Container Ship Collapses the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore

[Arun Vajpey]

According to news reports she was experiencing intermittent power failures the previous 2 days or so. I suspect the company was putting pressure on them to get the cargo delivered and they took a chance and went for it. A bad gamble on their part.

If that's true and now that the news has got out, I expect there will be not only insurance cover implications but also pressure on the shipping company to shoulder the costs despite this:

President Joe Biden stated that "the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing the Francis Scott Key Bridge". He also affirmed all resources were being made available to assist in the response to the incident. He said that he had plans to visit Baltimore in the days after the incident. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced that their Baltimore District "has activated its Emergency Operations Center. More than 1,100 engineering, construction, contracting and operations specialists are to provide support to local, state and federal agencies."

The reconstruction alone could cost around $2 billion according to 2022 conversion of original expenses. Then there is the disruption caused to communters - I understand the road across was part of the I-695 highway link. Under the circumstances, is it a wise political move by Biden to jump in to accept responsibility in a state that normally Democrat but has swung a few times in the past?

 

[Steven Christian]

If that's true and now that the news has got out, I expect there will be not only insurance cover implications but also pressure on the shipping company to shoulder the costs despite this:



The reconstruction alone could cost around $2 billion according to 2022 conversion of original expenses. Then there is the disruption caused to communters - I understand the road across was part of the I-695 highway link. Under the circumstances, is it a wise political move by Biden to jump in to accept responsibility in a state that normally Democrat but has swung a few times in the past?

I'm sure a lot will come out in the following months. To me it's irresponsible to signal so soon that the feds will pay for this. Which means the taxpayers. Only thing I can figure is one of the string pullers must own a lot of Maersk stock.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Seriously, sudden power failure as the ship approached the bridge has been suggested as a possible cause for the accident. On a contemporary vessel lie the Dali, how can a total loss of power occur without any warning? And if it somehow did, will there be back-up mechanisms to slow or steer the ship to safety if possible or will it become a veritable juggernaut till the momentum runs out?

Power failures typically happen without warning. I've seen that happen on every ship I've ever served on. My first run in with that was on the USS Ranger, and it took an hour to get it back.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I'm sure a lot will come out in the following months. To me it's irresponsible to signal so soon that the feds will pay for this. Which means the taxpayers. Only thing I can figure is one of the string pullers must own a lot of Maersk stock.

Who owns somebody's stock has dog squat to do with it.

Take a look at Baltimore Harbour sometime on Google Maps. That stretch of highway is a major strip, and there's going to be all kinds of disruptions without it. Now, everybody has to take the long way around.

It HAS to be rebuilt. Fast! Yesterday would be a good time to get it done.

Eventually, that shipping line will be opening up it's wallet but ONLY after years of litigation.

Nobody has that kind of time!

 

[Bob Read]

This ship had a pilot on board. We might be jumping the gun by accepting the government pre-investigation line that it was just an “unfortunate accident”. I have learned to be suspicious when the government is quick to give an official verdict of the cause before any investigation, especially in an election year.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

This ship had a pilot on board. We might be jumping the gun by accepting the government pre-investigation line that it was just an “unfortunate accident”.

I agree that it's too early to jump into conclusions before a full investigation, but if it wasn't an accident, what else could it have been? Are we talking about the possibility of sabotage?

 

[Bob Read]

Are we talking about the possibility of sabotage?

We can’t say anything about the cause with certainty at this point so I don’t see how sabotage could be ruled out.

 

[Steven Christian]

Who owns somebody's stock has dog squat to do with it.

Take a look at Baltimore Harbour sometime on Google Maps. That stretch of highway is a major strip, and there's going to be all kinds of disruptions without it. Now, everybody has to take the long way around.

It HAS to be rebuilt. Fast! Yesterday would be a good time to get it done.

Eventually, that shipping line will be opening up it's wallet but ONLY after years of litigation.

Nobody has that kind of time!

I'm not talking about the accident. I'm talking about the statement the govt will pay for it. Maersk stock was headed to zero. As soon as the statement was made it stabilized and climbed a little. Time enough to dump it. To some that may sound outlandish. But its not far fetched. Look what happened before many times. A week before they announced the lock downs during the so called pandemic many politicians in congress dumped their entire stock portfolios. They got out trading with info not available to the public. Others shorted the market and made a fortune. All a matter of public record now.
:edited for unnecessary comments.

 

[Steven Christian]

I agree that it's too early to jump into conclusions before a full investigation, but if it wasn't an accident, what else could it have been? Are we talking about the possibility of sabotage?

Anything is possible. The shipping company has been going thru a lot of union problems and has been cited by OSHA for numerous safety violations and for trying to silence whistle blowers. There's been an investigation into that companies practices well before this accident. But power failures happen all the time. It could be just a mechanical failure. Iv'e dealt with getting power failures up and running my entire career. I've also dealt with the company putting pressure on us to get the units back in service no matter what it takes before everybody's ice cream melted in Los Angeles. Intermittent power failures can be very hard to troubleshoot.
P.S...yes sometimes sabotage does happen. I could tell you a story that that happened at my power plant but thats off topic to this thread and most would probably find it boring anyway. If you want I can PM you about it. The scenario this ship experianced could be a case like that. But at this point I would say normal mechanical failure that happens all the time unless later proven otherwise.

