Baltimore, MD - Container Ship Strikes Francis Scott Key Bridge - Mass Casualty Situation

[Cool Cats]

Just how big was the ship that struck the Key Bridge?​

This graphic from the Associated Press offers a stark visualization of the size of the ship that hit the Key Bridge on Tuesday, causing it to collapse.

Baltimore Key Bridge collapse latest updates: 6 workers presumed dead as recovery efforts resume

Follow along for live updates after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

news.yahoo.com

Could fenders have prevented the bridge collapse?​

When it comes to bridge engineering, protective barriers can help redirect or prevent a ship from crashing into the bridge's supports. The New York Times reports that the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed on Tuesday, did not appear to have an "obvious fender system."

Some engineers told the Times that the collapse might have been prevented if it had more effective barriers in place. This could be anything from pyramids of rocks to padded concrete rings surrounding the supports.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Watching Live CNN now. They recovered 2 victims in a red pickup truck. Identified, and families notified. FBI notifying families in Central America. Other vehicles are wrapped up in the concrete and debris.

I must say I am very impressed with the presentation of unified command. Informative and professional in a tough crisis as they update us about the catastrophic event.

** Apologies - looks like this was already posted upthread. I thought it was breaking news.

 

[Herat]

Just how big was the ship that struck the Key Bridge?​

This graphic from the Associated Press offers a stark visualization of the size of the ship that hit the Key Bridge on Tuesday, causing it to collapse.

Baltimore Key Bridge collapse latest updates: 6 workers presumed dead as recovery efforts resume

Follow along for live updates after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

news.yahoo.com

Could fenders have prevented the bridge collapse?​

When it comes to bridge engineering, protective barriers can help redirect or prevent a ship from crashing into the bridge's supports. The New York Times reports that the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed on Tuesday, did not appear to have an "obvious fender system."

Some engineers told the Times that the collapse might have been prevented if it had more effective barriers in place. This could be anything from pyramids of rocks to padded concrete rings surrounding the supports.

The NYT doesn't seem to know that 42 years ago the NTSB recommended a fender type system for large bridges on commercial waterways.

And 42 years later the now-defunct FSK Bridge is a pile of metal in the water, possibly because no one followed up on that.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Bodies of two people found during recovery at Key Bridge collapse site

Bodies of two people found during recovery at Key Bridge collapse site

www.cbsnews.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1773108407802765606

Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore
Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk

 

[Herat]

Watching Live CNN now. They recovered 2 victims in a red pickup truck. Identified, and families notified. FBI notifying families in Central America. Other vehicles are wrapped up in the concrete and debris.

I must say I am very impressed with the presentation of unified command. Informative and professional in a tough crisis as they update us about the catastrophic event.

I also have to say that LE really jumped on that Mayday call from the pilot and saved lives.

Baltimore it to be commended for the quick and responsive setup they have.

 

[iamshadow21]

Watching Live CNN now. They recovered 2 victims in a red pickup truck. Identified, and families notified. FBI notifying families in Central America. Other vehicles are wrapped up in the concrete and debris.

I must say I am very impressed with the presentation of unified command. Informative and professional in a tough crisis as they update us about the catastrophic event.

I hope the two families will attain some measure of peace, with their finding.

I hope the other four will be found very soon, despite the challenges posed by the debris.

MOO

 

[Betty P]

Yes, I was reading about the Panama Canal and last year they had a terrible drought such that shipping traffic had to be reduced by 36%. As 40% of US shipping goes through the Panama Canal, that has an impact.

Surprised to see how much shipping goes through the Gulf of Mexico ports. I didn't realize that by volume, Houston is the largest port in the US, then it's South Louisiana, then Corpus Christie.

Baltimore is only #18 in the US.

Yes, the Port of Houston is huge and the Houston Ship Channel goes for miles. The whole Texasgulf coast has ports for petroleum and petrochemical industry.

Port of New Orleans is also big, handling import/export and barge traffic moving up and down the Mississippi.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Just before 10 am, those victims were found inside a red pickup truck submerged 25 feet in the water. Butler says that search and rescue operations have turned into search and salvage efforts.

The organization notes there are about 334,300 workers in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas in the essential Construction industry, and immigrants make up 39 percent of the industry.

