...

gcaptain.com

 

[Shadow]

Doesn't look like it to me. The front of the ship has a drastic angle on it. The lower part that got stopped by the pier, did not go past the pier. The bridge structure landed on the nose of the ship. The part that sticks out beyond the lower hull. If the ship had traveled beyond the pier than the wreckage would have landed farther back. A picture speaks a thousand words. Look at the remaining pier on the right as reference. If anything it looks like the ship may have bounced back after striking the pier. But it definitely did not go past it.


View attachment 467678

I am looking at it the way a cop would look at a stop sign. If any part of your car is past the sign then your car is past the sign. Then you get a ticket for not stopping behind the sign and one for obstructing the intersection. Or, in this case, the harbor.


Shadow

 

[jward]

Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) ‍
@mercoglianos
Opinion: Why ‘black swans’ are behind the Key Bridge and other shipping disasters

My op-ed on #shipping and #BlackSwan events @CNNOpinion

https://cnn.com/2024/03/28/opinions/key-bridge-black-swan-disasters-maritime-infrastructure-mercogliano/index.html

5:36 PM · Mar 28, 2024
1,792
Views

---

Opinion: Why ‘black swans’ are behind the Key Bridge and other shipping disasters​

---

Investigations are ongoing into what caused the collision between a cargo ship and Baltimore's Key bridge

Editor’s Note: Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Ph.D., is an associate professor of history at Campbell University, a former merchant mariner, the host of “What’s Going on With Shipping” on YouTube and contributor to gCaptain maritime. The views expressed here are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN.

The allision between the container ship MV Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday has prompted numerous questions — not only about how this tragedy occurred, but also about our global shipping processes. After all, “black swan” events like this — major events that are unpredictable but, in hindsight, inevitable — are supposed to be rare and infrequent, yet over the past few years, it appears that a flock of black swans have had set their sights on disrupting the global supply chain.

These incidents have a cumulative impact on trade. As we have seen over the past decades, the free seas, the outsourcing of shipping to countries that have fewer regulations, taxes and oversight, and the consolidation of shipping to a few large and powerful companies have lowered the cost to transport goods. Maritime vessels currently make up 40% of US international trade and 18% of GDP. And as we have increased the volume and velocity of trade, the risk of disruption to this system has grown even greater.

On March 23, 2021, we witnessed the ship that launched a thousand memes, as MV Ever Given, one of the largest container ships afloat, rammed into Asia and effectively blocked 12% of the world’s trade for six days. Many people around the world were impacted by the fragility of the global maritime supply chain as one ship, experiencing high winds and some poor decision making by the pilots and master, effectively sealed one of the planet’s major maritime chokepoints, the Suez Canal. Fortunately, the ship was removed within a week. But it became clear that the black swans had descended on shipping.

In January 2022, as the world was reeling from the impact of Covid-19, on the high seas, coastal waters and inland rivers, merchant mariners continued to deliver the goods that kept the world economy operating. Off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, 109 ships anchored or drifted off waiting to offload. This led to congestion in the global supply chain and a spike in shipping rates, which was deeply felt by consumers.

On November 19, 2023, a new, but familiar threat emerged to shipping, when Houthi rebels from Yemen descended on board MV Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea and hijacked — some might say pirated — the car carrier and sailed her to Yemen. This marked the start of a campaign by the Houthis, in support of Hamas in their attack on Israel, against global shipping transiting the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. Over a hundred ships were attacked — one was sunk and three people were killed on board another.

In February, at least five were killed in China when a bridge snapped in half. Just a month prior, a cargo ship crossing the Prana River in Argentina hit the Zárate–Brazo Largo Bridge, according to the government-run news agency Télam, which has since shuttered.

The collision of MV Dali into the Key Bridge takes place just two years after another container ship, MV Ever Forward, sped out of the channel leaving from Baltimore, heading toward the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and ran aground, nearly closing the port. It took a month and large-scale dredging and salvage effort to free the stuck vessel. Now, two years later, Baltimore is closed with remains of the Key Bridge athwart the main shipping channel.

So, why have there been so many incidents?

