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It's the bridge's fault…
Engineers blame $3m structural 'flaw' for Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge collapsing - and tens of thousands of bridges across US could also have fault
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No bridge can withstand millions of pound of force from a strike, engineers say
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But there are structures that can protect a bridge from being struck by a ship
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But none of these appeared to be in place, multiple engineers told DM.com
Engineers have blamed the deadly collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge on a design flaw that is present in tens of thousands of US bridges.
Several experts told DailyMail.com that the Maryland bridge was missing critical protection systems that would have stopped the the nearly 105,000 ton container ship from smashing into the bridge's support.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in 1977 and anti-collision devices like fenders or protection cells were not introduced until the 1980s.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13240663/Engineers-blame-structural-fault-protected-Scott-Key-Bridge.html
Port worker says cargo ship had 'serious power outages' days before hitting Francis Scott Key Bridge
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-03-26/major-bridge-in-baltimore-collapses-following-collision-with-cargo-ship
A port worker has said the cargo ship that rammed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was experiencing technical issues for two days before the crash.
Julie Mitchell, Co-Administrator of Container Royal, which tracks the tonnage on container ships in Baltimore port, told ITV News the ship was "having serious power outages".
She said: "The reefer boxes that we have, one of which is the refrigerated boxes, were actually tripping the breakers or mechanics that were keeping the generators running on those while they were trying to fix the ship.
"They weren’t even holding that, they were tripping breakers on that, they had a severe electrical problem. "
ITV News is unable to independently verify this information, but the ship's operators reported losing power moments before the collision.
While it is unclear why the ship did not stop, video shows all the lights on the huge vessel turning black seconds before hitting the bridge.
It has also emerged the container ship dropped its anchor prior to impact as part of its emergency procedures after losing propulsion, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement Tuesday.
The head of a trade association for maritime pilots says the pilot tried to slow it down before the crash.
Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots’ Association, said he has been in close contact with officials from the Association of Maryland Pilots who described to him what happened as the ship approached the bridge.
He said when the ship was a few minutes out, it lost all power, including to its engines.
The pilot immediately ordered the rudder hard to port to keep the ship from turning right and ordered the port anchor be dropped, which it was, Diamond said.
The pilot also contacted a dispatch office to get the bridge shut down.
Diamond said widely circulated images showing the ship’s lights turning off and on, were caused by the emergency generators turning he lights back on but not the ship’s propulsion.