I’m not, either; the ship was being released from harbor control anyway. If there are changes needed moving forward with tug protocol, then let’s make them, but I don’t believe there was anything nefarious in their use and release here.
I have also seen reports that the Dali was being serviced for electrical issues before leaving–some have said “routine scheduled maintenance” while others have said there were failures being fixed. Either way, I’m sure the trained, experienced, professional investigators will suss that out.
It’s possible that there were issues thought to be fixed while stationary but that simply couldn’t be replicated. I know I’ve driven away from many a mechanic who said that they either fixed or couldn’t replicate my issue, only to have to turn back around and tell them “nope”.
I have personally found this piece enlightening, sharing just an excerpt below:
I think the rules might be changing. The scale of what this tragedy could have been during the day is enormous. Not that it wasn’t tragic but the fact that they were able to stop the traffic here is a miracle.
Those poor workers lost their lives and it appears they were trying to flee when they did as they found 2 of them in a truck.
This could have happened anywhere and it could happen again. It’s worth it to tug past major structures like this, whatever the cost IMHO.
THIS! So many times when my car had electrical issues. After I gave it up, I happened upon the FTC website, read hundreds of complaints covering several model years, and realized I should be very happy to be alive. The manfacturer should have done a recall, but did not.
Makes me think about General Motors and their 3.6L Direct Injection V6 found in the Arcadia, Traverse, Enclave, and at least 2 Cadillac models from 2011 till who knows when.
Timing Chains go because of an oiling problem on the left side of the engine. It’s a $7,000 fix if you catch it in time and a new engine if you don’t at a lot more than that. The transmissions in these cars / trucks are also faulty. That’s $8,000 to replace in 2024.
We happen to be unfortunate owners of one of these and have done religious maintenance to not fall victim. 3K mile synthetic oil changes / annual trans fluid flushes. So far so good and it’s time for a new car for wifey soon.
On the other hand, we have Subaru and their faulty 2.5L Turbo 4’s. Happen to be an unfortunate / fortunate owner of one of those too. Thankfully that problem was so bad that Subaru was slapped with a class action. Mine blew up in my driveway upon startup a whole 1K miles past the factory warranty (66K).
I’m not entirely sure what would have happened if I didn’t walk into the dealership with a copy of the settlement but I did end up getting a free / new updated 2020 engine because of it.
I love my 2015 STi so glad it only really has 18K miles on it. They don’t make that car anymore. When it comes back it’s going to be No thank you.
Pro Tip - If you have something wrong with you car / truck past the warranty - always research it to see if you can get it fixed for free due to this or that.
Admittedly I know nothing, so feel free to chime in and correct me.
I think, that within 2 weeks, there will be small boat passage, and a month for all boats to pass. Definite economic damage, but small.
Yes, it will take 3 months for full removal.
The boat, back to port in 10 days to 3 weeks for offload repair.
They need to pull some of those unstable containers
Then there are 3 ways to go here.
Fix the bridge fast - 9 months to a year
Fix the bridge slow - 1- 2 years (government red tape)
Fix the bridge forever - New design, new ramps, lights, security, with a design picked from all the worlds top bridge designers.
And bonus points because I learned a new vocabulary word:
ALLISION-- (plural allisions) (nautical) The striking of a vessel against a fixed object; the act of alliding or an instance thereof .
While the terms collision and allision are sometimes used interchangeably, they’re not the same. In a collision, one vessel strikes another ship, while an allision occurs when a vessel hits a stationary object , such as a dock, bridge, oil platform, or drilling rig.
Absolutely - fate on Baltimore side. Here in Los Angeles, most of our bad earthquakes in 1971, 87, and northridge in 94 were all early morning. Fate for our city.
As to stopping the traffic. Also a small miracle. That (at least as I know it), the Captain radios to port, who called the bridge, who called the guards at each side in just a few minutes. I saw a Semi crossing at I think a minute and 30, before collision. That guy still had the whole span to cross.
THAT IS FATE !! wow.
As to the guys in the Truck. I think they did not have a clue. I read about a co-worker that said they were all on a break, and usually go to the trucks for a smoke, music, talk, or just sit.
I think you are overly optimistic, but I wouldn’t mind one bit being totally wrong on that.
I think it will be fast-tracked, but still take 2 years or more. Pretty sure that they are not going to build it to the same design, but will update to modern standards.
But I doubt I am more knowledgeable on the subject than you.
Interesting thought, and I think you could be correct. I saw the same thing in the video.
In an aviation event I was involved in, I sparingly turned on the strobe lights from time to time to help notify search and rescue. My two concerns, the chance of fire, and the life of the batteries.
I would bet that they had some power in the batteries even when the engines were down. But only for a very short period of time.
Baltimore has a huge and important harbor. Clearing the wreckage and building a new bridge will take some time. Once the wreckage is cleared, would it be possible to increase ferry traffic across the harbor to help alleviate the increase in traffic on other routes around the harbor? I live in the Midwest where there are no big rivers/lakes or ferries, but I have ridden on several ferries during my travels so I have some idea about the logistics and time involved.
The biggest crane on the east coast is about to pull up to the scene. Giant barges to follow. It’s probably going to be set up as a 24/7 worksite. I wouldn’t be surprised to see ships passing through in 10-14 days.
As for the bridge - not sure. Depends on what they want to do. If they reuse what’s still there and it is in fact useable - it will be pretty quick (months not years).
If it’s possible to build a new permanent structure next to it, like they did in NY with the Tappan Zee - that might be an option with something temporary in place using parts of the old structure.
I believe any work on that bridge will be 24/7. It’s too important. I forgot where that other major collapse happened a couple years ago. They were talking " Months to Years" then too. It was up in a few weeks.
This is much more complicated of course but I still think it won’t be allowed to take several months to years to get something that works in place.
The port traffic (ships) has to get up and running very very quickly and will. I don’t know the depth that’s needed to get ships through that area but if there is stuff (parts of the bridge down 30-40 feet - that’s probably where they will stay for the foreseeable future.
I’m not surprised that the ship is there; it’s not seaworthy (not even sure if it’s not sitting on the bottom), and several hundred tons of bridge sitting on top of it.
What surprised me is that the crew is still on board. Can’t be fun.
Yeah, but with power. Bit different being stuck with no running engines, although there may be an aux generator for things like lights and refrigerators.
No thank you. 
