The bridge was in service since 1977. Do you know if there were any previous hits or near misses?

Changes
 

Container ships of course have gone up roughly 600% in volume since the 70s. 2-3000 TCUs to some now at 18,000 TCUs. Perhaps the most negligent would be the state who never addressed the increased threat? Plenty of toll cash came in for tolls, but there was always tomorrow.

“Laying blame”???? So our bridge caused the issue…. It was their ship and their accountability. At the very least, mention that the ships owners will be accountable. As well as Our Taxpayers….

Exactly the problem I mentioned. Why are the ship's owners responsible? What did the ship's owners do that contributed to the collision? The answer is we don't know at this point.

I see it as similar to renting a car from Hertz. If I am driving that car and have a collision, what responsibility do the owner's of Hertz have for the damages that were caused?

- If the law requires Hertz to carry insurance that covers their vehicle even when being operated by another then fine, they have some financial responsibility.

- If Hertz is responsible for maintenance of the vehicle but failed in that responsibility and if that failure contributed to the collision then they may have some financial responsibility.

- If the contract between Hertz and me clearly states that they are providing the vehicle but I am responsible for its proper operation then they would have no financial responsibility.

So what was the agreement between the ship's owner and Maersk? Who was responsible for maintenance of the ship? What was the cause of the loss of power and propulsion in the ship? The answer to those questions will determine who is responsible. We won't know the answers until the investigations are complete. Laying blame at this point is premature and jumping to conclusions. It is wrong to criticize leaders for being thorough and not jumping to conclusions.

Is it the ships owner, or the maker of the engines in the ship? Is it the city of Baltimore and their pilots who didn’t drop anchor? Is it the state of Maryland who owned the bridge and collected excessive tolls and didn’t use the toll revenue to improve the bridge overtime for today’s maritime vehicles? Could it be the original steel mill’s metal? Are engineers at fault? What about the last inspection company? What about back up systems and generators?

The list is endless. My impression is the state could have done a better job updating their own bridge.

You've got to be kidding me!

A ship of that size? So much for single failure criteria.
Moment investigators board stranded Dali ship for the first time to get its black box and admit hazardous materials are seeping out after it hit Baltimore's Key Bridge: Comes as four of the six workers who died are named | Daily Mail Online

The ships owner would be responsible for maintenance that might be a contributing factor. Time will tell.

[QUOTE=ithos;2316198

The only options I can think of is either build barriers to protect the piers or use tugs.



Another half hour paying for tugs would have been much less expensive than crashing the ship into a bridge pier.[/QUOTE]

Build higher and stronger.

If only they had checked the magic 8 ball.
Seriously, tugs are a good help, normally. But even tugs can have breakdowns. Accidents happen. Nothing is 100%.

The insurance companies will figure it out. This not uncharted waters for them. Even if all maintenance was upto date, no problems found during inspections, all systems operating when tugs departed, things can just break.
Dropping anchor might not have been a viable option since cables, pipes, and more pass under water through many harbors. Destruction may have been even worse, more destructive, disruptive and deadly

Thanks!!! I am sure you are right.

I thought I heard they did drop anchor to slow it down….maybe not?

I honestly haven't kept up with the investigations. Maybe they did. But, all harbors aren't just mud on the bottom. Depending what is on the bottom they could have torn up anything. Electronics, communications, gas, oil, ?, ?. We won't really know anything until the investigations are done and reviewed. At this point it is all conjecture. But there will be a lot of arguments, finger pointing and butt protecting.
The one bright star that I can see is, I was not the Captain. I would have chosen to go down without my ship.

Just assign and attach a tug boat to each vessel til they clear the obstacles.

Fortunately there are governing agencies who don't take such a lackadaisical view as yours. When there are single engine super freighters passing under inherently fragile truss bridges, then over time the odds are not on their side. Far superior bridges have pier protection because of the foresight of their governing authorities.

If any agency was using an 8 ball, it was the one who had oversight of the FSK bridge.

Here's what surprised a Drexel University professor about the Baltimore bridge collapse
https://6abc.com/baltimore-bridge-co...sity/14574047/

Bridge was built between 72 and 77. Bet new design will have structures you discussed,