Yes, they put out a mayday after the first power failure.
Francis Scott Key bridge, Baltimore, MD
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John From Detroit
Well-known member
From assorted sources including major news.
Ship lost power.. Started drifting out of control Crew dropped anchor and tried to get power back but lost ALL power (Even electric) In the movies they drop anchor the ship stops hard but in real life it's more like stopping a train. Don't stop on a dime, or even a dollar. may take a mile or more.. alas it took a bit too far.
Appears at this time to be an accident caused by mechanical failure but what caused the Failure .
That is likely going to be the focus of some serious investigation.
Ship lost power.. Started drifting out of control Crew dropped anchor and tried to get power back but lost ALL power (Even electric) In the movies they drop anchor the ship stops hard but in real life it's more like stopping a train. Don't stop on a dime, or even a dollar. may take a mile or more.. alas it took a bit too far.
Appears at this time to be an accident caused by mechanical failure but what caused the Failure .
That is likely going to be the focus of some serious investigation.
LarsMac
Well-known member
Yeah, I reckon it takes power to move the Rudder. You can see in video they had started the turn to Starboard then the the power loss, and the ship still veering to Starboard.
Also, dropping anchor only works if there is something down there for the anchor to hook on to.
An anchor won’t catch if there isn’t catenary in the anchor line. If it’s pulling out taut it isn’t stopping anything, at best it might slow the vessel down just from the drag. Additionally the crew couldn’t stop the cable playing out without power to brake the winch.
NY_Dutch
Well-known member
I was reading up on the anchor question earlier today. It seems this ship weighed about 220,000 tons, and would typically take 30 to 45 minutes for the anchor to set depending on the material and the vessel speed. In other words, it would have been of no help in this situation
Yep, ships are measured by how much water they displace. If you figure ~8 lbs to a gallon of salt water, displacing 220,000 tons of water takes a big ship.
For comparison, the Yamato, the largest battleship ever built displaced 72,000 tons.
Rene T
Site Team
There was a former ship captain on one of the cable networks tonight and he said a ship that size and the speed it was going it would have been a waste of time to drop the anchor.
Ray-IN
Well-known member
Todays news said the ship did drop the rear anchor when they issued the mayday call.
CharlesinGA
Well-known member
They knew the anchor would not help, but they could say they TRIED SOMETHING.
Charles
Charles
John From Detroit
Well-known member
Exactly.. They did everything possible to prevent the disaster. Even if you know there is no chance you do all you can and pray it works.
Rene T
Site Team
My opinion is to just let it play out and see what they find during the investigation. We don’t want to jump to conclusions without knowing the circumstances. I would think that they did everything possible. I can’t imagine what went through the crews mind when they were scrambling trying to prevent this disaster. It must have been total chaos.
I wonder how many minutes they had when they first had when they first started to have mechanical problems.
I wonder how many minutes they had when they first had when they first started to have mechanical problems.
A concrete fender system could possibly have helped. This was an old bridge however and they’d have needed quite an appropriation to have accomplished that. One of the attorney’s for the insurance company which underwrote the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa had the memo he’d written during that process framed and on the wall in his office, “ What can go wrong with a bridge?”.
As a retired engineer, I can't begin to imagine how engineers at Chernobyl, three mile island, Fukushima and on this container ship feel when all is lost and all you can see are the awful consequences despite all your best efforts.
Disasters happen and will keep on happening. That's the truth.
Disasters happen and will keep on happening. That's the truth.
Wasillaguy
Well-known member
Between this and the Suez canal incident a couple years ago, I'd say they have some serious issues with control and safety systems that did not exist in the past. If these are newer ships or older ships retrofitted with the latest, maybe the latest is not the greatest.
That bridge has seen 50 years of ships passing under it. The Suez has had who knows how many thousands of transits without a problem so severe. Something has changed, and not in a good way.
That bridge has seen 50 years of ships passing under it. The Suez has had who knows how many thousands of transits without a problem so severe. Something has changed, and not in a good way.
LarsMac
Well-known member
I am just relieved that this did not happen during "Rush Hour."
LarsMac
Well-known member
In the last fifty years, the size of vessels plying these waters has grown exponentially. There have been reports of "close calls" in the Panama Canal, as well.
Seems to me that there should a separate power source for critical systems, like communications and steering
Amen to that
Wasillaguy
Well-known member
From what I've heard, there are redundant and/or backup power systems so that a modicum of steering and propulsion capabilities are retained. All tested when the local pilot boards to guide the ship out of port. Inspected and signed off on a regular basis by the U.S.C.G. who also insisted they had no culpability in the Exxon Valdez grounding.
PancakeBill
Well-known member
In todays international political climate, I understand why the crew makeup would be questioned. All it would take is one bad actor to sabotage the electric system to start this. I am surprised the powers that be discounted terrorism so quickly without even being on the ship, rescue is our highest priority right now they said. No multitasking in the team? Everyone is not a diver or boat operator. Seems some investigators could have gotten to the boat before any possible evidence could be tampered with.
I don't normally think conspiracy first, and not there, nor familiar with container ship operations, but those questions sure come to mind.
I don't normally think conspiracy first, and not there, nor familiar with container ship operations, but those questions sure come to mind.
Babe2201
Well-known member
I agree that they seemed to completely rule out terrorism when they knew so little. I would have been OK if they said nothing they have seen points to it at that point but to rule it out completely so quickly is bothersome.
