Bridge destroyed by a containership

[j.sabourn]

Used to be the first thing the pilot asked on any vessel was the “ Air Draft “ of vessel that was water level to the highest point on ship usually the top of the mainmast if going under any bridges . JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
Never having been there it looked a bit confusing, the bridge didn't look high enough where the ship hit to allow it to get under, unless she was more of course from what I saw.
Des

[j.sabourn]

Probably an optical illusion Des. Would probably be surprised if saw how many feet clearance there was if was passing under the part of the structure she was supposed to. JS
Many shore people imagine that the sea horizon is many miles away when in actual fact if they were e.g. 36 feet above it would be less than 7 miles away. However another ship or land would be a different story and much much further away. One of the principles of the U-Boat it was too late when you saw them , if you ever did. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

According to a USA official the bridge was opened in 1971!!!!!!

Sydney Harbour Bridge, can be a close call going under there with some cruise ships.
The new larger ones now berth so they do not have to go under.

[j.sabourn]

#31 you could find this on the General Arrangement Plan by measuring the height from the Summer load line to the top of the tallest mast as is all to scale and also allowing the full FWA. JS

[John Cassels]

#31 you could find this on the General Arrangement Plan by measuring the height from the Summer load line to the top of the tallest mast as is all to scale and also allowing the full FWA. JS

If you use the FWA to work out the clearance then you're taking a chance !.

[j.sabourn]

Not using the FWA as an allowance but also to use it in reverse to add height to the vessel. The Bridge will probably have a law like like a mininum of 6 ft at all times is required , more than likely the FWA allowance will add another foot at the most depending on the deadweight of vessel and a further safeguard to increase the gap. Not like that advert about eating Cadbury snack. Just to be on the safe side the House flag on the cane flown from the mainmast should also be down if you’re worried about your figures. I have little doubt that the vessel in question obeyed all Harbour and Port Authority’s laws. Apart of course of being the main cause of destruction of same. JS

[John Arton]

Believe that the max air draft allowance is in the region of 58 metres which should be ample for most vessels.
Here is the port state control report from an inspection in Chile stating minor? Deficiency in propulsion and generating equipment, later cleared by US coastguard inspection.
With that bridge being such an important transport link for Maryland state I would have thought that vessels of the size and draft of that one, the port would require tug attendance until clear of the bridge.
Rgds
J.A
https://gcaptain.com/breaking-mv-dal...eid=3b737aa316

[Johnny Kieran]

Still, if a boat gets into a place, it'll get out someway or another. Providing all the rules are followed of course.

[thomas michael]

hi john sabourn #37
good morning, I watched last night a american program showing the AIS track set against full chart graphics together with communication from the ship Dali, and the TV marine expert describing the scenario both before and after the crash into the bridge speculated that the dropping of the portside anchor with the immediate action of full astern (because the screw was right handed ) would have caused the bow to turn to starboard and because the ship by now was running at seven knots with the given cross wind and tide the ship could not be turned or stopped from colliding into the bridge, The hypothetic summary whilst holding argument when studying it will be somewhat near then truth i assume, But a startling statement made by the independent expert that the collision was at around 1 30am and joe biden gave a press conference at nine am that same morning stating that the federal goverment will pay for the total loss of the bridge,But it seems that the marine investigation only carried out a inspection of the ship and the damaged bridge yesterday, and this was believed to be a cursory look over the ship and disaster area, The so called TV expert then stated that Biden took a year to respond to a train crash in OHIO that was carrying chemicals and caused huge amounts of damage to both health and infrastructure in the town and its population and there has been no monies from the federal goverment or offers but advice that it is for the insurance companies to solve it ,The twist in the tale is that the investigation has now stated the black box for the ship has been found and there is a missing two minuets of conversation between the pilots on the bridge, Not sure what to make of this as the connotations of the experts monologue is surely trying to blame a third party, i leave this for your delectation to mull over and savour,
tom