Key bridge in Baltimore collapses after cargo ship crashes into it

[Anonymous]

My great uncle fell asleep at the wheel and went off a bridge with both his kids in the car. He was able to save one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess. This is probably all the result of poor maintenance of the ship to save a few $ to minorly boost profit. The ship has an electrical failure and loses a control as a result, causing this fiasco.

It was probably consultants who prescribed reduced maintenance of the ship to save on costs that resulted in this. It's entirely their MO like the train crash disaster in Ohio where they proposed to cut staff and maintenance to the bone.

Given how little we know at this point, your post is like taking an x-ray into your brain. All of your biases and world view are exposed. Just so you know…

[Anonymous]

I am not going to get the image of the bridge plunging into the water so fast out of my head. It was so, so fast.

To the people suggesting that the bridge was shoddily designed or constructed -- that's like blaming the person who built a house if a semi truck accidentally drove through the living room window. You can't build things that are impervious to catastrophic events. Whatever failures occurred here (and there were likely several) they don't lie with the people who designed and built that bridge. And by the way, those same people will be responsible for rebuilding it, and may have known the work crew who was on the bridge and likely lost lives, so next time perhaps think a little harder before weighing in.

[Anonymous]

The insurance claim on this is going to be massive. Whoever underwrote the ship + it's liability will be going out of business. I hope the city of Baltimore and the Feds go hard after the ship owner and the insurer. Apparently the ship was chartered by Maersk, but owned by another entity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe the state of our infrastructure is so bad that this would take out the WHOLE bridge. God bless the people who were driving on it at the time, there’s no way they will pull many survivors out of the river

I do not want to sound obnoxious but every single time I am traveling on a bridge over water I am always on alert and anticipate that I could end up in the water at any moment.

You are kidding yourself that you would have any control in a situation like this.

But “stay alert” if you find that reassuring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not going to get the image of the bridge plunging into the water so fast out of my head. It was so, so fast.

To the people suggesting that the bridge was shoddily designed or constructed -- that's like blaming the person who built a house if a semi truck accidentally drove through the living room window. You can't build things that are impervious to catastrophic events. Whatever failures occurred here (and there were likely several) they don't lie with the people who designed and built that bridge. And by the way, those same people will be responsible for rebuilding it, and may have known the work crew who was on the bridge and likely lost lives, so next time perhaps think a little harder before weighing in.

Thank you for this comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The insurance claim on this is going to be massive. Whoever underwrote the ship + it's liability will be going out of business. I hope the city of Baltimore and the Feds go hard after the ship owner and the insurer. Apparently the ship was chartered by Maersk, but owned by another entity.

I belive it was being piloted by a Baltimore harbor pilot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The insurance claim on this is going to be massive. Whoever underwrote the ship + it's liability will be going out of business. I hope the city of Baltimore and the Feds go hard after the ship owner and the insurer. Apparently the ship was chartered by Maersk, but owned by another entity.

I belive it was being piloted by a Baltimore harbor pilot.

Who was maintaining the electrical and propulsion systems?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The insurance claim on this is going to be massive. Whoever underwrote the ship + it's liability will be going out of business. I hope the city of Baltimore and the Feds go hard after the ship owner and the insurer. Apparently the ship was chartered by Maersk, but owned by another entity.

I belive it was being piloted by a Baltimore harbor pilot.

Who was maintaining the electrical and propulsion systems?

I'm going to guess that they were not being maintained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The insurance claim on this is going to be massive. Whoever underwrote the ship + it's liability will be going out of business. I hope the city of Baltimore and the Feds go hard after the ship owner and the insurer. Apparently the ship was chartered by Maersk, but owned by another entity.

I belive it was being piloted by a Baltimore harbor pilot.

There might not have been much the pilot could do if the ship was losing power and propulsion. From the news the boat did try to contact the proper channels to warn them about an imminent collision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess. This is probably all the result of poor maintenance of the ship to save a few $ to minorly boost profit. The ship has an electrical failure and loses a control as a result, causing this fiasco.

It was probably consultants who prescribed reduced maintenance of the ship to save on costs that resulted in this. It's entirely their MO like the train crash disaster in Ohio where they proposed to cut staff and maintenance to the bone.

Given how little we know at this point, your post is like taking an x-ray into your brain. All of your biases and world view are exposed. Just so you know…

Dp- maybe, but I wouldn’t bet against their theory. How many times in the past decade do we need to see that deregulated private industry will be the death of us?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The insurance claim on this is going to be massive. Whoever underwrote the ship + it's liability will be going out of business. I hope the city of Baltimore and the Feds go hard after the ship owner and the insurer. Apparently the ship was chartered by Maersk, but owned by another entity.

I belive it was being piloted by a Baltimore harbor pilot.

I feel bad for the pilot, for whom this is their home port/community. Can't imagine the trauma of trying to navigate to avoid this disaster in a ship whose controls are broken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess. This is probably all the result of poor maintenance of the ship to save a few $ to minorly boost profit. The ship has an electrical failure and loses a control as a result, causing this fiasco.

It was probably consultants who prescribed reduced maintenance of the ship to save on costs that resulted in this. It's entirely their MO like the train crash disaster in Ohio where they proposed to cut staff and maintenance to the bone.

Given how little we know at this point, your post is like taking an x-ray into your brain. All of your biases and world view are exposed. Just so you know…

Dp- maybe, but I wouldn’t bet against their theory. How many times in the past decade do we need to see that deregulated private industry will be the death of us?

+1. Unfortunately, it's a reasonable guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess. This is probably all the result of poor maintenance of the ship to save a few $ to minorly boost profit. The ship has an electrical failure and loses a control as a result, causing this fiasco.

It was probably consultants who prescribed reduced maintenance of the ship to save on costs that resulted in this. It's entirely their MO like the train crash disaster in Ohio where they proposed to cut staff and maintenance to the bone.

Given how little we know at this point, your post is like taking an x-ray into your brain. All of your biases and world view are exposed. Just so you know…

Spoken like a true idiot consultant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The insurance claim on this is going to be massive. Whoever underwrote the ship + it's liability will be going out of business. I hope the city of Baltimore and the Feds go hard after the ship owner and the insurer. Apparently the ship was chartered by Maersk, but owned by another entity.

The owner is a Hong Kong investment vehicle that owns 3 ships, https://www.new-ships.com/orderer-44351-Grace_Ocean_Investment_Ltd.html. I'd assume they are more than bankrupted by this. There will be insurance and reinsurance and the market thinks Maersk may have liability (the stock is down 5%). The claim is going to run well into the billions - the immediate liability for any deaths, the cost of the bridge, the cost of the clean up, the lost business while the port of Baltimore is closed....