Retired Merchant Marine reacts to video of cargo ship striking Key Bridge in Baltimore

WUSA9
26 Mar 202408:05

Summary

TLDRA container ship struck a pier of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, leading to a section of the bridge collapsing into the harbor. First responders are conducting an active search and rescue mission, including for state workers and bridge crews. The ship appeared to lose power, with speculation of a possible mechanical or electrical issue. Tugboats are not typically required at this bridge point, and the bridge was not shut down prior to the incident due to the rapid unfolding of events.

Takeaways

  • 🚢 A container ship struck a pier of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore causing a section of the bridge to collapse.
  • 🚨 An active search and rescue mission is underway, with first responders working to save people who fell into the water post-collapse.
  • 👨‍💼 Maryland Transportation Secretary, Paul Wiedefeld, confirmed that state workers were on the bridge during the incident.
  • 🌪️ The ship was moving at a speed of about eight knots and appeared to have engine issues leading up to the collision.
  • 🖱️ A power blackout occurred on the ship, with the emergency generator kicking in to restore essential functions.
  • 🛳️ The absence of tugboats near the ship at the time of the incident is noted, which might have helped in preventing the collision.
  • 🚢 The ship likely had a pilot on board, but the port of Baltimore typically does not require tugboats under the bridge.
  • 📞 Communication challenges due to a minimally manned crew and potential language barriers may have contributed to the incident.
  • 🚧 The bridge was not shut down prior to the vessel's distress, possibly due to the rapid unfolding of events.
  • 🤖 There is resistance to using automation to assist pilots and navigate ships, with operations primarily relying on VHF radio.

Q & A

  • What was the nature of the breaking news from Baltimore?

    -A container ship struck a pier of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, causing sections of the bridge to collapse into the harbor.

  • What was the immediate response following the bridge collapse?

    -First responders initiated a search and rescue operation to save people who fell into the water, which was expected to last for several more hours.

  • Who were among the individuals on the bridge during the collapse?

    -The people on the bridge at the time of the collapse included crews working on the bridge and state workers, as confirmed by the Maryland Transportation Secretary, Paul Wiedefeld.

  • What could have caused the ship to lose power and hit the bridge?

    -A potential cause of the ship losing power could be a mechanical or electrical issue in the engine room, or a crash astern which is a common cause of blackouts on ships.

  • What is the role of a bow thruster in navigation?

    -A bow thruster is a small propeller on the bow of the ship that moves the bow left and right, helping to maintain the ship's course, especially when pushed off course by wind or currents.

  • Why weren't tugboats required under the bridge at the time of the incident?

    -According to the regulations of the Port of Baltimore and the US Coast Guard, tugboats are not required under the bridge. They are typically used for close-in maneuvering when a ship is entering the port.

  • How did the lack of automation on the ship affect the situation?

    -The lack of automation meant that the crew had to manually manage the ship's navigation, engine room, and communication with the Coast Guard, which can be challenging in a crisis situation, especially on a minimally manned ship.

  • Why wasn't the bridge shut down if the vessel was in distress?

    -The events unfolded very quickly, happening in under five minutes, and the ship was minimally manned with limited communication capabilities, making it difficult to shut down the bridge in time.

  • What is the significance of the smoke coming out of the ship's smokestack before the collision?

    -The large amounts of smoke indicated that the engine was working hard, possibly due to an attempt to reverse the ship's course to slow it down before the collision.

  • What happened during the blackout on the ship and how was it related to the emergency generator?

    -During the blackout, all lights on the ship went out, and then the emergency generator kicked in, restoring some lights. However, the emergency generator cannot slow the ship down; it is only meant to restore emergency fire pumps and lighting.

  • How might the situation have been different if a tugboat was present?

    -If a tugboat was present, it could have potentially slowed down the ship or altered its heading away from the bridge pier, possibly preventing the collision.

Outlines

00:00

🚢 Ship Collision with Francis Scott Key Bridge

This paragraph discusses a significant incident where a container ship collided with a pier of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. The collision led to the collapse of sections of the bridge into the harbor. Emergency services have been conducting a search and rescue operation, which is expected to continue for several more hours. The people in question include bridge workers and those who were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. The Maryland Transportation Secretary, Paul Wiedefeld, confirmed that state workers were on the bridge during the accident. The paragraph also includes an interview with Captain John Conrad, a retired merchant marine, who provides insights into the possible causes of the accident, such as the ship's engine working hard, a potential blackout, and the lack of tugboats in the vicinity. He explains the role of bow thrusters and the challenges of maneuvering a large ship with minimal crew and limited automation.

