The Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge March 26, 2024
Introduction:
Communists and globalists want to bring this country's economy to a halt. To do so,
they put impediments into the supply chain wherever possible. (Stringent diesel truck rules,
gasoline diluted with ethanol, endangered species laws, senseless opposition to carbon dioxide emissions,
environmental impact studies, COVID, mysterious derailments and explosive fires, etc.) The
commies hate coal and they hate private
automobiles, except for their own. They can see defeat coming in November, and want to
leave as many stink bombs
as possible for the next President. That is why it is easy to believe that the Baltimore bridge collapse
was the result of a cyber attack. The ship lost power at just the right moment, as it approached a bridge
support, and may have also been the victim of GPS spoofing (to make GPS indicate false position data)
as well.
Whenever an "accident" of this sort takes place, those of us who doubt every official
explanation of everything (the JFK assassination, the Oklahoma City
Bombing, the implosion of WTC7,
the crash of TWA 800,
Obama's birth certificate,
Polar bear extinction,
the crash of American 587,
the "suicide" of Jeffrey Epstein,
the "suicide" of Vince Foster,
the miraculous overnight come-from-behind victory of Joe Biden
in 2020,
Chinese spy balloon(s),
"two weeks to flatten the curve," etc.) immediately
wonder who would benefit most from this incident? This is why the national news media
laments the existence of the internet. We no longer have to take their word, which is the
government's word, for anything.
Baltimore already had plenty of problems without this.
Biden
lauds Port of Baltimore reopening, infrastructure investments. President Joe Biden
cited the reopening of the Port of Baltimore in June as evidence of the great things that can be
done by investing in America and its infrastructure. Biden spoke at an open-air event on a
dock at the Port of Baltimore and lauded the port's re-opening after that deadly Francis Scott Key
Bridge collapse that killed six bridge workers in March.
Maryland
files lawsuit against the Dali's shipping company for Baltimore bridge collapse.
Maryland filed a lawsuit against the shipping company responsible for the Baltimore Francis Scott
Key Bridge collapse, which left six workers dead. Maryland's lawsuit mirrors other recent
filings alleging the Singapore-based ship's owner and manager, Grace Ocean Private Limited and
Synergy Marine Group, knowingly sent a faulty ship into American-controlled waters. Earlier
this year, the Dali lost power and struck the bridge overnight, bringing it down and closing
the Port of Baltimore for weeks.
DOJ
files $100M suit against owner of ship that crashed into Baltimore bridge. Federal
prosecutors on Wednesday filed suit against the owner of the container ship that crashed into the
Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore earlier this year, alleging that the company and those on
board the ship knew about persistent faulty electrical and mechanical problems and failed to fix
them. The Justice Department is seeking $100 million in damages from Grace Ocean Private
Limited and Synergy Maritime PTE, the owners and managers of the ship, in the U.S. District Court
for the District of Maryland. The damages DOJ is seeking include the cost of responding to
the disaster as well as for clearing the wreck and bridge debris from the Patapsco River.
Possibly related: 400%
increase in GPS Spoofing; Workgroup established. Troubling data shows a significant
spike in GPS Spoofing over the last few months, with an increasing impact on flight safety.
The number of flights affected has risen from an average of 200 daily in the period January-March,
to around 900 daily for the second quarter of 2024. On some days, as many as 1350 flights have
encountered spoofing. Flight crews also report that the intensity of the spoofing is
increasing. At the same time, the number of locations where spoofing is highly active has
increased from three to more than ten. At the outbreak of the new spoofing phenomenon in
September 2023, spoofing was encountered in northern Iraq (near Baghdad), Egypt (near Cairo),
and Israel. Since then, the Black Sea, Cyprus, the Korean border, and Russia have become
spoofing hotspots.
Months
after Baltimore bridge collapse, Dali leaves port, most sailors head home. Eight crew
members that were on the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are home after
around three months on the Dali. A judge ruled on Thursday, June 21, that the men could
return on the condition that they would be available for future depositions as the investigation
into the crash and bridge collapse continues. A spokesperson for the ship's management said
that he expected two more crew members to return from the United States soon. Investigators
said that there is no need to keep the men in the United States any longer since they have already
been questioned by the Justice Department. The crew had been unable to leave the ship because
of they were considered witnesses in the ongoing investigation. Crew members also did not
have valid visas or shore passes.
Ship
behind Baltimore bridge collapse towed to port — but crew stuck on board for
55 days without personal cellphones still can't leave. The ship that caused the
deadly Baltimore bridge collapse has finally been removed and towed back to port, but the 21 crew
members who have been stuck for 55 days aren't able to leave the vessel just yet. The
massive Dali cargo freighter regained buoyancy on Monday morning as part of a huge team effort by
various local authorities and was moved away from the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key
Bridge. The bridge collapsed on March 26 after the ship struck one of its support
columns, killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge overnight.
Ship
that caused Baltimore bridge to collapse had 4 blackouts before deadly crash: report.
The electrical blackouts experienced by the container ship Dali before it left Baltimore's port
were "mechanically distinct from" those that resulted in the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott
Key Bridge hours later, according to congressional testimony Wednesday. "Two were related to
routine maintenance in port. Two were unexpected tripping of circuit breakers on the accident
voyage," National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy testified. The Dali was
headed to Sri Lanka, laden with shipping containers and enough supplies for a month-long
voyage. Shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore early on March 26, the ship lost
power and propulsion and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns, killing six
construction workers.
