State of emergency in Baltimore

[M5Rick]

An out of control cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott bridge hours ago causing the whole bridge to collapse with motorist and pedestrian casualties in the water.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...boat-collision

[cmyx6go]

I saw that this morning. I can't believe it. WTF?!?!?! It looks like the ship just plowed right into the support. Although I can't imagine anyone survived that fall, I'll keep my fingers crossed. What a terrible way to go.

This is going to screw up transportation for a long time; whether it be commuters, trucking in general, or cargo ships destined for the port of Baltimore. The owner of that container ship is about to have a very bad day, week, year.....

EDIT - I just read they did rescue two people. One was unharmed and the other is in critical condition.

[RickFLM4]

Just saw the video 2 minutes ago and heard there might be 20+ people in the water. Bridge seemed to collapse immediately upon contact. Hope some survived but that’s a helluva fall. At least it didn’t happen during rush hour.

Just re-watched it and see now they went right into the support. Originally thought the cargo clipped the bridge but now looks like they were off center from the center section of the bridge.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Just saw the video 2 minutes ago and heard there might be 20+ people in the water. Bridge seemed to collapse immediately upon contact. Hope some survived but that’s a helluva fall. At least it didn’t happen during rush hour.

Just re-watched it and see now they went right into the support. Originally thought the cargo clipped the bridge but now looks like they were off center from the center section of the bridge.

It looks like the ship lost power? The lights on the ship went out as it approached the bridge for a few minutes. They came back on and flickered off again before impact.

[celsdogg]

a couple pics from a local forum.

Also 7 minute timeline of events. Apparently the ship was in and out of power. Collapse at 5:40.

https://twitter.com/chrisschmitz/status/17...827370264?s=20


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[Watching The World Burn]

I saw the video, crazy. Looked immediate, no chance of you not winding up in the drink if you were on that bridge. Just glad it was at 1:30am rather than during the day - imagine what that would have been.

Also would imagine that this is going to take a long time to rebuild. Roughly a minute to knock down, and a year or so to rebuild. That ship owner better be praying his insurance comes through.

[M_Six]

Wow, what a nightmare.

[Alfisti]

This is properly wild, it's like a marvel movie. Watching the video and trucks whizzing by seconds before the thing hits, man, talk about lucky.

[BMWCCA1]

On a topical note, do you realize how close this is to BMW's VPC near Dundalk? Anyone in the Mid-Atlantic area waiting for an M3 or M4 to arrive at the port should likely expect a delay as your ship gets diverted.

[3798j]

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[celsdogg]

Former merchant mariner's analysis of the events:

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

SHIT is WILd along with the 95 fire and collapse in the philly these cities are taking a hit. now you just cant put SAND in the water and drive over it, and thats a long ass bridge. again shit is wild

[celsdogg]

there were some road construction crews on the bridge. Circled are their work trucks.

[celsdogg]

a few more close up photos.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

[cmyx6go]

Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott said that the ship "issued a mayday loss of power," and that workers on the bridge halted traffic right before impact.

"They saved lots of lives," Scott said in a press conference mid-morning.

https://nypost.com/2024/03/26/us-new...s-latest-news/

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Watching The World Burn

I saw the video, crazy. Looked immediate, no chance of you not winding up in the drink if you were on that bridge. Just glad it was at 1:30am rather than during the day - imagine what that would have been.

Also would imagine that this is going to take a long time to rebuild. Roughly a minute to knock down, and a year or so to rebuild. That ship owner better be praying his insurance comes through.

That C ship was loaded with cargo up to it's hilt, even with the water line still visible the insurance company will be looking for any anomalies and why the engines/power cut out in the first place.

[vreihen16]

It took five years in the 1970's to build that bridge, which equates to a century for a replacement with today's environmental regulations.

It took over a year to remove the capsized car carrier ship from Brunswick, GA a few years ago. Let's hope that Maryland can at least clear the harbor channel enough for the Port of Baltimore to pass ships through in a few months.

For those who don't drive through that area, the eastern I-695 outer loop was the shorter hazmat and propane tank route around Baltimore when traveling on I-95. (I-95 and I-895 through Baltimore pass through tunnels, with hazmat and size restrictions.) The longer western I-695 outer loop is now the only bypass option, so rebuilding the bridge may not be feasible. It may also re-open the old debate on replacing it with a tunnel, so that this kind of ship disruption cannot happen again.....

[Chick Webb]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

It took five years in the 1970's to build that bridge, which equates to a century for a replacement with today's environmental regulations.

Pols in MD will be fighting over what to name the new structure (bridge or tunnel) for that long.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

It Let's hope that Maryland can at least clear the harbor channel enough for the Port of Baltimore to pass ships through in a few months.

I'm thinking they're going to throw everything they have at this to clear it enough for ship traffic to pass thru within weeks, if not less.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Chick Webb

Pols in MD will be fighting over what to name the new structure (bridge or tunnel) for that long.

I for one hope that they use the same name as the now-former bridge, and don't do something sneaky at the last minute like a certain now-disgraced governor of our state did by naming a major bridge that was replaced after his daddy!

Baltimore harbor, War of 1812, Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key, Oh say can you see.

The ports in NJ and NY are preparing to accept diverted Baltimore-bound ships, expecting them as soon as today. Whether or not the truck/rail infrastructure can handle the extra traffic is a concern. Incoming automobile shipments will probably need to be diverted to either Charleston, SC or Brunswick, GA's huge ro-ro port facilities, with delays in shipping them to the northeast.

FWIW, anyone with the free Pluto TV streaming app should be able to watch CBS News' Baltimore affiliate for continuous local coverage.....

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

I for one hope that they use the same name as the now-former bridge, and don't do something sneaky at the last minute like a certain now-disgraced governor of our state did by naming a major bridge that was replaced after his daddy!

Baltimore harbor, War of 1812, Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key, Oh say can you see.

The ports in NJ and NY are preparing to accept diverted Baltimore-bound ships, expecting them as soon as today. Whether or not the truck/rail infrastructure can handle the extra traffic is a concern. Incoming automobile shipments will probably need to be diverted to either Charleston, SC or Brunswick, GA's huge ro-ro port facilities, with delays in shipping them to the northeast.

FWIW, anyone with the free Pluto TV streaming app should be able to watch CBS News' Baltimore affiliate for continuous local coverage.....

Yikes. They’re getting ready to pull the trigger on an inland port in Gainesville, GA to divert trucks that are already overwhelmed in the Brunswick port. Rail everything to N Georgia to keep them off the coast. Should be interesting….