Baltimore bridge span removed, ship freed with precision blast

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

May 13, 2024, 6:12 PM EDT


Dali, the container ship that felled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, was freed on Monday by precision explosive charges that dismantled the span of the roadway that came down on the vessel.

Gov. Wes Moore announced at a news conference that a channel 50 feet deep and 700 feet wide was expected to be available to vessels at the end of the month and will be a key piece for "fully opening vessel traffic to the port."

The port was initially shuttered at 1:28 a.m. March 26 when the 940-foot, Singapore-flagged ship lost power and drifted into the bridge that serves as the unofficial gateway to a harbor formed where the Patapsco River meets Chesapeake Bay. The bridge collapsed, blocking vessel traffic and killing six workers who were on the bridge.

A unified command that includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, Maryland State Police, and other authorities, immediately began working to create new channels in the port to facilitate basic shipments. "Over the last seven weeks, we've moved a total of 365 commercial vessels through the alternate channels that have been established," Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said Monday.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/baltimore-bridge-span-removed-ship-freed-precision-blast-rcna152065

---

[COL Mustard]

1. Great job by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard and all the other agencies that make up

The Unified Command! Well done!

[Botany]

11. Nice to see that grown ups can get the job done.

[magicarpet]

2. Will the government be seizing the ship and its cargo,...

... to help pay for some of the removal and rebuild cost of a new bridge ? Then insurance and law suits can take care of any remaining cost balances ?

[BigmanPigman]

6. The ship's owners are trying to get out of

financial responsibility. They are fighting it...guilty bastards.

"Companies behind cargo ship that destroyed Baltimore’s Key Bridge seek exemption from legal liability"

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/bridge-collapse-dali-ship-company-petition-limit-payout-liability/60359628

[SunSeeker]

9. Are they eligible for the exemption if they are proven negligent?

The article notes that their Petition for Exemption from Liability court document states: "The casualty was not due to any fault, neglect or want of care on the part of (the) petitioners, the vessel or any persons or entities for whose acts petitioners may be responsible." I'm guessing you don't get the exemption if you've been negligent.

The City of Baltimore is suing them, alleging the owners of the Dali were negligent in letting the ship leave the Port of Baltimore without fixing known power problems which made it unseaworthy, as well as other negligent acts they committed causing the ship to hit the bridge. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/baltimore/news/baltimore-city-claims-negligence-in-lawsuit-against-the-dali-the-ship-that-caused-key-bridge-collapse/

[BigmanPigman]

10. I have no idea what the legalities are

but it seems to me that they are going to fight this down to the last red cent until the shipping company claims no financial fault at all. This is typical behavior of how big companies work around the world.
Companies only care about...
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

They NEVER care about humans. We are nothing to them.

[Kennah]

16. It's complicated

Sal Mercogliano, a YouTuber with a channel "What's Going On With Shipping?", is a former ship captain with the Military Sealift Command. He's talked about the complex issue of shipping and the ownership of ships and the cargo.

[mjvpi]

3. See. See. "See, the Government can't do anything right".

Great job ACOE. And Dept of transportation.

[elleng]

4. WOW!

[spike jones]

5. Whoever placed those charges is not getting paid enough. n/t

[IronLionZion]

8. Army Corps of Engineers has plenty of experience with controlled demolitions

[csziggy]

13. Yes - my grandfather was in it before it became the Army Corps of Engineers

He joined for WWI and was in the 114th Engineers. I have his negatives of them practicing setting off explosives from his training. Then he arrived in France just after the war ended. His orders were to rebuild roads that the Germans had destroyed. A quote from his report following his work in France:

The insatiable appetite of the road, for brick and rock, soon developed a shortage of material. The entire town of Binarville was soon on the road, and all the ruined buildings from Vienne le Chateau soon followed. Workable deposits of concrete in German Pill Boxes, Cut and Cover shelters, and Artillery emplacements were found. With the assistance of Salvaged German explosives,good production soon developed.

A note about this report - the commanding officer wanted third party descriptions of what the engineers had done, possibly to support creating the Army Corps of Engineers. As a 1st Lt., my grandfather was ordered to write the report for the 114th.

[COL Mustard]

14. It's always interesting to read

Writing from that period. They had a great flair for words, even in very dry reports. I have a scrapbook from that era that was compiled by a German officer who served on both fronts. I have a hard time reading the script, but the pictures tell the story.

[csziggy]

15. One of the requirements for that report was it had to be in third person

It made it more unusual than normal for a first person report.

[Martin68]

7. Most excellent!

[Martin68]

12. Very impressive feat!