WTOP Part of Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses after large boat collision, sending vehicles into water

[Simmsy]

11 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Way-too-early prediction time.

 

The ship suffered a 'main bus one' casualty. That's essentially the circuit board for the entire ship. Either a fire that caused a malfunction or vice versa. You see power kick back on and the plum of smoke. That's the ship kicking over to 'main bus two', essentially the backup electric system and everything kicking back on. The fire/casualty took out bus two which is where you see the power go out a second time. The ship is essentially dead at that point. 

 

This exact thing happened when I was on the Chancellorsville. Luckily we were in the middle of the Pacific ocean so there wasn't much to hit. But we just floated for a couple days. No power except emergency battery operated lights around the ship. We slept on the flight deck at night because it was so hot.

 

You said that very nonchalantly...

[skinsmarydu]

Just now, Simmsy said:

 

You said that very nonchalantly...

He said that very "real".  Been there, done that.  Slept in my dungarees soaking wet.  Woke up in wet clothes, having to do it all over again. 

The Navy ain't no joke. 

[brandymac27]

12 minutes ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

Brandymac has returned and she’s got dick jokes!!!

Yes! I had to check in. It's been a while since I've posted (just been busy w/ work), but I still lurk every now and then. Hope everyone is doing well!

[skinsmarydu]

Just now, brandymac27 said:

Yes! I had to check in. It's been a while since I've posted (just been busy w/ work), but I still lurk every now and then. Hope everyone is doing well!

My girl!  Missed you! 

[brandymac27]

Just now, skinsmarydu said:

My girl!  Missed you! 

Hey! I missed you too! I hope you're doing well! 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Renegade7]

1 hour ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

 

I watched that a few times. I can't see anything but I'm betting that's when they dropped the anchor as a last ditch attempt to change course.

 

I was going to ask, but wanted to wait for it to come up naturally because my gut says that ship was too big for the anchor to stop once in motion like that. Empty the clip, I guess.

Edited March 26 by Renegade7

[The Evil Genius]

5 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

 

I was going to ask, but wanted to wait for it to come up naturally because my gut says that ship was too big for the anchor to stop once in motion like that. Empty the clip, I guess.

 

Probably anything and everything to help avoid a direct collision.  

Edited March 26 by The Evil Genius

[Simmsy]

42 minutes ago, skinsmarydu said:

He said that very "real".  Been there, done that.  Slept in my dungarees soaking wet.  Woke up in wet clothes, having to do it all over again. 

The Navy ain't no joke. 

 

Nah, I'm good. I've almost drowned several times as a child, I'm good.

[Fan since a Fetus]

Deadline - David Simon -MTG
 

David Simon of The Wire fame has been giving it to these numbnuts conspiracy theorists. This is my favorite quote from the article:

 

Edited March 27 by Fan since a Fetus

[Califan007 The Constipated]

8 minutes ago, Fan since a Fetus said:

Deadline - David Simon -MTG
 

David Simon of The Wire fame has been giving it to these numbnuts conspiracy theorists. This is my favorite quote from the article:

 

 

 

 

[The Evil Genius]

Might be a little geeky but...

 

 

[goskins10]

Very sad for the families that lost loved ones today. What a stark reminder of how fragile life is. It can be taken from us at any time. 

[Destino]

4 hours ago, balki1867 said:

Seriously. If I somehow came out of an experience like that unscathed, I’d just want to go home. He or she is processing the likely deaths of 6 coworkers, while being grateful to survive, while also processing the guilt that goes along with that. That’s a lot to unpack.  

You process faster than I do. If I fell into a river along with approximately a billion tons of steel and concrete only to be plucked out of certain watery death my brain wouldn’t be contemplating anything. Guilt? My inner monologue would read like so: “aaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh omg omg omg aaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh“

 

if I made it home it would be on instinct alone. 

[Destino]

This image really changes the perspective.  That’s a really big boat. 
 

[Renegade7]

4 hours ago, Destino said:

This image really changes the perspective.  That’s a really big boat. 
 

 

Yea, that bridge didn't stand a chance...if they gonna build a new one i agree with doing what it takes to build one to be able to...especially if this not the first time a bridge has been taken out by a cargo ship in Baltimore before.

 

Future proof best you can, do it right or don't do it.

Edited March 27 by Renegade7

[The Evil Genius]

5 hours ago, Destino said:

This image really changes the perspective.  That’s a really big boat. 
 

 

The ship was 950 feet long, which is just shy of the modern aircraft carriers length.

 

I'm sure Buzz or someone could address this further or correct me..but one would think that vessels this big probably should have some type of redundancies that would prevent it losing power. 

Edited March 27 by The Evil Genius

[Simmsy]

Yeah, seeing that boat in the daytime puts a different perspective on it.

[tshile]

5 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

I'm sure Buzz or someone could address this further or correct me..but one would think that vessels this big probably should have some type of redundancies that would prevent it losing power. 

Another suggestion:

maybe we shouldn’t have ships that big. 
 

I get it - it makes things cheaper if we can move more at a time. 
 

but how does that long term work out when we factor in the cost of the bridge? Or the cost of the other problems we see when something happens to a large ship (oil in particular)? If we net it all out, are we coming out a head when we compare the day to day cheaper widgets with the problems outsourcing has created here at home, and all the costs associated with this? We’ve lost a major port until further notice and have to spend billions on a new bridge. How’s that math work out? And it’s just one incident. 