05:05

🛳️ Role of Tugboats and Bridge Management in Ship Accidents

The second paragraph delves into the role of tugboats in preventing and managing ship accidents. It explains that tugboats are essential for close-in maneuvering, especially when a ship loses engine power. The paragraph discusses the procedures when a ship approaches a port, including the requirement for a pilot on board to order tugs based on the ship's maneuverability. It also touches on the US Coast Guard's role in overseeing port facilities. The discussion includes the reasons why tugboats are not required under the bridge and the potential benefits they could provide in such situations. Additionally, the paragraph addresses the question of why the bridge was not shut down if the vessel was in distress, highlighting the rapid unfolding of events and the challenges of managing a minimally manned ship with limited communication and automation capabilities.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Breaking News

The term 'Breaking News' refers to an unexpected event or recent development that is reported as soon as it is discovered, often interrupting regular programming. In the context of the video, it describes the sudden and shocking incident of a container ship striking a pier of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, leading to a bridge collapse and subsequent search and rescue operation.

💡Container Ship

A 'Container Ship' is a type of vessel designed to carry large numbers of interlocking containers, which are used to store and transport goods. In the video, the container ship is the central object involved in the accident, as it collided with the bridge, causing the collapse and initiating the emergency response.

💡Search and Rescue Operation

A 'Search and Rescue Operation' is an organized effort to locate and assist people who are in distress or imminent danger. In the video, this operation is critical as it involves first responders trying to save people who fell into the water after the bridge collapse, including bridge workers and potentially other individuals.

💡Bridge Collapse

A 'Bridge Collapse' occurs when the structural integrity of a bridge is compromised, leading to its partial or complete failure. In the video, the bridge collapse is the catastrophic event that has unfolded, resulting from the impact of the container ship striking one of its piers, and it has significant implications for public safety and infrastructure.

💡First Responders

First responders are professionals such as firefighters, paramedics, and police officers who are trained to arrive quickly and provide assistance in emergency situations. In the video, first responders are actively involved in the search and rescue operation following the bridge collapse, working to save lives and mitigate the effects of the disaster.

💡Blackout

A 'Blackout' refers to a sudden loss of electrical power, typically affecting a large area. In the context of the video, the term is used to describe the moment when all lights on the ship went out, indicating a total loss of power. This event is significant as it may have contributed to the ship's inability to change course and avoid the collision with the bridge.

💡Emergency Generator

An 'Emergency Generator' is a backup power source designed to provide temporary electrical power in the event of a primary power failure. In the video, the emergency generator is mentioned as having kicked in after the ship experienced a blackout, restoring some functions like lighting and fire pumps, but not the ship's propulsion system, which is critical for navigation and avoiding disaster.

💡Bow Thruster

A 'Bow Thruster' is a device located at the front of a ship that can be used to maneuver the vessel by pushing water to one side, thereby moving the bow in the opposite direction. In the video, the bow thruster is discussed as a potential tool that could have been used to correct the ship's course if it had been pushed off course by the wind, but its effectiveness is limited at higher speeds.

💡Tugboats

Tugboats are small, powerful boats designed to push or pull larger vessels, assisting them in docking, undocking, or navigating through tight spaces. In the video, tugboats are mentioned as essential for close-quarters maneuvering and could have potentially helped prevent the collision if they were present near the bridge at the time of the incident.

💡Pilot

In the context of maritime operations, a 'Pilot' is a professional who navigates vessels in and out of harbors and through complex waterways. The pilot on board the ship in the video is responsible for managing the ship's navigation, including communication with the engine room and potentially coordinating with tugboats, and is a key figure in the response to the emergency situation.

💡Automation

Automation refers to the use of technology to control and operate processes with minimal human intervention. In the video, it is mentioned that there has been resistance towards using automation to assist pilots and navigate ships, with operations still relying heavily on traditional methods like VHF radio. The incident raises questions about the potential benefits of increased automation in maritime safety.

Highlights

A container ship struck a pier of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore causing sections of the bridge to collapse.

The incident occurred around 1:30 AM, leading to an active search and rescue mission.

