Lots of questions answered and discussed by arguably the two most prominent pundits in Maritime media



Really good overhead shots by NTSB, provides a lot of perspective

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:
Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm:
https://twitter.com/laralogan

@laralogan:

Great, more conspiracy theory bullshit.

Tugs should be required to pull all shipping out to open water.

Period.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:

quote:

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm:
https://twitter.com/laralogan

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/4960056705

Mea Culpa!

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfr...dkt_nbr=01050437kwmq

Eastern Seaports Brace for Flood of Rerouted Cargo

Ports up and down the Eastern Seaboard are bracing for a flood of cargo that's being rerouted from the Port of Baltimore after the early Tuesday morning collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Private-sector distributors and port officials told The Hill that cargo shipments are being diverted as a result of the Port of Baltimore's closure to vessel traffic.

"We've been in tons of meetings all day trying to figure out what to do about this," MacKenzie Chalmers, an administrative coordinator at marine terminal and industrial rail operator Tradepoint Atlantic, told the outlet.

Tradepoint Atlantic works with big name brands like Amazon, Home Depot, McCormick, BMW, and Volkswagen.

A Virginia Port Authority official said his office "was sure" that additional cargo would be passing through the state's port system, but stressed to The Hill that it wasn't yet clear what that would entail.

"There's an open line now with customers, the ocean carriers that own the cargo, which includes some of the big box carriers," Virginia Port Authority spokesman Joe Harris said. "They're going to speak and determine where is best to land the cargo."

On Tuesday, the Port of New York and New Jersey said it was working with shipping companies to ease the strain on East Coast supply chains with the Baltimore port now shut down.

Some of the cargo bound for Baltimore will likely be rerouted to New York, which is the largest port on the East Coast and, after Los Angeles, the second largest in the country.

The effects on overhead costs and consumer prices may end up being blunted, as several ports on the East Coast told The Hill that they were able to absorb additional shipments.

The Port of Baltimore said Tuesday that it is still operational, with trucks coming in and out of terminals, despite being currently closed to ships.

"I don't think we'll have a large impact in terms of logistics and shipping moving forward," Brent Howard, president of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, told The Hill. "There might be snafus over the next couple days while issues are being worked through, but I think they'll be able to overcome that pretty quickly."

The Port of Baltimore deals mostly in "roll on, roll off" cargo, meaning vehicles and heavy machinery, and experts say that shipments of automobiles could be the most directly affected by the bridge collapse.

"Baltimore is very significant in terms of … consumer goods, cars, and other things the US imports from abroad," shipping analyst John Kartsonas wrote in a commentary. "This is not as significant in the commodities business. They do export coal from the Baltimore area, but probably what's going to be affected most is deliveries of new cars, for example."

Within a harbor that small, -- could you even use underwater explosives to cut up structure for removal? Or would the pressure wave carry so efficiently for those relatively short distances that it would be damaging to underwater fiber optics, nearby structures etc? Surely it would kill wildlife in the harbor (fuGly fish kill, dolphins floating up on shore, PETA in a twist).

r0gue, after your other comment about getting rid of the remaining structure, it occurred to me, though maybe completely unrealistic, but dragging the pieces out to sea with a heavy lift ship (or more) and drop them. It would be a shame to lose all that steel, but cutting up into pieces to lift out to recycle, could take a long time.

That quote by the Chamber of Commerce sounds like delusional nonsense.

I'm amazed that all of those containers would stay on the ship in rough water. It looks like if it tipped just a little to either side, the outer cargo would get dumped into the ocean.

Even if they just moved it out of the way, my (perhaps incorrect) understanding of the sea floor close to the coast is that it is littered with buried cables, and fisheries etc etc.

I suppose they'll find a place, IF those sorts of lifting-ships could lift something like this. Which I doubt. Lifting a ship is a big deal. Now look how large this is in comparison to that giant ship.

One more thought, they don't have to shape charge and cut the beams in two. Perhaps they could use smaller charges and just blow out the rivets? The beams are already "bite sized". in the way that they were manufactured.

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
I'm amazed that all of those containers would stay on the ship in rough water. It looks like if it tipped just a little to either side, the outer cargo would get dumped into the ocean.

They interlock and are chained together. They sort of become structures in and of themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Tugs should be required to pull all shipping out to open water.

Period.

This is ridiculous.

Inflate a giant balloon inside the bridge section and float it down river out of the way.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Tugs should be required to pull all shipping out to open water.

Period.

This is ridiculous.

I bet that is what the victims thought on their way down.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Tugs should be required to pull all shipping out to open water.

Period.

It could be done, however those costs will be passed down the line, ultimately landing on the consumer. Chesapeake Bay from Atlantic to Baltimore's harbor is 200+ miles..you want two tugs to chaperone every, single ship transit? A better solution would be to increase the amount of dolphins and pier-protection in and around critical structures.

Saw some TugBoat Captain on Fox saying it happens sometimes but mostly on the open seas where they can recover.
Seems it is not totally uncommon.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
This is ridiculous.

But he put 'period' at the end.

Go on google maps and put in satellite view, next to the bridge look at the protection they put around the power lines that go across the bay, they are huge compared to almost none around the bridge.

I worked in North Germany at several of the large shipyards and container terminals. Maybe not an escort for each ship, but whenever we had storms there was always a tug on station in the harbor in case a ship broke lose. At least they could have pushed the ship aground or redirected it. Just have a tug located close to the bridge and it can respond as needed. Whenever they had ships come down the slip they had tugs get between them and the pier.