 

if we have ships that can take out our bridges because ship growth has outpaced infrastructure upkeep, maybe we shouldn’t let the ships be so big? 
 

if only we had some system with people that would be charged with keeping track of this sort of stuff, and be proactive and thoughtful instead of reactive and complacent. 
 

(and a voter base that cared about such things enough to demand it)

Edited March 27 by tshile

[TheGreatBuzz]

5 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

The ship was 950 feet long, which is just shy of the modern aircraft carriers length.

 

I'm sure Buzz or someone could address this further or correct me..but one would think that vessels this big probably should have some type of redundancies that would prevent it losing power. 

 

There are lots of redundancies. Sometimes those break too. Sometimes they take a minute to get going, etc. It's early so here is a word vomit. 

 

Most of my experience is on smaller ships like cruisers, frigates, and destroyers. Whenever entering/exiting port or something where you have restricted maneuvering, there are always Sailors down in 'aft steering'. They are there so that if we lose rudder control, they have manual controls to turn the rudder. That way we at least have rudder control unless the rudder just falls off (which does happen😂). But it takes time for message to get relayed via sound powered phone (cool technology from like the 1930s), them to turn the rudder, report completion, then the bridge to evaluate if it had the desired effect. 

 

Also, a rudder isn't very useful without propulsion. There are redundancies for that but that's even harder to get going quickly.

 

My time on a carrier was a lot shorter and I was already a somewhat senior leader when I got there. So there was a lot of "fake it til you make it" time. I get the principles of operation but actual experience is a lot less. *sea story below*

 

We'll see what the report says in a few years but this really seems like a perfect storm of bad circumstances. The holes in the Swiss cheese just happened to line up. It sucks but it happens. 

 

*One of the quals I had to get on the Truman was Officer of the Deck (in port). Essentially,  you're HMFIC when the skipper is away. Now I knew nothing about carrier operations because all my experience was on smaller ships. One of the sign-offs was something to the effect of 'make decision and get ship underway in time of hurricane, national emergency, or as notified by CinC.' 

 

Me: I don't know much in this world but I know that the decision to move a multi-billion dollar warship carrying an airwing capable of toppling nations is not being made by me under any circumstance. 

 

Trainer: That's the job. Welcome to the Navy. 

 

Me: Bull****. You're telling me that POTUS could call me up and say "hey Chief, get that ship moving" or I can look out the window and be like "there a storm a brewin', we're blowing this joint"?

 

Trainer: Well it doesn't work like that. 

 

Me: Really? Because it says "make decision to get ship underway and do it". 

 

Trainer: Well obviously there's going to be a call to/from an admiral or something. And you'll go find the most senior officer you can that actually knows how to drive the ship.

 

Me: So I'm not the one making the decision and executing it.

 

Trainer: Shut the **** up and sign it.

Edited March 27 by TheGreatBuzz

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I don't see a ton of conspiracy theories on Twitter regarding this.

 

I do see a ton of ****ing racism.

 

I think I would prefer that instead of new dog whistles like DEI if these people just went back to using the N-word. It's what they want. It would end the "oooooh....what is he really saying" debate. 

[tshile]

14 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Also, a rudder isn't very useful without propulsion. There are redundancies for that but that's even harder to get going quickly.

i operate a 24’ inboard. Most people think of personal board as outboards or even inboard/outboards, in the sense that a prop hangs off the back and moves back and forth and is your steering. 
 

An inboard operates more like a large ship - the screw is fixed and doesn’t move, a rudder is behind the prop, the rudder turns the ship. 
 

my small boat, in ideal conditions on a lake, becomes incredibly clunky to maneuver at low speeds. You basically have to learn how to time quick, short thrusts to get steering with allowing your momentum to carry you.  It’s a huge pain in the ass, not overly complicated or impossible but you do have to come to grips with the reality of your controls and how to use them.  If I have no propulsion I’m basically ****ed. A little wind or current will totally outsize whatever control I have with a rudder and no propulsion.  And that’s a 24’ boat that weighs about 5500# on a lake… it’s just a fundamental flaw with that design. 
 

when wind or chop gets bad, pulling into the boat slip gets tricky. 
 

I can only imagine a larger ship, with all that weight, dealing with tides and wind. It’s like asking loaded semi to have the braking and maneuverability of a civic. It just doesn’t work like that. With propulsion it’s tricky enough - without? You’re at the mercy of wind and current, and if your backup system isn’t working… you’ve got no options. 

Edited March 27 by tshile

[TheGreatBuzz]

Good thread but I wanted to call out this tweet specifically. 

 

 

 

 

[PleaseBlitz]

15 hours ago, Destino said:

You process faster than I do. If I fell into a river along with approximately a billion tons of steel and concrete only to be plucked out of certain watery death my brain wouldn’t be contemplating anything. Guilt? My inner monologue would read like so: “aaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh omg omg omg aaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh“

 

if I made it home it would be on instinct alone. 

 

"Siri, where is the closest bar."

 

 

[Renegade7]

4 hours ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

I don't see a ton of conspiracy theories on Twitter regarding this.

 

I do see a ton of ****ing racism.

 

I think I would prefer that instead of new dog whistles like DEI if these people just went back to using the N-word. It's what they want. It would end the "oooooh....what is he really saying" debate. 

 

Somewhere out there there's really people that wished this happened during daytime like it wouldn't kill white people as well.

 

Sometimes I wonder if they really that stupid, naive, calculating because of demographics, or jus flat out not real and jus starting ****.

 

Twitter is not the place for caring what people think.