Two bodies discovered inside of a vehicle at the scene of Key Bridge collapse

Maryland State Police Superintendent says two bodies were discovered inside a red pickup truck submerged 25 feet in the water

www.wmar2news.com

Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland Butler said Wednesday evening that divers found a red pickup truck Wednesday morning with two bodies inside. Butler identified the victims as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35 of Baltimore, and Dorlian Castillo of Dundalk. “We have exhausted all efforts around the wreckage,” Butler said. “We firmly believe all the vehicles are encased in concrete around the wreckage.”

*Baltimore Fire Capt. Scott Parrott, who is on the dive team, said a state highway inspector was on the bridge near the time of impact and was able to run back to the end of the bridge to safety. Parrott said the inspector had valuable knowledge of the construction site and was able to help the dive team map out the debris field, giving to an idea of where to look. “Even though he’d been through a very traumatic experience, he was able to be an essential part of our initial response and our initial dive profile,” Parrott said. “I commend him because he was very shaken up. He almost died. That man is a very special man. He was able to fight the fear and really help us out.”

Key Bridge collapse coverage: Two bodies found in pickup identified

Live coverage the aftermath of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

www.baltimoresun.com

 

[Chimera]

Watching Live CNN now. They recovered 2 victims in a red pickup truck. Identified, and families notified. FBI notifying families in Central America. Other vehicles are wrapped up in the concrete and debris.

I must say I am very impressed with the presentation of unified command. Informative and professional in a tough crisis as they update us about the catastrophic event.

** Apologies - looks like this was already posted upthread. I thought it was breaking news.

I just read this right now, so, it's breaking news for me :

Two people pulled from Patapsco River in search for bodies

Two bodies have been recovered from the Patapsco River following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The teams made a tragic finding shortly before 10:00 ET with a red pickup truck near the bridge' Ronald L Butler from Maryland State Police said at a briefing on Wednesday evening.

'Divers recovered two victims trapped within the vehicle' he told reporters.
However, divers are now unable to safely navigate the waters due to the concrete and debris that has fallen into the water from the destroyed bridge, Maryland police said on Wednesday evening.

Police have used sonar scans and believe that the other vehicles are 'encased in superstructure and concrete.'

RIP.
Condolences to their loved ones.

That ship was huge, long, and fully loaded/weighted.
I still think the electrical issues and power loss were the most at fault; rather than bridge structural integrity.
Omo.

 

[airportwoman]

I think an engineering analysis of the bridge collapse will be prepared for the coming lawsuits against the Dali's owner. Until that happens, we can just speculate. IMO the failure locations might be explained by various connection types and locations - joints may have been pinned in locations where long lengths of structure collapsed. If separation was prevented by the connection, sections would fail together as a unit.

Maritime law is incredibly complicated, to put it lightly.

 

[airportwoman]

I heard earlier today that the ship itself will not be salvageable, because the bow was sheared off. Eventually, the boat WILL be unloaded and its cargo sent to its destinations. I'm also hearing that the area is expecting storms and heavy rain, which won't make the recovery efforts any easier.

 

[steeltowngirl]

It’s so scary. Here in Pittsburgh it is said that we have 446 bridges. 29 go over rivers. We don’t get ships of the size in Baltimore, but there are large barges. The bridge I cross over at least twice a day is 1.5 miles long end to end (part is over land, most over the Ohio River). It’s currently under construction and it sometimes shakes a bit. We had our Fern Hollow bridge collapse in 2022. Ironically, President Biden was already scheduled to be in Pittsburgh that day to discuss infrastructure.

I have deep respect for the folks that build and maintain the bridges, as well as for the people who operate the commercial watercraft.

Prayers for the victims of the Baltimore disaster, and their families. And for the responders who are working tirelessly in dangerous conditions to recover everyone.

 

[iamshadow21]

I heard earlier today that the ship itself will not be salvageable, because the bow was sheared off. Eventually, the boat WILL be unloaded and its cargo sent to its destinations. I'm also hearing that the area is expecting storms and heavy rain, which won't make the recovery efforts any easier.

Do you recall where you heard that? I'm just trying to find an article mentioning its salvageability.

MOO

 

[airportwoman]

Do you recall where you heard that? I'm just trying to find an article mentioning its salvageability.

