On March 26, the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed after the container ship Dali lost power and crashed into the support structure. The incident occurred around 1:30 in the morning, and six construction workers were killed. There have been conspiracy theories about the incident, namely that maybe the GPS was hacked since these systems aren’t encrypted.
The Dali lost power, which led to tragic results. These things happen. Since the collapse and traffic delays around Baltimore, the media has been more alert about these incidents. At the Verrazzano Bridge, there was a similar incident last Friday night, where another container ship lost power (via NY Post):
BREAKING: A NY tugboat captain has reported to @gCaptain “container ship APL QINGDAO lost power while transiting New York harbor. They had 3 escort tugs but 3 more were needed to bring her under control. They regained power & were brought to anchor near the verrazano bridge” pic.twitter.com/Z2IP04xmLs
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) April 7, 2024
A massive container ship lost propulsion power in the waters around New York City and was brought to a rest near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Friday night — less than two weeks after failure on another massive cargo vessel caused it to smash into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The US Coast Guard confirmed that its Vessel Traffic Service received a report that the 89,000-ton M/V APL Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed Kill Van Kull waterway — the shipping lane between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey.
An image shared on X by John Konrad, CEO of maritime-focused news outlet gCaptain, shows the 1,100-foot APL Qingdao floating uncomfortably close to the span that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island.
In response to the power failure, three tug boats that were escorting the APL Qingdao guided the vessel until it regained propulsion a short time later.
[…]
The Kill Van Kull waterway is a narrow 3-mile long tidal strait separating Newark Bay — home to the Port Newark Container Terminal — and Upper New York Bay. It is one of the Port of New York and New Jersey’s busiest waterways.
In Sallisaw, Oklahoma, a barge crashed into a bridge on March 30. The bridge’s pillars sustained some damage, but luckily, nothing major occurred:
🚨#BREAKING: A large barge crashed into the Arkansas River bridge, causing damage to both the ship and the bridge pillar
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 30, 2024
📌#Sallisaw | #Oklahoma
Earlier this evening, just before 1:30 p.m., a large barge crashed into and struck the Arkansas River bridge at the Kerr Reservoir… pic.twitter.com/ZP8ElYStpL
🚨#UPDATE: Photos show the damage to the bridge pillars and the front of the barge after their collision earlier this evening. The bridge was temporarily shut down but has since been reopened. pic.twitter.com/43uK7Myxrt
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 30, 2024
First food plant fires and explosions, then gas and chemical plant explosions, followed by a train derailment, and now airplanes what's next?
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 30, 2024
The Francis Scott Key Bridge will be rebuilt. It could take years and cost around $400 million.
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