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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Detour Ahead

BALTIMORE, Md. -- A container ship struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing it to collapse, sending vehicles and people into the water, officials in Maryland said. 

At a press conference early Tuesday morning officials said two people were rescued, with one of those people said to be is in very serious condition. The other person did not need medical treatment.

42 comments:

  1. That is sad. It must have been a nightmare for those poor folks on the bridge.

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  2. I'm about 10 miles from the bridge. This is VERY major, not only impacting Baltimore and I-695/I-95 traffic, but shutting down a very important port that a large part of the country depends on.
    Ed

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    1. I guess no more crappy VW electric cars for a while.

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    2. I thought the VW terminal was seaward of the bridge?

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    3. This as you state is VERY major. I don't think normies understand not just the port volume but what comes through that port. I won't belabor it, people can google it and get the full answer. Bottom line, it is a mass casualty incident. USCG and other Fire depts looking for at least 7 people. In the meantime, NOTHING gets in OR out of that port. N O T H I N G. Expect some massive supply chain issues across all commodity areas, especially foreign cars, containerized stuff, forest products... your retail prices on many things is set to blossom in an unpleasant way. The recovery from this (clearing wreckage) is going to take a while. Rebuilding it? wew, lads. Expect the USACE to already be there, emergency contracts probably already set to go. This will be THE highest priority civil engineering project in the country until it gets completed.

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    4. THE highest priority civil engineering project in the country is a new pier for Hamas.

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    5. You are probably right, NGL.

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    6. Anonymous, I can hardly wait to see how Butty-Egg-Egg fucks up the recovery.

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  3. what will you bet the repaired/replacement bridge gets renamed?

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  4. I watched the video, (of course there is video) and I admit that I was shocked. If not for the ship it looked like a controlled demo.
    I know they wanted to clear the news cycle of Trump's winning in NYC but this seems overboard.

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    1. It also screws trade for a significant part of the US. I will be looking to see where the next train derailment is scheduled.

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    2. Here’s a video: https://twitter.com/HaywerdJablomi/status/1772508350577569930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1772508350577569930%7Ctwgr%5E48fca64ff581d5a30c94f4a3b221f4d40441c48e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Ffrancis-scott-key-bridge-collapses-maryland-boat-collision-baltimore-video-1883415

      The captain of the ship was probably texting or passed out or something to hit that pier head on.

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    3. There is audio of the captain on a radio saying the steering is not responding.

      No idea if its real or fake.

      Exile1981

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  5. Annnnd already mayjerkus has determined that "there is no indication that this was an intentional act". Man must be psychic - or a lying POS. I'll take door number two, Alex. . .



    .

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  6. Low IQ foreign crew, poor maintenance are usually the cause of these type of collisions.

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    1. Article states ship lost propulsion, had radioed that bridge impact was possible. There is so much momentum in such a thing, not like you can stop on a dime.

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    2. Why were there not tugs assisting the ship past the bridge?

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  7. Annnd already mayjerkus has determined that "there is no indication that this was an intentional incident". Man must be a psychic to have determined that so quickly. . . Or a lying POS. I'm going with door number two, Alex.

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  8. The video showed that the ship wasn't just a "little" bit off the channel...just sayin

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  9. Not to worry Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg has turned over his breast-feeding chores to hubby Chasten and is currently flitting his way to the scene in his electri power hummer.

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  10. I lived thru the bay bridge shutdown after the Loma prieta earthquake. Also the Caldecott tunnel fire and shutdown. Wasn't fun as a truck driver.

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  11. Beginning of the video shows a plume of exhaust smoke. Looks like they had just spooled up the engines. Question being if they were going "All astern! Crash stop!" or "All ahead full! Let's crash!"?

    One report said that the ship had called and said they had lost propulsion and warned that a collision was possible.

    Also saw that they said everyone on the ship was ok, including the pilots. Which means a local pilot was on board. Probably on the bridge.

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    1. There were 2 Harbor Pilots on board who were in charge.