MOO

I may have misheard; this story says that the weight of the bridge and shifted containers has led to the bow being on the bottom. I had interpreted it earlier that the bow had come off, and maybe it did too?

So far, none of the damaged containers are believed to contain any kind of Hazmat-rated materials.

ETA: Posting a link might help.

Ship that smashed into Baltimore bridge has 56 hazmat containers, Coast Guard says no leak found

US Coast Guard said crews are investigating the hull of the Dali, which hit and collapsed the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, and its cargo.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Herat]

In the department of Um, WHAT?

Mexico criticises US over treatment of migrant workers after Baltimore bridge collapse

US officials launch recovery operation for bodies of workers who were fixing potholes on structure as it fell

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Herat]

I may have misheard; this story says that the weight of the bridge and shifted containers has led to the bow being on the bottom. I had interpreted it earlier that the bow had come off, and maybe it did too?

So far, none of the damaged containers are believed to contain any kind of Hazmat-rated materials.

ETA: Posting a link might help.

Ship that smashed into Baltimore bridge has 56 hazmat containers, Coast Guard says no leak found

US Coast Guard said crews are investigating the hull of the Dali, which hit and collapsed the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, and its cargo.

www.usatoday.com

Thanks for that article, airportwoman

It's very interesting information. More than 1.5 million gallons of fuel or lubrication oil.

The bow is resting on the bottom from the weight of the collapsed bridge on it's nose.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"The vessel bow is sitting on the bottom because of the weight of that bridge debris on there," he said. "The vessel is stable, but it still has over 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil and lube oil on board."

Ship that smashed into Baltimore bridge has 56 hazmat containers, Coast Guard says no leak found

US Coast Guard said crews are investigating the hull of the Dali, which hit and collapsed the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, and its cargo.

www.usatoday.com

A section of the span came to rest on the bow of the vessel, which caught fire.

6 presumed dead after cargo ship causes Baltimore bridge to collapse

A container ship lost power and rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing the span to buckle into the river below and plunging a construction crew and several vehicles into the…

fox59.com

*The bow of DALI with the remains of the Key Bridge

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[iamshadow21]

I may have misheard; this story says that the weight of the bridge and shifted containers has led to the bow being on the bottom. I had interpreted it earlier that the bow had come off, and maybe it did too?

So far, none of the damaged containers are believed to contain any kind of Hazmat-rated materials.

ETA: Posting a link might help.

Ship that smashed into Baltimore bridge has 56 hazmat containers, Coast Guard says no leak found

US Coast Guard said crews are investigating the hull of the Dali, which hit and collapsed the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, and its cargo.

www.usatoday.com

I think if the bow had come off, the ship would have promptly sunk. It's a part of the hull and main structure, and water would have rushed in and filled the ship where the breach occurred.

I think the other posters are correct, the ship is on a downwards pointing angle with the front end resting on the harbour bed due to the weight of the bridge wreckage pinning it down.

MOO

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

I think if the bow had come off, the ship would have promptly sunk. It's a part of the hull and main structure, and water would have rushed in and filled the ship where the breach occurred.

I think the other posters are correct, the ship is on a downwards pointing angle with the front end resting on the harbour bed due to the weight of the bridge wreckage pinning it down.

MOO

Yes, and I think upthread was a map that showed some of the depths of the port and channel? And there were some areas that were shallower. Including perhaps where the ship’s bow has come to rest? MOO

 

[iamshadow21]

Yes, and I think upthread was a map that showed some of the depths of the port and channel? And there were some areas that were shallower. Including perhaps where the ship’s bow has come to rest? MOO

I think perhaps you mean this post by Herat? It has a diagram. One of the pylons certainly seems to be in shallower water. I just don't know which way this diagram is 'facing' - towards port or out to sea. I'm not sure of the geography of Baltimore, or the north and south would surely make it clear. Anyone know, or should I break out google maps?

Baltimore, MD - Container Ship Strikes Francis Scott Key Bridge - Mass Casualty Situation

Is there a reason the tugs do not accompany the ship through the channel to assure it is free of the bridge piers? You'd have to ask the Port Authority, but I suspect that with the pilots onboard to help the crew reach open ocean, there isn't the need. MOO

www.websleuths.com