The world has seen an increase in not just the volume of trade, but in the velocity of its delivery. The concept of the sea being a free and open common for commerce has been a fact since the 1600s. And, since the end of World War II, ships have plied the oceans unfettered. Nonetheless, the reality is that ocean-shipping has become safer over time. Thirty years ago, the world was losing over 200 ships a year. Only 38 succumbed in 2022. How then do we explain events like Ever Given, Ever Forward and now Dali?

While Baltimore has invested in deepening their channel and harbor and new ship-to-shore cranes to offload ships, some aspects of the maritime infrastructure remained frozen in time, such as the Key Bridge, which was designed over 50 years ago.

We need to fortify critical infrastructure like the bridges over our waterways. According to the Federal Highway Administration, out of the 615,000 bridges in the US, more than 17,000 are “fracture critical.” “What that means is if a member (referring to a portion of the structure) fails, that would likely cause a portion of, or the entire bridge, to collapse, there’s no redundancy. The preferred method for building bridges today is that there is redundancy built in, whether that’s transmitting loads to another member or some sort of structural redundancy,” said National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

When the Key Bridge was built in 1977, just across the way at Sparrows Point shipyard on the Chesapeake Bay side, a harbinger of what was to come in shipping was taking shape, as Bethlehem Steel built a series of tankers 1,100 feet long and 145,000 gross tons. MV Dali, at 984 feet and about 95,000 gross tons, a containership vice tanker of similar size, is considered medium size for shipping today.

The failure to adequately cope with such challenges has occurred because of the divided nature of shipping in the United States. While the Department of Transportation has the Maritime Administration, which should be the one stop shop for all things shipping, as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg noted in the first press conference following the accident, “there is no central authority that directs maritime traffic.”

The Dali falls under the jurisdiction of US Coast Guard as it sails in American waters. The channel into and out of Baltimore is maintained and regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The bridge falls under the Maryland Department of Transportation and the port is the city of Baltimore. No one agency has oversight of or coordinates global shipping or ports in the US. This will again complicate matters during the salvage operation with competing agencies and interests at work.

There is also no overall maritime strategy for the nation, although the US Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration has been tasked to develop one. Similarly, there is no national port strategy for the US. The Federal Maritime Commission — which regulates US international ocean transportation — undertook a study in 2015 that identified many of the shortfalls experienced during the supply chain crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, but lacked the ability to implement many of the recommendations. The Maritime Administration has not even published an annual report since 2013.

The negative impact of the black swan events follow a pattern in the history of the shipping industry. Many times, it takes economic hardship and the loss of life to affect change.

And, to be sure, some of that change has been initiated. In 2022, two congressmen from across the aisle, Democratic Rep. John Garamendi of California and Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota offered and passed the first piece of maritime reform legislation in over two decades — the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022. It aimed to give more rights to American importers and exporters and hold the large shipping firms accountable.

But more needs to be done. We must educate government officials at the national, state and local levels, along with the public, on the role of shipping, so that when accidents happen, there can be transparency and accountability. The US should also make a decision to have greater involvement in the international regulation of shipping.

Black swan events, and the chaos and tragedies they can lead to, cannot be eliminated completely, but they should be rare events. We must take steps to address issues with our infrastructure and awaken to the reality that the maritime sector is vital to the nation’s economy as much as air, rail and aviation.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/28/opinions/key-bridge-black-swan-disasters-maritime-infrastructure-mercogliano/index.html

 

[adgal]

From a local Facebook post:

If you ever go to Dubuque, you see the historic Julian Dubuque Bridge running over the Mississippi River carrying US Rt 20 traffic. It towers over the city, so you can't miss it.

This bridge is of the same design as the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed in Baltimore yesterday.

With the amount of river traffic in Dubuque by barges and river cruise boats, etc, the same catastrophic events could occur without more safety features at some point. Let's hope the tragedy in Baltimore is the jump to push for better infrastructure and improvements in our nation that are many times not taken care of due to funding issues.

 

[Macgyver]

It seems to be -- there are cranes in place, and they look like they're setting up to move one of the larger pieces. Here's the live feed:

Those are the container cranes in the background.