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    2. Correct. There's not a cargo ship docking at or leaving any US port without a harbor pilot at the helm.

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  12. DHS shoots and scores!
    Domestic terrorist MajorAss with the call.

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  13. I read that the ship hit at 8mph, tide running 6 mph & a little wind, pushed it right into the bridge. Bet they'll start requiring tugboat escorts from now on, should have required them to start with. Couple of tugs would have prevented this disaster.

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  14. I have nothing nice to say and many questions

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  15. With the chinese ship all but destroying the cranes/port in turkey last week this type of 'accident' is looking more than a little suspicious. This ship was out of Singapore, but the chinese control Singapore so go figure. Too bad our leaders will only blame Trump or some such nonsense and wont see the act of war that this really is. Like covid they are out to cripple us or our economy any way they can. More to come in the coming weeks/ months for sure...especially if we don't do anything to hold them responsible.

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  16. I don't think I've ever posted here before but on this one, I will. My Sis was an OTR trucker for many years but for a period of 5 or 6 years, she worked driving semi's locally in and around Baltimore and DC. She used that bridge a LOT and she told me she believes it was an accident. That is not to completely debunk any possibility that perhaps one of the crew was paid to cut the power, as is seen in videos shortly before it struck the bridge. When the power goes, the auto-navigation system also goes; there was not enough time for either of the 2 Harbor Pilots who were on board to get to it and, by that time, the ship had already moved close to 5 football fields and would have been impossible to stop. Also, bear in mind that these cargo ships are at least 3 times the size and weight they were when this bridge was built. It takes 3 football fields to stop a semi on cement; imagine a ship carrying a weight that equals at least 5 semi's, if not more, on water. It's always best to "wait and see" for a bit - jumping to these conclusions all the time is why others call us lunatics!
    https://twitter.com/GordoCDA/status/1772635895222476905

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    1. The scale of mass is not close. a full up semi is somewhere around 100,000#. 50-ish tons. I am making a SWAG here. That ship was 270,000 tons. Give or take. I do not know if that was the empty or full up mass. Something like 5,400x the mass in the boat. No idea if dropping stern anchors would have helped. RIP to the victims.

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    2. When electrical power goes (and it lost power at least twice, as it reset and went out again), the rudder is frozen in whatever position it was in. You can see more smoke pouring out the funnel, so I'm guessing they immediately went full speed astern. Why they lost electrical power is another question, but it appears the pilot did everything possible under the circumstances. And that nearly 1,000' vessel was carrying a couple thousand large shipping containers (1 per semi). You're talking a mile or two to stop that kind of mass.

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  17. 911 reminds all of us that bad things happen. Lunatics maybe not just cautious .

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  18. This period will be known as the second "Dark Ages" if anyone smart enough to read and write survives. Would've, could've should've are all past tense. Prepare to defend yourselves.

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  19. Clear the central passage immediately,
    bodies and submerged vehicles are of secondary importance. Shipping and commerce has priority.

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  20. Christopher GardnerMarch 26, 2024 at 12:13 PM

    Here is a good assessment of 'What is going on with shipping': https://youtu.be/qZbUXewlQDk

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  21. Gee, if only they had fortified the bridge approaches after the Sunshine Skyway incident in the 80's...

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  22. Captain Edward Kennedy at the controls.

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  23. So many questions. How long until somebody blames this collision on Climate Change? How much $$$ grift will Congress include in the "emergency" spending? How much will be diverted to "revitalizing" nearby "underprivileged" areas of Baltimore suffering from "historic bias and discrimination"? Will the electronic toll charges be un-billed? How long until the newsreaders use this as an excuse for Bidenflation?

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  24. Will the contractor follow through on commitments to a diverse workforce? What to name the replacement bridge? Surprising that they hadn't scuttled the Francis Scott Key name already. You know he's a goner. It's like a Supreme Court pick, they have to pick a woman of color, even a woman who can't define woman.

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  25. Fuckin' pilot was probably a Navy split-tail with a maneuver like that...

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