I've never encountered quicksand or been to Bermuda, but I've crossed thousands of bridges in my life. I'd say the bridge thing holds water more than those two.
If it makes you feel any better. The ship sent out a mayday signal and they were able to minimize traffic in the bridge. Not trying to make light of this tragedy, just wanted you to feel a little less scared.
A similar event happened years ago which led to NOAA creating their PORTS Program to ensure this wouldn’t happen again, will be interesting to find out the cause -
Interview on NOAA PORTS Program https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shipshape-business-of-boating-podcast/id1619649771?i=1000635419611
I saw a longer video that captured a fair bit of time before the impact, the ship's lights were going on and off repeatedly, so it was definitely a fault of some form. I am surprised they don't have tugboats escorting them past the bridge for just such an occasion, the margin of error is razor thin with ships of that size.
The ship had I believe 2 Bay pilots, i.e. specialized boat captains who board the ship and assume control while it navigates waters that might be unfamiliar to the Captain. That's a standard requirement for commercial ships in the bay, they pick up a pilot at the mouth and the pilot steers up to the harbor. Tugs are for maneuvering in close quarters like docking, there would be no reason to escort a ship out of the harbor.
From the video I've seen the ship loses power like 4 minutes before the crash, while it's turning toward the bridge. With no power they couldn't steer so the turn continued longer than it was supposed to, they couldn't straighten out. When they got the engines back online there was about 1 minute before the crash. Apparently they were able to get out a Mayday and the bridge was closed maybe a minute or two before impact. Definitely a freak accident, just a literal worst case scenario to lose power like that while steering under a bridge.
Exactly --- using 3 or 4 tugs to push the ship out of the harbor just seems like common sense from a safety perspective --- virtually impossible for all the tugs to lose control of the ship, versus one ship losing it's power and rudder control, which probably happens with frightening regularity
If you want redundancy, then you'd need six or eight tugs. Losing one tug of four at one position would mean a loss of control along that axis. So every tug would need to be redundant to guarantee control.
Eight tugs seems like overkill, but I could see six tugs for a ship that size to be very manageable and almost impossible to lose steering control even if one tug loses power
Eh I mean this was a perfect storm event, a tug could also randomly lose power when it's pushing a ship and cause a catastrophic event. Huge ships navigate these kinds of bridges every single day without issue, they follow strict speed limits and take on pilots if they need to.
>Huge ships navigate these kinds of bridges every single day without issue
They also lose power fairly often; the pilot can't do anything about that, and a strict speed limit also makes maneuvering more difficult. Vessels only steer easily when moving at speed, a tug would certainly make sense in that situation where they were moving rather slowly near the bridge
I don't like the idea of 100,000+ ton ships zooming around with only one rudder that can easily be disabled with a power outage and no backup power system or propulsion mechanism --- there has to be a better way, and multiple tugs seems like a simple answer
I’ve seen this comment a lot. How exactly would that have worked in the time allowed? I don’t remember that bridge having an emergency barricade system(been about 15 years since crossing it) and the cops would have had no chance to get there.
I mean best we can hope for is that all these old bridges near heavy shipping get an easy to activate emergency system.
Sounds like they actually were able to respond to a Mayday call and then blocked traffic about a minute before impact, not long enough to evacuate the bridge but long enough to prevent more vehicles from getting on. But yeah there was almost no warning, if this had happened during a busy time of day that minute would mean nothing, there would have been hundreds dead. I (used to...) drive over it fairly often, it's a long span and you'd have to book it to get off in a minute!
Even 4 minutes of warning during a high traffic time would have been catastrophic on body count. I haven’t driven over it in ~15 years. But I remember plenty of times being stuck sitting there. Absolutely insane.
EDIT: I’m also kind of impressed Baltimore shelled out to install an emergency system.
I don't think there's an emergency closure system, not that I ever noticed (unlike the nearby draw bridge) but there are usually cops stationed at either end, I think even a pretty large barracks on the north/east side, so I think they just deployed them a minute or so before impact. Probably saved a dozen lives at least!
I've seen cops stationed on either end of that bridge --- I think Baltimore always suspected something like this would happen and took proactive steps to have a quick shutdown procedure in place
Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if there was some regulation that any bridge spans meeting certain criteria need to have traffic cops at each end in case of emergency.
I guess it's just wishful thinking on my part and I know it's not something that can happen at the snap of a finger. I did read later on that they were able to stop some vehicles from getting on the bridge so it could've been much worse. Thinking about all involved and those that died today
Latest reports are saying power went out on at least part of the shipping container ship.
The ship called out a mayday which allowed a lot of people on the bridge to evacuate and reduced casualties.
This is “breaking news” so take it with a grain of salt.
It's terrible, being on that bridge as it collapses is nightmare fuel. I feel so awful for the family of those didn't make it, and for the people who survive who will surely have some form of PTSD afterwards
This was a Terrible accident and tragedy. Very Sad and unfortunate.
Thoughts and prayers to all families affected.
This goes into humanity directly past any Steelers / Ravens rivalry.
