So I was wondering about how the boatshipvesselcraft could even get to the piers. NYTimes coverage talked about the "fenders" around most piers that are for exactly this situation. The SF/Oakland Bay Bridge took a hit several years ago but the fenders did their job.
The Key Bridge has little bollards (my term), not full fenders, too small to stop a modern container ship. Probably good for the big ships of the day. But in this case, the people who saw the thing turn abruptly, it might be because it hit one of these.
So I was wondering about how the boatshipvesselcraft could even get to the piers. NYTimes coverage talked about the "fenders" around most piers that are for exactly this situation. The SF/Oakland Bay Bridge took a hit several years ago but the fenders did their job.
The Key Bridge has little bollards (my term), not full fenders, too small to stop a modern container ship. Probably good for the big ships of the day. But in this case, the people who saw the thing turn abruptly, it might be because it hit one of these.
Think of the Nimitz Freeway collapse during the earthquake when the World Series was going on.
Could'a been the same thing ...
My thoughts exactly. When the "Cypress Structure" collapsed I knew there were hundreds killed because I had been in 5pm traffic there before and there was never enough room to shift out of maybe second. But nearly everyone had already found a TV to watch the game.
The ship was old and not fully updated. It was grandfathered in to get by a lot of the requirements. Local harbour pilots are SOP worldwide. Shit still happens even when everything is good.
My Better Half⢠(RN, triage nurse) and I rushed back to Highland where we met/worked once we saw that it had fallen. I helped clean out the ER of things that could get scooted out before the ambulances arrived. And then we waited.
And waited. And they never came. No one had lived.
Reading now that a mayday call resulted in people being stopped from coming onto the bridge (!!) and there were eight pothole-filling construction workers that fell, and six are unaccounted for.
Much less (but still) horrible than my image of a bridge full of commuters plunging into the water on their way to work.
Think of the Nimitz Freeway collapse during the earthquake when the World Series was going on.
Could'a been the same thing ...
My Better Half⢠(RN, triage nurse) and I rushed back to Highland where we met/worked once we saw that it had fallen. I helped clean out the ER of things that could get scooted out before the ambulances arrived. And then we waited.
And waited. And they never came. No one had lived.
Reading now that a mayday call resulted in people being stopped from coming onto the bridge (!!) and there were eight pothole-filling construction workers that fell, and six are unaccounted for.
Much less (but still) horrible than my image of a bridge full of commuters plunging into the water on their way to work.
There is a truck that passes going right to left just before impact. It had only 1 span to clear before it was on the "ground supported" section... I assume they made it across.
Reading now that a mayday call resulted in people being stopped from coming onto the bridge (!!) and there were eight pothole-filling construction workers that fell, and six are unaccounted for.
Much less (but still) horrible than my image of a bridge full of commuters plunging into the water on their way to work.
from Bsky: “A South Korean-built ship chartered by a Danish country, sailing under a Singapore flag with an Indian crew and under the control of two Maryland-hired pilots hits a state-operated bridge. God, the investigation is going to be complicated.”
The ship was old and not fully updated. It was grandfathered in to get by a lot of the requirements.
Local harbour pilots are SOP worldwide. Shit still happens even when everything is good.
One of the worst parts... the poor guys working on the bridge at 1:30 in the morning never stood a chance. You can see the trucks on the deck as it collapses. It looks somewhat graceful, but it's a long way down and that's a lot of very heavy material flying around. Really a terrible event.
from Bsky: âA South Korean-built ship chartered by a Danish country, sailing under a Singapore flag with an Indian crew and under the control of two Maryland-hired pilots hits a state-operated bridge. God, the investigation is going to be complicated.â
seems to be corroborated by this video too. still a bit strange for it to veer off course so quickly unless the tide/wind was really pushing against it or somehow the rudder was affected by the power loss, or all three. Apart from the inevitable loss of life (nightmare way to die), I wonder how long the port is going to be closed.
Evidently the rudder got stuck for whatever reason.
Months. Balmer is the 9th largest port in the US. Primary cargos are construction materials and autos. And cruise lines.
Annual bridge traffic is 11 million vehicles. This is a big deal. The only good news is that it wasn't rush hour.