Individuals on the bridge at the time of the collapse included crews working on the bridge contractor for the Maryland Transportation Secretary, Paul Wiedefeld.

Captain John Conrad, a retired merchant marine, provided expert analysis on the situation.

The ship was traveling at approximately eight knots and appeared to be working hard, with large amounts of smoke coming out of the smokestack.

There was a moment of blackout on the ship, followed by the emergency generator kicking in and lights reemerging.

The emergency generator could not slow the ship down, only restore emergency fire pumps and lighting.

The ship likely had a pilot on board, but no tugboats were around at the time of the incident.

The most common cause of losing power on a ship is a crash astern, which is tested before entering the port to prevent blackouts.

The ship was an older model with minimal crew and high complexity, making it prone to mechanical and electrical issues leading to blackouts.

Bow thrusters, which help move the bow left and right, become less effective when the ship is going more than five knots.

Tugboats are not required under the bridge, but could have potentially slowed down or redirected the ship if present.

The Coast Guard Captain is in charge of port facilities and military personnel, but tugboats are not mandated at this bridge point.

The bridge was not shut down, likely due to the rapid unfolding of events and minimal manning of the ship.

There is resistance to using automation to assist pilots and navigate ships, with operations primarily conducted on VHF radio.

The bridge collapse was a fast-developing situation, making it difficult to react and shut down the bridge in time.

Transcripts

00:00

We are now eight hours into stunning breaking news out of Baltimore.

00:04

Around 130 this morning,

00:05

a container ship struck a pier of the

00:08

Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore within seconds,

00:11

the sections of the bridge around that pier collapsed into the harbor.

00:14

Just unbelievable.

00:15

Since then, first responders have been trying to save people who went into the water

00:20

and they expect that search and rescue operation to last for several more hours.

00:25

The people they're looking for include crews working on the bridge.

00:28

This is an active search and rescue mission.

00:31

We know

00:32

we know there were individuals on the bridge at the time of the collapse,

00:35

working on the bridge contractor for us.

00:40

That is the Maryland Transportation Secretary,

00:42

Paul Wiedefeld speaking there confirming state workers were

00:45

on that bridge when the ship hit it.

00:47

And that's in addition to the vehicles on the bridge at that moment

00:51

and joining us right now on the phone is Captain John Conrad.

00:54

He is a retired merchant marine and runs the website G captain. Good morning.

01:00

Good morning. How are you today?

01:01

Oh, we wish it was a better day.

01:03

Um But we gotta ask when you when you look at that video of the ship, what do you see?

01:10

Well, you see as the ship is coming towards the bridge, it's going relatively fast,

01:16

it's going about eight knots and you see large

01:20

amounts of smoke coming out of the smoke stack.

01:24

So

01:25

question is, you know, the engine seems to be working hard.

01:30

We don't know exactly why it was working hard.

01:33

Potentially, the ship was put in reverse to try to slow it

01:37

and get a new course, but the engine was working hard and then we saw a blackout.

01:43

All the lights on the ship went out

01:46

and it looks like the emergency generator kicked in,

01:49

uh the lights reemerged

01:52

but the emergency generator cannot slow the ship down.

01:57

All it can do is restore the emergency fire pumps and lighting.

02:02

Um, so that,

02:04

you know, the ship continued,

02:06

uh to uh lose course and the bow was pushed by the wind down into that

02:13

column. And uh, unfortunately, it hit. We also saw

02:18

there were, uh, there were no tug boats around.

02:21

Usually the port of Baltimore allows the ships to uh

02:25

get rid of the tugs uh, before it, it gets near the bridge,

02:31

but the ship likely did have a pilot still on board.

02:37

So it sounds like there were a few steps taken before the generator kicked in.

02:41

At what point do you make that distress call? And what can cause a ship to lose power?

02:48

Well, the most common cause of, of losing power is a crash astern.

02:53

So if you did an emergency astern, I don't know that that is what happens here,

02:57

but when a ship comes into port, so before when it's coming in from overseas,

03:02

before it enters the port, it has to do a crash, a stern test, they make them do that

03:07

because it is a frequent cause of uh of

03:13

a blackout. So they want to make sure that the ship does not black out when it goes uh uh

03:18

full astern. It's also an older ship and these are minimally crude ships.