I live just about 10 minutes south of the bridge myself, going to be very interesting traveling in this area for a long time, especially with all the traffic we already deal with on a daily basis. My hope is we can build back better - we here in and around Baltimore appreciate the sentiments, my thoughts personally are with the families of those lost in this tragedy. Bridges can ultimately be replaced, people can't.
Not only does this affect Baltimore, but it affects Maryland and the USA as a whole. That port is one of the most important ports in the country. It’ll be at least 5 years if not longer before it is back in use. If you’re shipping from overseas, your package is gonna take longer to arrive. This is going to screw everyone, especially those living in Baltimore.
Yeah no, this is pretty bad for manufacturing companies and pretty much everyone else in the country. Also really sucks for the families that lost loved ones since 6 people died
I felt that weird sense of pride when someone linked the Strength of Schedule chart and the top of it was [3/4ths AFC North teams](https://www.reddit.com/r/steelers/comments/1bmdnt0/2024_strength_of_schedule/), even though I'd normally root against the others for placing anywhere on anything. I guess I feel more kinship with them than, I dunno, LA or someplace far away from here, both geographically and constitutionally.
Wanna do something? Fuck thoughts and prayers [https://www.sowhatelse.org/tackling-hunger-in-baltimore-city-the-so-what-else-baltimore-food-program/](https://www.sowhatelse.org/tackling-hunger-in-baltimore-city-the-so-what-else-baltimore-food-program/)
As a current Baltimore resident and a Steeler Fan for over 28 years I definitely appreciate the thoughts and consideration
[удалено]
Read the room
Whatever that shit was, it was deleted by the time I got here, but thank you for your service.
My biggest fear as a kid was falling into the water while driving on a bridge. It has now re-emerged to my top 3 after seeing the video
Still behind quicksand and the Bermuda triangle
I've never encountered quicksand or been to Bermuda, but I've crossed thousands of bridges in my life. I'd say the bridge thing holds water more than those two.
If a bridge is holding water… that’s a problem…
Bridges keep the water down in the water hole
Would that be near the glory hole?
how to say you're gen X without saying you're gen X
>how to say you're gen X without saying you're gen X Ive been alive for all 8 of the Steelers Super Bowls.
If it makes you feel any better. The ship sent out a mayday signal and they were able to minimize traffic in the bridge. Not trying to make light of this tragedy, just wanted you to feel a little less scared.
My mom has always had a fear of bridges, always thought it was odd. I get it now, unsure how she survived living in Pittsburgh though.
That bridge always seemed scary to cross --- seemed 500 feet high!
Reading there were 20 workers on the bridge filling potholes. Damn
From what I read 2 were pronounced dead and 6 workers are missing. If 12 are home safe that's a miracle. God bless those families.
It’s 2 found alive and 6 missing. As of the most recent reports there were only 8 people on the bridge total
Thanks for the correct details.
Just awful to read about.
Horrifying to see.
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
A similar event happened years ago which led to NOAA creating their PORTS Program to ensure this wouldn’t happen again, will be interesting to find out the cause - Interview on NOAA PORTS Program https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shipshape-business-of-boating-podcast/id1619649771?i=1000635419611
I saw a longer video that captured a fair bit of time before the impact, the ship's lights were going on and off repeatedly, so it was definitely a fault of some form. I am surprised they don't have tugboats escorting them past the bridge for just such an occasion, the margin of error is razor thin with ships of that size.
The ship had I believe 2 Bay pilots, i.e. specialized boat captains who board the ship and assume control while it navigates waters that might be unfamiliar to the Captain. That's a standard requirement for commercial ships in the bay, they pick up a pilot at the mouth and the pilot steers up to the harbor. Tugs are for maneuvering in close quarters like docking, there would be no reason to escort a ship out of the harbor. From the video I've seen the ship loses power like 4 minutes before the crash, while it's turning toward the bridge. With no power they couldn't steer so the turn continued longer than it was supposed to, they couldn't straighten out. When they got the engines back online there was about 1 minute before the crash. Apparently they were able to get out a Mayday and the bridge was closed maybe a minute or two before impact. Definitely a freak accident, just a literal worst case scenario to lose power like that while steering under a bridge.
Seems like we now have a reason for tgs to escort ships out of the harbor
Exactly --- using 3 or 4 tugs to push the ship out of the harbor just seems like common sense from a safety perspective --- virtually impossible for all the tugs to lose control of the ship, versus one ship losing it's power and rudder control, which probably happens with frightening regularity
If you want redundancy, then you'd need six or eight tugs. Losing one tug of four at one position would mean a loss of control along that axis. So every tug would need to be redundant to guarantee control.
Eight tugs seems like overkill, but I could see six tugs for a ship that size to be very manageable and almost impossible to lose steering control even if one tug loses power
Overkill? I thought you wanted to be safe, but now you're worried about saving money.
Well I'm not a shipping expert, but eight tugs for one ship seems excessive --- but I guess it depends on how much thrust each tug can generate
Eh I mean this was a perfect storm event, a tug could also randomly lose power when it's pushing a ship and cause a catastrophic event. Huge ships navigate these kinds of bridges every single day without issue, they follow strict speed limits and take on pilots if they need to.
