Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore) hit by Cargo Ship and Collapsed

ctechbob

ctechbob

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Breaking news from 0127 this morning. A container ship took out the bridge. The bridge carries I695 across the river and is part of the beltway around the city.

www.cnn.com

Live updates: Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after it was struck by a large ship, according to video obtained by CNN. Follow live updates here.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com



Wow... not really any words to describe that, hopefully it is just a crazy accident.

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en.wikipedia.org

Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

en.wikipedia.org

Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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I sure hope there's no lose of life. Like the reporter says, it appears there were cars on the bridge at the time. Terrible news.
 
Watching a few feeds on the web. They're looking for around 20 people right now. Hope they're all found ok.

Initial reports are 7 vehicles, one 18 wheeler, and 20 DOT workers were on it.

No injuries on the ship being reported.

Couple of police choppers in the air looking:

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Timestamps at the top of the video:

01:22:55 - Ship comes in to view
01:24:32 - Lights fade out on ship
01:25:31 - Lights come back on
01:25:45 - Smoke from stack increases massively
01:26:37 - Lights fade back off, smoke continues
01:27:10 - Lights back on
01:27:11 - Appears to begin departing from traveling straight
01:28:43 - Contact

You can also clearly see some traffic on the bridge as well as the DOT trucks. Luckily, just before impact it looks like there was minimal traffic.
 
72C10 said:
That's a big bridge. I wonder if this was intentional.
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Unprofessional opinion incoming.

No, I think the ship was having some pretty bad mechanical issues. You can see the lights go off and on several times before hitting the bridge, in addition to the smoke that starts coming from the stacks, it looks like they threw it in full reverse before it hit. The ship track also shows it slowing down before it hit.

The way the lights go off look more like a generator spinning down as opposed to being thrown off by a switch. Plus, ALL of the lights go out, there's no way they're all on the same circuit.

Most all big ships that I know of, the electrical is separate from propulsion, but I suspect that if the electrical goes out, then you're (outta luck) on propulsion as well since controls would shut down.


UPDATE 0620

Update from the press conference at 0620

2 People found so far, one no injuries, one in serious condition and they believe that they are looking for 7 people.
 
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Just viewing the video, there was a lot more traffic on the bridge just minutes before the impact with the bridge support..
 
Such a scary incident! I hope nobody lost their life but it seems very likely if 7 people are missing

:cry:

It's going to take years to rebuild this bridge and traffic there will be a nightmare
 
Lubener said:
Just viewing the video, there was a lot more traffic on the bridge just minutes before the impact with the bridge support..
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I watched it back and forward a couple of times. A few min before there was a lot of traffic and then the only thing I saw was the DOT trucks sitting there and no moving traffic.
 
Silly question from a non-engineer, but where are the bridge pier protectors, to keep this from happening?

A negative person might say the money ran out because of where it was built, and the "extras" were not done.

I know, tin foil hat comment, right?
 
Yes this is odd. Most bridges have some sort of fender structure of wooden pilings and guardrails that might deflect a boat that is a little off course, at least under the main span where ships are supposed to pass. If this ship came in out of control broadside being pushed by the tide it may not have helped though.

A bridge of this size on an Interstate highway will have mostly Federal money and engineering behind it.
 
Danno said:
Silly question from a non-engineer, but where are the bridge pier protectors, to keep this from happening?

A negative person might say the money ran out because of where it was built, and the "extras" were not done.

I know, tin foil hat comment, right?
Click to expand...
I suspect the pier protectors were designed to protect against the size of ship that traveled the waterway when the bridge was designed and built, some 50 years ago. But the ships have gotten much bigger, and when out of control, the greater mass means they hit with much more force.
 
k1xv said:
I suspect the pier protectors were designed to protect against the size of ship that traveled the waterway when the bridge was designed and built, some 50 years ago. But the ships have gotten much bigger, and when out of control, the greater mass means they hit with much more force.
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They look more like marker buoys/piers than pier protectors.
 
mk378 said:
Yes this is odd. Most bridges have some sort of fender structure of wooden pilings and guardrails that might deflect a boat that is a little off course, at least under the main span where ships are supposed to pass. If this ship came in out of control broadside being pushed by the tide it may not have helped though.

A bridge of this size on an Interstate highway will have mostly Federal money and engineering behind it.
Click to expand...
It would have to be a massive wall to stop a container ship. Not really feasible considering the mass.
 
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