03:24

The ship likely has less than 25 people on board

03:28

and they're highly complicated. So uh any mechanical issue, electrical issue

03:33

in the engine room could cause a blackout

03:38

and, and speaking off camera, you mentioned a bow thruster. What, what is that?

03:42

And how could it uh play a role in, in an incident like this?

03:47

Right.

03:48

So on the, on the bow of the ship,

03:49

you'll see if you look at pictures a circle with an X through it,

03:53

that's a symbol, meaning there's a bow thruster underneath and you know,

03:57

the tugs don't want to press against that area.

04:00

So there's a little propeller that goes sideways and

04:03

that propeller just moves the bow left and right.

04:07

It's a small, much smaller engine than the main propeller which is on the stern.

04:13

And that can help if the,

04:15

if the wind pushes the bow off course as it

04:18

looks like happened now that can push the bow back.

04:23

Um, you know, you know,

04:24

under the bridge problem is those bow thrusters are recessed.

04:30

So as the ship picks up speed, the bow thruster becomes less effective.

04:36

Usually when a ship is going more than five knots,

04:39

that bow thruster does not work properly.

04:43

Um, so

04:44

that could be another reason that they, you know, did a,

04:48

a went full of stern to slow down

04:51

to restore that bow thruster. But

04:54

we don't know that for sure. It's, it's just an educated guess at this point.

04:59

And I have to ask you, what role do a tug boats play in all of this?

05:05

Right.

05:05

So a tugboat is,

05:06

is the best thing to have when you lose

05:10

an engine and they're required for close in maneuvering.

05:14

So as the ship gets, you know,

05:16

when it's coming in from overseas and it gets

05:18

under the bridge and comes close to port,

05:20

um,

05:20

you have to have a pilot on board and that

05:22

pilot orders tugs based on the maneuverability and of the ship

05:28

and those tugs can push the ship sideways,

05:31

it can push the heading and they can also slow down the ship if it's, if it's going

05:36

too fast. But Baltimore and the US coast guard

05:40

captain of the port, so the coast guard captain of the port is in charge of all the,

05:44

all the uh port facilities and, and that,

05:49

you know, the military person in charge of the entire area.

05:52

Um They do not require a tug boat under the bridge. If there was a tug boat there,

05:57

it, you know, a tug boat off the stern, usually f two that could have slowed the,

06:03

the ship down and a tugboat

06:05

connected near the bow could have pulled that heading

06:09

away from the column. But tug boats are not required at

06:15

this bridge point.

06:16

Captain Conrad, you know,

06:17

people are gonna be listening to uh your educated opinion

06:21

and all all of this and what happened here.

06:23

And the obvious question gotta be

06:26

why wasn't the bridge shut down? If this vessel was in distress?

06:33

It was, you know, things are happening really quickly.

06:36

It seems uh like it was slow, but this all happened in under uh five minutes.

06:44

And

06:45

um you know, there's, there's these ships are very minimally manned.

06:49

You have an all foreign crew, they may or they're required to speak English.

06:53

But how well they speak English is not always known and you have one local pilot.

06:58

So you have a captain like me who's in the, you know,

07:01

an expert in the port of Baltimore and he's managing everything.

07:05

He's trying to talk to the engine room, trying to get tug boats,

07:07

trying to call me day with the Coast Guard.

07:10

And

07:10

it's,

07:12

it's a lot for a very minimally manned ship

07:17

and these ships don't have very much automation.

07:20

So there's been resistance towards using a I to help,

07:25

help the pilot and help the ship navigate.

07:28

Um, it's really operated on old school VHF radio.

07:33

So unless someone,

07:34

unless that bridge is manned and it's not a

07:36

drawbridge and someone on the bridge is monitoring that radio

07:40

and then can quickly put up the signs, you know, in under five minutes.

07:44

Um, it's just not going to happen if it had been a drawbridge,

07:48

it's possible they might have got it shut down,

07:51

but uh things were just happening too fast to shut down the bridge in this case.

07:57

That is uh Captain John Conrad. Captain Conrad.

07:59

Thank you so much for joining us for a few

08:02

minutes here and sharing your insight and knowledge with us.

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Etiquetas relacionadas
Bridge CollapseMaritime AccidentSearch and RescueBaltimoreShip NavigationEmergency ResponseMaritime SafetyCaptain AnalysisInfrastructure FailureTransportation Crisis
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