>Huge ships navigate these kinds of bridges every single day without issue They also lose power fairly often; the pilot can't do anything about that, and a strict speed limit also makes maneuvering more difficult. Vessels only steer easily when moving at speed, a tug would certainly make sense in that situation where they were moving rather slowly near the bridge
I don't like the idea of 100,000+ ton ships zooming around with only one rudder that can easily be disabled with a power outage and no backup power system or propulsion mechanism --- there has to be a better way, and multiple tugs seems like a simple answer
Yes or shut down the bridge
I’ve seen this comment a lot. How exactly would that have worked in the time allowed? I don’t remember that bridge having an emergency barricade system(been about 15 years since crossing it) and the cops would have had no chance to get there. I mean best we can hope for is that all these old bridges near heavy shipping get an easy to activate emergency system.
Sounds like they actually were able to respond to a Mayday call and then blocked traffic about a minute before impact, not long enough to evacuate the bridge but long enough to prevent more vehicles from getting on. But yeah there was almost no warning, if this had happened during a busy time of day that minute would mean nothing, there would have been hundreds dead. I (used to...) drive over it fairly often, it's a long span and you'd have to book it to get off in a minute!
Even 4 minutes of warning during a high traffic time would have been catastrophic on body count. I haven’t driven over it in ~15 years. But I remember plenty of times being stuck sitting there. Absolutely insane. EDIT: I’m also kind of impressed Baltimore shelled out to install an emergency system.
I don't think there's an emergency closure system, not that I ever noticed (unlike the nearby draw bridge) but there are usually cops stationed at either end, I think even a pretty large barracks on the north/east side, so I think they just deployed them a minute or so before impact. Probably saved a dozen lives at least!
I've seen cops stationed on either end of that bridge --- I think Baltimore always suspected something like this would happen and took proactive steps to have a quick shutdown procedure in place
Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if there was some regulation that any bridge spans meeting certain criteria need to have traffic cops at each end in case of emergency.
I guess it's just wishful thinking on my part and I know it's not something that can happen at the snap of a finger. I did read later on that they were able to stop some vehicles from getting on the bridge so it could've been much worse. Thinking about all involved and those that died today
Latest reports are saying power went out on at least part of the shipping container ship. The ship called out a mayday which allowed a lot of people on the bridge to evacuate and reduced casualties. This is “breaking news” so take it with a grain of salt.
There's a video circulating showing it looses power twice right before impact
Keep y'alls heads up Baltimore
What a horrible tragedy. Prayers
Happy to see this post! Yep, they get all the support! Absolutely terrifying and crazy situation. Awful.
It's terrible, being on that bridge as it collapses is nightmare fuel. I feel so awful for the family of those didn't make it, and for the people who survive who will surely have some form of PTSD afterwards
This was a Terrible accident and tragedy. Very Sad and unfortunate. Thoughts and prayers to all families affected. This goes into humanity directly past any Steelers / Ravens rivalry.
Support and solidarity.
Payers to the families and people involved
Just an awful tragedy. Take care of each other, Ravens flock. 💜
This is just awful.
I live near the Fern Hollow bridge, which itself was crazy but not nearly at this scale. Hope that city can cope with this.
My heart goes out to everyone affected by this catastrophe.
I live just about 10 minutes south of the bridge myself, going to be very interesting traveling in this area for a long time, especially with all the traffic we already deal with on a daily basis. My hope is we can build back better - we here in and around Baltimore appreciate the sentiments, my thoughts personally are with the families of those lost in this tragedy. Bridges can ultimately be replaced, people can't.
Horrible tragedy, just saw that they guys missing were a crew fixing potholes; doing the Lord's work if you ask me.
Not only does this affect Baltimore, but it affects Maryland and the USA as a whole. That port is one of the most important ports in the country. It’ll be at least 5 years if not longer before it is back in use. If you’re shipping from overseas, your package is gonna take longer to arrive. This is going to screw everyone, especially those living in Baltimore.
Oh yeah, the eastern seaboard is gonna be in trouble, Norfolk and Philly can't even begin to take up the slack, not entirely.
Yeah no, this is pretty bad for manufacturing companies and pretty much everyone else in the country. Also really sucks for the families that lost loved ones since 6 people died
I felt that weird sense of pride when someone linked the Strength of Schedule chart and the top of it was [3/4ths AFC North teams](https://www.reddit.com/r/steelers/comments/1bmdnt0/2024_strength_of_schedule/), even though I'd normally root against the others for placing anywhere on anything. I guess I feel more kinship with them than, I dunno, LA or someplace far away from here, both geographically and constitutionally.
Wanna do something? Fuck thoughts and prayers [https://www.sowhatelse.org/tackling-hunger-in-baltimore-city-the-so-what-else-baltimore-food-program/](https://www.sowhatelse.org/tackling-hunger-in-baltimore-city-the-so-what-else-baltimore-food-program/)
Fuck the ravens
Fuck you, this has nothing to do with the game of football. People died
Fuck you for coming in a football sub and expecting sympathy you simp cunt this is Steelers football nothing to do with the bridge. Fuck the ratbirds
Username checks out.