 

[Bob Read]

Anything is possible. The shipping company has been going thru a lot of union problems and has been cited by OSHA for numerous safety violations and for trying to silence whistle blowers. There's been an investigation into that companies practices well before this accident. But power failures happen all the time. It could be just a mechanical failure. Iv'e dealt with getting power failures up and running my entire career. I've also dealt with the company putting pressure on us to get the units back in service no matter what it takes before everybody's ice cream melted in Los Angeles. Intermittent power failures can be very hard to troubleshoot.
P.S...yes sometimes sabotage does happen. I could tell you a story that that happened at my power plant but thats off topic to this thread and most would probably find it boring anyway. If you want I can PM you about it. The scenario this ship experianced could be a case like that. But at this point I would say normal mechanical failure that happens all the time unless later proven otherwise

Whenever the president comes out the next morning and calls it an “accident” before any investigation has even begun, my spider senses go off and I am very suspicious that something else is going on. Trust in what our political leaders in the US tell us is at an all time low because of their track record of obfuscation. Remember how those who believed that Covid originated in a Chinese lab were labeled as tinfoil hat conspiracy nuts?

 

[Steven Christian]

Whenever the president comes out the next morning and calls it an “accident” before any investigation has even begun, my spider senses go off and I am very suspicious that something else is going on. Trust in what our political leaders in the US tell us is at an all time low because of their track record of obfuscation. Remember how those who believed that Covid originated in a Chinese lab were labeled as tinfoil hat conspiracy nuts?

Yes. I know exactly what your saying. Couldn't agree more. It's a common tactic today. Label someone a conspiracy theorist you don't agree with. Yes there's a lot of wacky conspiracies out there. But I can list dozens that were later proven to be true. I'm sure some will think my comments about the stock market are some wacky conspiracy. But I've seen it so many times before. Pretty much all the hedge fund managers and other major players are part of the donor class. And that means both parties. I'm positive that minutes after the news broke phone calls were being made. I could be wrong about this but until a real investigation is done I still say it was irresponsible to put the tax payers on the hook for this without knowing all the facts first.

 

[Bob Read]

Yes. I know exactly what your saying. Couldn't agree more. It's a common tactic today. Label someone a conspiracy theorist you don't agree with. Yes there a lot of wacky conspiracies out there. But I can list dozens that were later proven to be true. I'm sure some will think my comments about the stock market are some wacky conspiracy. But I've seen it so many times before. Pretty much all the hedge fund managers and other major players are part of the donor class. And that means both parties. I'm positive that minutes after the news broke phone calls were being made. I could be wrong about this but until a real investigation is done I still say it was irresponsible to put the tax payers on the hook for this without knowing all the facts first.

Ideally I would like to see financial liability assigned to those responsible. However, for me, that is downstream from what should be our primary inquiry: was this an intentional act or the result of sabotage of the ship? If so, those responsible should suffer retribution. If they don’t then we might as well prepare for the next event.

 

[Steven Christian]

Ideally I would like to see financial liability assigned to those responsible. However, for me, that is downstream from what should be our primary inquiry: was this an intentional act or the result of sabotage of the ship? If so, those responsible should suffer retribution. If they don’t then we might as well prepare for the next event.

I think that's guaranteed anyway. But I'll leave that subject for a different discussion board. It could be a simple mechanical problem. Or a disgruntled employee throwing a monkey wrench into the works. But yes. They need to find out what happened before running off half cocked and just opening the wallet. There is a possibility that its something much worse. A couple of more ports taken out could collapse the economy. I hope that's not the case. But in todays world who knows. They need to find out quick.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Guys, I do not indulge conspiracy thoeries. Random events happen and coincidences DO happen for absolutely no reason at all beyond random chance.

There is ZERO evidence that what happened here was anything other that a slightly worn out and ill maintained ship had anything other than a bad accident which caught the crew completely by surprise.

In sum, ship happens.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Random events happen and coincidences DO happen for absolutely no reason at all beyond random chance.

I agree completely. Unexpected natural and man-made disasters have occurred for centuries, except that it was not until relatively recently that reasonably accurate records of such events were kept for posterity.

The tendency to consider that there might be more than what meets the eye with most such accidents or disasters is a relatively modern, even contemporary one. Such opinions started to take root in the post-WW2 "Red under the bed" paranoia and the events in the Middle East. Folowing 9/11 it has become almost fashionable to think-up a conspiracy theory for just about anything out of the ordinary. I'm surprised that no one thought one up for the 2004 Tsunami......or did they?

There is ZERO evidence that what happened here was anything other that a slightly worn out and ill maintained ship had anything other than a bad accident which caught the crew completely by surprise.

Again, I agree. That's why I feel that Biden's premature assertion that the Government would bear the costs was ill-timed if it was meant to be politically motivated. Now that more facts are coming out, the taxpayer might want to see the shipping company being held accountable rather than his/her own purse being dipped into.