[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by SR-71

This new video

Sadly, it's been "removed by the uploader".

[Thad E Ginathom]

<an hour later...>

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Actually, it is! When you are manoeuvring like this the anchors would have been readied to drop at a moment's notice. All it takes is to release the brakes.

I didn't know that... But, thinking about it, I guess it's obvious! Would there be anchor(s) at the stern of such ships?

Videos and pics show the port anchor chain extending into the water. Looks like they did drop at least one at some point. Heaps of videos on the world's news sources. People may pick their choice.

Fire on board is also mentioned as the cause of the black smoke.

Also that they had time to make a mayday call, which allowed stopping bridge traffic. I don't think anybody yet knows how many vehicles, with how many people, fell.

[mygodbole]

Checked with a merchant navy officer, he said: Pilot error (unlikely), steerage error (possible), engine error (possible).

He advised patience, I accepted.

He also said dropping anchor is NOT like in the movies, "it takes precision" (his words).

Let us wait for an official enquiry?

Speculate as we can, let us not jump to 'worst' cause.

On a different issue, why so much of brouhaha on an incident on a distant shore?

Drive safe

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by mygodbole

Checked with a merchant navy officer, he said: Pilot error (unlikely), steerage error (possible), engine error (possible). ... ... ...

He also said dropping anchor is NOT like in the movies, "it takes precision" (his words).

You may not be aware that you need look no further than this thread for qualified persons. At least three of the contributors are, or have been, Chief Engineers or merchant seamen...

Let us wait for an official enquiry?

Whether or not we come up with answers, the discussion is interesting and educational.

Speculate as we can, let us not jump to 'worst' cause.

I don't think anybody did.

On a different issue, why so much of brouhaha on an incident on a distant shore?

Nobody is obliged to take part in the thread. It is a serious incident that the whole world is watching: we should not?

[Old_Salt]

From the videos circulated, vessel had a Blackout leading to loss of propulsion. There was loss of power, which was quickly restored however there was a second power failure when the ship lost steering.
Usually an emergency generator is supposed to kick in within 45 seconds of a power failure as per SOLAS.
The emergency generator provides power to critical systems on the ship - basically the steering gear system.

While loss of power in the open ocean is not a big threat, in congested waters, well the result is now evident.
When the main generators stop, main engine would stop as well - but the ship would continue moving due to its huge momentum. The emergency generator provides power to steer the disabled ship to safer waters or to avoid collision or grounding while the ship gradually comes to a stop.

Vessel did drop anchor but with the huge momentum, it’s difficult to control the speed.

Someone also asked about stern anchors. No, big ships do not have stern anchors. Traditionally smaller vessels moving around in rivers use to have these arrangements. Idea was to hold the stern from swinging around when the tide changes but modern ships have only forward anchors.

Going forward, who knows that USCG May start having tugs standby at critical points during pilotage to prevent such catastrophic incidents but that will all depend on the outcome of the incident.



However this vessel has had a history with engine failure, one back in 2016 too.

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/...n-antwerp-2016

[SnS_12]

The Singaporean flagged vessel ‘Dali’ has been time chartered by Maersk who have confirmed that the vessel was carrying it customers cargo at the time of the incident and was on its way to Colombo. They also confirmed that there were no Maersk crew or personal on onboard the vessel at the time of the incident and to the credit of the 22 Indian crew members on board including two pilots their timely mayday call to the port helped in stopping traffic on the bridge which otherwise would have led to more fatalities. There were however workers on the bridge at the time of the incident who were carrying out maintenance work.

From an insurance point Britannia who are the P&I insurers of this particular vessel are looking at one massive claim including

1) Third party liability (damage to the bridge)

2) Third party injuries/death

3) Pollution (authorities could smell diesel around the vessel)

4) Cargo loss including delays

5) Fines & penalties due to pollution also operation of the port has been affected as vessels are now stuck due to this incident

6) Wreck removal (in this case the vessel hasn’t sunk but will need to be towed away so towing charges).

Some pictures…

Damage to the Hull which the vessels H&M insurer will have to pay for.











The Francis Scott Key Bridge which opened to public in 1977, will require a few millions if not billion to be constructed again.

[Gansan]

The entire crew of 22 are reported to be Indians. According to Wikipedia the ship sent a mayday call about losing power, and mentioned hitting the bridge was a possibility. It says authorities were able to stop traffic at both ends of the bridge. But contract employees were on the bridge repairing the tarmac surface and they went in to the water. Some of the vehicles that went in with them reportedly were their trucks parked on the bridge. Probably a few of the other vehicles which entered the bridge before traffic was closed , might have lingered as well.

The momentum of such a large vessel would have been terrible. I once saw a man on platform knocked down by a commuter train when I was in college. He was walking on the edge of the platform lost in thought and facing the other way when the train came behind him. He heard neither the continuous honks nor the shouts of the people, and was knocked down. The train was just at walking pace when it hit, he was thrown a few feet away still on the platform. When people rushed and picked him up he was dead.

But still, that bridge went down like a pack of cards. Won't there be protection around the pillars when bridges are built across shipping lanes? How come there was no compulsory engagement of tugs when ships have to navigate the river before entering open ocean, and there are bridges to cross enroute?

