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

eljefino said:
The "generator" everyone talks about also probably powers ship's service hydraulics, which should run the bow thruster and the "power steering" for the rudder. It would make sense to have a midsize diesel engine run all this stuff at a constant RPM while the big engine turns the prop.

I bet UPS/ battery only powers the most spartan stuff-- radio, navigation lights, radar. It's not turning the ship.

I'm disappointed the little engine was run on junk fuel while still in US waters but hey, profits, right?
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I was just thinking what happens if the generator fails and then the backup fails. It sounds like it lost propulsion in addition to steering and just drifted. I was under the impression that it needed electricity to operate the engine. I get that older diesels operated differently, but not modern, computer controlled diesels.

If the APU fails in modern airliners, they still have batteries to power the control systems until that can come back online.
 
97prizm said:
From a few articles this very ship had similar problems when docked in central America at its last port. If a major issue like this arises I thought there would be a thorough investigation, and a double check that is was repaired correctly before leaving. I know that the shipping industry operates similar to commercial aviation. You want the ship full, and as soon as it arrives to its destination you unload/reload and get to the next port. Delays cost money and can incur penalties.
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Contaminated fuel is possibility. Given the ship did not sink or catch fire it should be too difficult to figure out the problem. I would guess the chief engineer of the ship knows the answer.

There are some suggestions that tugs should accompany the ships out of port. Maybe in ports where there are bridges they should require a tug escort until past the bridge.
 
Donald said:
Contaminated fuel is possibility. Given the ship did not sink or catch fire it should be too difficult to figure out the problem. I would guess the chief engineer of the ship knows the answer.

There are some suggestions that tugs should accompany the ships out of port. Maybe in ports where there are bridges they should require a tug escort until past the bridge.
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It's been noted that tugs can't really do that much with a ship that size except at slow speeds.
 

  • 1,200 ft - Francis Scott Key Bridge, truss
  • 3,200 ft - Chesapeake Bay Bridge, suspension
This suggests a replacement, suspension bridge could have the main supports on both shores of the Patapsco River. Certainly cheaper than a tunnel like the B&P train tunnel under Baltimore.

Can’t hit that which doesn’t exist

IMG_5125.jpeg
 
y_p_w said:
It's been noted that tugs can't really do that much with a ship that size except at slow speeds.
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Possibly slow out of the harbor until past the bridges. More redundant systems on the ships. Bridges need to spend millions on dolphins.

But there are ships larger than this one.

Refueling docks past the bridges so if there is a contaminated fuel issue they will not loose power in the harbor area.
 
Donald said:
Possibly slow out of the harbor until past the bridges. More redundant systems on the ships. Bridges need to spend millions on dolphins.

But there are ships larger than this one.

Refueling docks past the bridges so if there is a contaminated fuel issue they will not loose power in the harbor area.
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Yes, hindsight being 20/20 - 8 knots seems pretty fast now.
 
Donald said:
Possibly slow out of the harbor until past the bridges. More redundant systems on the ships. Bridges need to spend millions on dolphins.

But there are ships larger than this one.

Refueling docks past the bridges so if there is a contaminated fuel issue they will not loose power in the harbor area.
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Sure. Clearly it lost electrical systems that affected steering and propulsion that it needed to avoid drifting without control.

Dolphins are one thing, but fenders are another. They had dolphins, but this ship completely missed them. I'm thinking this disaster is going to spur a lot of fender building like we have on San Francisco Bay Area bridges.
 
wings&wheels said:
Just came back from FL and while I couldn't see Baltimore Harbor from my side of the Airbus, I counted ~25 container ships anchored in the lower Chesapeake.
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I'm wondering how many ships can safely fit in that area? As in is it deep enough at a certain spot where they can just go and park wherever they want or not.
 
I came across a video of a ship captain or similar explaining what he was seeing about what was going on. I cannot find it but it was interesting. A few key points:

1) in 45 seconds after main generator fails the emergency generator will start. It provides minimal lighting but does allow steering.
2) the guy said when power came back on there were many lights so probably main generator.
3) only main generator can supply the compressed air used to turn over the propulsion engine.
4) while almost everyone will be on duty when the ship was leaving the dock, the accident was an hour later so some of the crew would have been stood-down so they could sleep before their shift.

Other articles seem to indicate they burn cleaner diesel around ports but crappy #6 out in the open sea.
 
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