Cargo Ship strikes Key Bridge causing collapse

Cargo Ship strikes Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge causing great collapse

Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_collapse

The ship involved, Dali, is a Singapore-registered cargo vessel. The 229-metre-long (751 ft) ship left Baltimore at 01:00 EDT for Colombo, Sri Lanka.[8] It struck a column of the bridge at 01:27 EDT. The bridge strike and collapse was recorded on video.[9] The bridge broke apart in several places following the collision.[10] A Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) spokesperson said vehicles were on the bridge at the time it collapsed, including one that was the "size of a tractor-trailer". The Dali caught fire with a section of the bridge landing on its front part.[7]

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1772540601193345184

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1772514015790477667

A live stream of the shipping channel in Baltimore, Maryland

Watching the video, to me, it seemed that the ship stopped it's forward motion, as if it was in reverse, but then, the ship started moving toward the bridge and hit the support, causing the complete collapse of that part of the bridge.

Reference for Scale

Q&A on MV Dali Bridge Allison with What's Going on With Shipping and, G Captain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-t5EZov7b0

National Transportation Safety Board officials boarded the ship to recover information from its electronics and paperwork and to interview the captain and other crew members, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a separate news conference. Twenty-three people, including two pilots, were on the ship when it crashed, she said.

https://apnews.com/article/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-03-27-2024-6a95340e5daeff6551fc999d23feb278

The vessel was also carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials including corrosives, flammables and lithium ion batteries, Homendy said. She added that some containers were breached, and that a sheen on the water from those materials would be handled by authorities.

Marcel Muise, NTSB investigator in charge, laid out a preliminary timeline assembled from the voyage data recorder comprising audio from the bridge and VHF radio ahead of the crash, which federal and state officials have said appeared to be an accident.

The vessel, the Dali, left port at 12:39 a.m. Tuesday and, after it entered the channel, signs of trouble came at about 1:25 a.m. when numerous alarms sounded, according to the NTSB. About a minute later, steering commands and rudder orders were issued, and at 1:26 a.m. and 39 seconds, a pilot made a general radio call for nearby tug boats.

Maryland Transportation Authority data from about the same time shows the pilot association dispatcher called the transportation authority’s officer on duty about the blackout, the NTSB said.

Just after 1:27 a.m., the pilot commanded the ship to drop an anchor on the left side of the ship and issued added steering commands. About 20 seconds later, the pilot issued a radio call reporting that the Dali had lost all power approaching the bridge.

At about that time, the state transportation officer on duty radioed two of its units already stationed at each end of the bridge saying to close the bridge to vehicle traffic. They were already there because of the construction.

Around 1:29 a.m., when the ship was traveling at about 8 mph (13 kph), recordings for about 30 seconds picked up sounds consistent with it colliding with the bridge, the NTSB said. A Transportation Authority dash camera also shows lights on the bridge going out.

At 1:29 a.m. and 39 seconds, the pilot reported to the Coast Guard that the bridge was down.

Muise said experts will review the entire voyage data recording and develop a detailed transcript.

At least eight people initially went into the water when the ship struck the bridge column, and two of them were rescued Tuesday, officials said.