Key Bridge Collapse May Affect Bike Imports

[6zfshdb]

The port of Baltimore is a major east coast container ship import location. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge may affect bike imports. It could result in a delay if you have a bike on order.

Video shows moment when Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses

The governor declared a state of emergency after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed overnight as a result of a ship strike, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

www.wbaltv.com

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

An ebike advantage I didn't see coming: Reducing your time on bridges over busy shipping lanes with strong tidal currents.

Giant cargo ships lose propulsion, steering, or both often enough that many places around the world now require tug escorts in coastal waters and ports. A powerful ocean-going tug with a line on each end of the ship is common practice. A whole new class of escort tugs has sprung up to meet the need.

Maybe not standard practice in Baltimore, but no getting around it in major European ports like Rotterdam.

Single-screw ships like the Dali are especially dangerous, as they have little low-speed maneuverability on their own. Why it had no escort will surely be a matter of investigation.

 

[Aushiker]

Giant cargo ships lose propulsion, steering, or both often enough that many places around the world now require tug escorts in coastal waters and ports. A powerful ocean-going tug with a line on each end of the ship is common practice. A whole new class of escort tugs has sprung up to meet the need.

Same here in Fremantle.


Conti Chivalry by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

Only smaller sea-going vessels are allowed in and out without tugs.


Far Stream - {002} by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

 

[Tars Tarkas]

The way the Dali is loaded, does anyone know how much clearance it was going to have if it had successfully made it under the bridge?

Tugs seem like a good idea, but better armor, so to speak, on the bridge approaches would probably be less expensive in the long run. There are a lot of factors going on with this, but it should be much more difficult for a super-sized ship to hit a bridge.

TT

 

[Mr. Coffee]

... but better armor, so to speak, on the bridge approaches would probably be less expensive in the long run. There are a lot of factors going on with this, but it should be much more difficult for a super-sized ship to hit a bridge.

A fully loaded large container ship weighs more than 150000 tons on the average. There is very little that we know how to build that can survive being rammed, even at very low speeds, by something that big.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Yeah, well, I understand what you're saying, but from what's visible in the pics I've seen there was nothing, or very close to nothing, between the Dali and the bridge. Nothing is going to be 100%, but in hind sight, it sure seems like some massive rock islands, or something along those lines, might have made it more difficult for the ship to hit the bridge.

I'll bet some big tugs will be part of the new equation for the Port of Baltimore too.

It was 1:30 am, and there was a little bit of warning, but it's amazing there wasn't more traffic on the bridge.

TT

 

[Aushiker]

Tugs seem like a good idea, but better armor, so to speak, on the bridge approaches would probably be less expensive in the long run. There are a lot of factors going on with this, but it should be much more difficult for a super-sized ship to hit a bridge.

Fremantle Rail Bridge Protection - Underwater Rock Mound {0817 01} by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

We also now have an underwater rock mound for our bridge, which is close to one of the berths. Ships have broken away and nearly hit the bridge in the past.

It is normal for us to have very strong tides and winds above 100 km/h, which are not unusual. Hence, seeing three tugs and sometimes four tugs in action is common.

The Conti Chivaly in the photo above has a deadweight of 106,980 tonnes and is 330 metres LOA. She is one of the larger ships that has visited the port.

 

[indianajo]

Florida sunshine bridge now has rock islands built around the piers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge See the CNN story. Rock islands protecting piers are not required by NHTSA but obviously should be. Florida bridge was taken out by a ship 44 years ago; a Greyhound bus went into the water.

 

[6zfshdb]

It was 1:30 am, and there was a little bit of warning, but it's amazing there wasn't more traffic on the bridge.

TT

An excellent video of the catastrophe:

^Watch at 4:25^ as those last two vehicles cross the bridge. Imagine what they thought when they looked in their rear view mirrors!

The LEO's who managed to stop traffic just in time are the real hero's IMO.

At 5:17, you can see the flashing lights on the construction vehicles near the center of the span as they plunge into the bay!

My heart goes out to the families of the 6 bridge workers who were killed.

 

[6zfshdb]

When they built the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, at the mouth of the bay, back in 1964, the designers were criticized for the exorbitant costs associated with the tunnel portion. It could have been built as just a bridge for far less.

The planners were concerned that a bridge collapse caused by an accident or an enemy, would block access to the naval shipyard at Norfolk, threatening national security.

Ironically, it took this tragedy farther up the bay to prove them right.

 

[dblhelix]

While I live in the DC metro, I keep my sailboat in Sparrows Point, which is to 'the right' of the bridge. Sparrows Point is the site of former Bethlehem Steel (furnace came down in 2012) and is now Tradepoint Atlantic, a major distribution center. Residents in the area transitioned from steel to working at Port of Baltimore, which is nearby in Dundalk, MD. It is devastating for these residents that the port is closed. For this reason, and because MD enjoys an excellent relationship with the federal government, I expect the channel to be cleared with at least a partial reopening, sooner, rather than later. Not to mention the cargo ships stranded by the CBB ...

The workers on the bridge were filling potholes and on break in their vehicles. Right behind the bridge is an Africa-American neighborhood where Henrietta Lacks (HeLa) lived. Her husband worked for Bethlehem.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

At the heart of it is the fact that maritime safety is appallingly bad across the board. Ships have far higher accident and loss rates than commercial aircraft.

Also the folks piloting ships have an awful track record of running into things. And we don’t have a very good system for pulling the certification of folks who shouldn’t be operating anything that weighs more than 100000 tons.