Maritime Journalist Shares Early Analysis of Francis Scott Key Bridge Disaster

Sam J. | 9:15 AM on March 26, 2024

As Twitchy readers know, in this morning's early hours, the Francis Scott Key Bridge was struck by a large containership and collapsed. Entirely. We are seeing reports that two people have been rescued, one is in serious condition, and they believe at least seven more people are missing.

Of course, rumors are flying all over the Twittersphere and on social media about a TERRORIST ATTACK and other scary stuff, so we thought we'd share this from John Konrad who is himself a maritime journalist and has released an early but informative analysis about what happened.

Here is my early analysis of the ship propulsion and steering problems: https://t.co/r981nAOl8d https://t.co/vqm3anTLAJ
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) March 26, 2024

From gcaptain.com:

“The vessel notified the MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control and a collision with the bridge was possible,” ABC quoted the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s report as saying. “The vessel struck the bridge, causing a complete collapse.”

She struck the southwest support column at a speed of 7.6 knots (8.7 MPH).
Cameras from the Vessel Traffic Service captured footage of the collision and subsequent collapse. The ship’s lights went out twice before the collision, indicating possible issues in the engine room. Despite the quick restoration of lighting, this suggests a full blackout occurred, prompting the emergency generator to restore basic electrical services and lighting.
Without propulsion or tugboats, a ship this size is nearly impossible to stop.
The emergency generator does not connect to propulsion but should support steering and navigation systems but the ships heading appears to have been pushed off course by the wind directly into the support column.
Ships are not required to have tugboat escorts when passing under the Francis Scott Key Bridge so they have limited ability to slow down on their own when they lose power and can not put the propeller into reverse.

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