[navigator_ravi]

Being a navigator of VLCCs and trained on ship handling of Container ship , I can only speculate the following :
1. There were 2 blackouts : 1st blackout may be due to failure of main generators which were on load and then emergency generator took over. But there was a 2nd blackout too which may suggest problem with Emg. Generator also.( Not sure of this)
2. Anchors were deployed before the collision which reduced the speed to 7-8 kts. Normal harbour transiting speed is usually 10-12 kts of container ship.
3. Emergency generator gives power to emergency steering motor which has reduced capabilities. ( Ship usually has 2-3 steering motors )
4. The black smoke may be due to the vessel going full astern on her propulsion so as to reduce the speed.
5. As the fate would have it , the whole fiasco of loss of power occurred when the ship was approaching a critical point (bridge) where the ship handling should be most accurate and divisive.

OT : The ship had 2 pilots on board but the responsibility of the ship would lie with the Captain of the ship. It would hardly take a day or 2 for the actual reason to be known provided VDR(Voyage Data Recorder)/Engine room data is provided but the financial implication would run into billions of $ and it would be lucky if the ship's top 2 crew escape without any damage both mentally and professionally.

[BlackBeard]

Originally Posted by Gansan

The momentum of such a large vessel would have been terrible.

But still, that bridge went down like a pack of cards. Won't there be protection around the pillars when bridges are built across shipping lanes? How come there was no compulsory engagement of tugs when ships have to navigate the river before entering open ocean, and there are bridges to cross en-route?

If you have seen the videos, the vessel was under pilotage departing Baltimore port, the 2 consecutive blackouts (loss of complete power) probably took the vessel off course.

Normally approaches to/from ports are via buoyed channels i.e you have buoys throughout on either side port & starboard indicating the safe & proper route under bridges, bends and curves on a river...etc, a local pilot is almost always on board during the entire process, many hours sometimes.

I think by the time they could recover from the loss of steering & propulsion it was too late hence the anticipated crash and early stoppage of traffic on the Bridge.

Again, anchor(s) sometimes both are let go in such emergencies...to STOP the ship but please don't forget it is a 300m long ship displacing at least a 100,000 tons.

Normally standby tugs for assistance escort such huge vessels during the approach/departure in case of such situations, I'm surprised that they were not present!

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by mygodbole

On a different issue, why so much of brouhaha on an incident on a distant shore?

Drive safe

As a person who lives in a distant land and drives over bridges as part of the daily commute with passing traffic underneath, this is scary and concerning. Hence, the brouhaha.

[NomadSK]

Joe Biden hails Indian crew for Mayday warning.

The crew notified transportation officials that they had lost control of the ship, prompting the shutdown of the Baltimore bridge before he catastrophic impact, a move that "undoubtedly" resulted in the saving of many lives, according to US President Joe Biden.

I don't want to digress here, but wanted to know, if our own recently inaugrated Mumbai Trans harbour link (Atal Setu) allows for the VLCC's or large carriers to cross underneath it. Any idea if we have any mechanism to avoid such scenario specific to this bridge. Such as fenders or dolphins installed to the support piles/pylons. I know there are few major ports MPT, JNPT, MDL nearby. If not, this should be treated as a "Lesson Learned" for their adminstration.

I know in our industry, for SPM's (Single Point moorings) anchored to the sea bed, VLCC's arent allowed to come closer to the structure and are moored to SPM with mooring lines far away from the port structure. Due to this, The ship gets adequate draft and the structures at the port are safe in worst case scenarios, also oil spill in case of any disaster can be timely controlled. Even tug boats are readily avilable, Fail to understand what was the fail-safe concept being utilised for such bridge crossings. Why no pilot tugs escorted the ship till bridge crossing was done, this should have been a regular/normal procedure if a comprehensive "risk analysis" was done.

Any inputs from mariners .

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Sadly, it's been "removed by the uploader".

Looks like it . The video was a continuous reel, clearly showing it losses power once, regains it, then again losses power shortly afterwards. However, by the time it regains power the second time around, the ships course is impacted heavily, and one can see a thick black smoke coming from the ship's funnel, probably a result of the crew trying hard to course correct?

There are other videos with people yapping about using the original video that I posted as reference, here is one such video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZbUXewlQDk

[inner_roadster]

The cargo ship responsible for the fall of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore had a history of mishaps, one of which occurred in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.When it struck a wall in Antwerp's harbor, the construction workers were thrown into the water.

Independent experts should investigate how a ship leaves the port once trained professionals have determined that it can sail safely.

Other aspects of the bridge's safety, such as the lack of pier protection to withstand the crash, must also be investigated. In addition, it is vital to reevaluate and assess the structure of such types of bridges in order to determine the hazards and the engineering evaluation.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by SR-71

The video was a continuous reel, clearly showing it losses power once, regains it, then again losses power shortly afterwards. However, by the time it regains power the second time around, the ships course is impacted heavily, and one can see a thick black smoke coming from the ship's funnel, probably a result of the crew trying hard to course correct?

I have the video, forwarded to me by a mariner friend on WA. I downloaded it and the format shows as MP4. I tried to upload but it shows invalid file format. Any idea about how to get around it?

[seawolf]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Such a scary sad accident! Straight out of a disaster movie :(

Apparently 20 are missing.

Again, as a landlubber pardon my ignorance of all things sea related, if it is an engine failure, would dropping anchor be helpful?

If it is an orchestrated incident then it sure is scary.

Anchors are generally designed to Stop a ship from moving not to stop a moving ship especially one as big as the DALI moving at around 7 - 8 knots.