Baltimore
bridge span removed, ship freed with precision blast. Dali, the container ship that
felled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, was freed on Monday by precision explosive charges
that dismantled the span of the roadway that came down on the vessel. Gov. Wes Moore
announced at a news conference that a channel 50 feet deep and 700 feet wide was expected
to be available to vessels at the end of the month and will be a key piece for "fully opening
vessel traffic to the port." The port was initially shuttered at 1:28 a.m.
March 26 when the 940-foot, Singapore-flagged ship lost power and drifted into the bridge that
serves as the unofficial gateway to a harbor formed where the Patapsco River meets Chesapeake Bay.
Why
Did the FBI Seize the Phones of the Dali's Crew? It's been more than six weeks since
the cargo ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse. While some
detour channels have been cleared, and some of the cargo has been removed, the Dali is still stuck
in the same spot with a huge section of the bridge pushing down her bow. Plans to remove the
final bridge sections using small explosives were delayed by rough weather this week.
Amazingly most of the crew has remained onboard the vessel for much of this time. Reverend
Josh Messick of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center has been in touch with the crew
regularly but he describes the situation as having been quite stressful for the sailors. One
big part of that stress is the fact that the FBI seized all of the sailor's phones as soon as they
arrived and they still haven't returned them.
Baltimore
Bridge Collapse: Body of Final Victim Recovered. Salvage teams have recovered
the body of a sixth construction worker, believed to be the last victim who went missing after the
March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The victim was
identified as 37-year-old José Mynor López of Baltimore. His body was found on
May 7 at the scene of the bridge's collapse, according to the Key Bridge Response Unified
Command. The Maryland State Police, along with an FBI victim specialist and linguist, and a
team of mental health professionals have notified the victim's family members after a positive
identification was made. "With heavy hearts, today marks a significant milestone in our
recovery efforts and providing closure to the loved ones of the six workers who lost their lives in
this tragic event," Col. Roland Butler Jr., superintendent of the Maryland Department of State
Police, said in a statement.
Explosives
will be used to remove large section of Key Bridge from Dali freighter. Within the
next week, crews plan to use precision explosive charges to remove the large section of the Francis
Scott Key Bridge draped across the bow of the Dali freighter. [Advertisement] Charges will
be placed on the truss, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Ronald Hodges of the Key Bridge Unified
Command, and the crew still aboard the Dali will shelter in place on the container ship when they
are detonated. Officials at Unified Command determined the explosives would be more effective
than cutting apart the piece with powerful saws — the method used so far to separate
many of the bridge pieces in the Patapsco River so they can be lifted out by massive cranes.
[Advertisement] "It's the safest and the quickest way, rather than having a guy up there in
a crane cutting a truss that's under a bunch of weight and tension," Hodges said.
Prepare
For A Slow, Spendy Baltimore Bridge Rebuild That Won't Satisfy Anybody. There is an
old adage in the construction industry. All customers want their project three
ways — good, fast, and cheap. No such projects exist in reality, but owners can
sometimes have two of the three. Fast and inexpensive but shoddy. Quick and good but
expensive. You get the drift. Extrapolate that concept to a perfect new bridge or
highway with all the bells and whistles, with which everyone will be happy, and you will get an
exceedingly slow, high quality, and inexplicably expensive finished product. Besides famous
treasures like the Golden Gate or London Tower Bridge, when is the last time you remember what a
bridge looked like after you passed under or over it? Likely never, as long as you traveled
without incident. The purpose of a bridge over water is to allow people or vehicles to cross
without getting wet — and to let boats pass under it. Those engineering priorities
have become secondary to many other interests, and that is why we cannot have nice infrastructure
in a timely fashion and at a reasonable cost.
Key
Bridge collapse: Massive claw to clear remaining debris; deeper channel to open
Thursday. A massive hydraulic grab arrived in Baltimore over the weekend as officials
plan a new phase of efforts to clear the debris of the Francis Scott Key Bridge to commence after a
planned Thursday opening of the deepest alternate channel through the wreckage yet. The grab
will be attached to the Chesapeake 1000 crane and work as a "vital part" of debris-removal
operations at the bottom of the Patapsco River in the next stage of operations, said Coast Guard
Petty Officer Michael Himes, a spokesperson for the Key Bridge Response Unified Command. The
set of four hydraulic claws weighs 165 metric tons when empty and can hold up to 1,000 metric tons,
according to its Dutch manufacturer, The Grab Specialist. The grab comes as a 35-foot channel
is expected to open, allowing larger vessels to travel into the Baltimore harbor and salvage
operations start to pivot toward clearing debris from the harbor's 50-foot main channel.
National
Security Implications of Baltimore Bridge Catastrophe. The Port of Baltimore is
"closed until further notice" following the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy, sending several
industries into disarray and jeopardizing national security. In 2023, the port handled a
record amount of international cargo, ranked ninth for both dollar value and tonnage in the United
States. Vital for both imports and exports of a variety of commodities, the Port of Baltimore
has always had international significance and the impact of its closure will be wide-ranging and
long-term for the supply chain in the United States and beyond. Given the seriousness of this
issue, Congress must come together to approve the funding to clean up the debris, reopen the
channel, and rebuild the bridge. Having three decades of experience in the United States
military, and with foreign affairs and national security issues I can safely say that the
reverberations of the disaster will be felt across the globe. The repercussions with regards
to energy security are of specific concern and must be addressed.
FBI
Announces Criminal Investigation of Baltimore Bridge Collapse. The FBI announced it
is conducting an investigation of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, and that it
had boarded the cargo ship Dali: "The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting
court authorized law enforcement activity." The bureau is determining whether the Dali
violated federal law before causing the collapse that killed six people. Baltimore Mayor
Brandon Scott said the city of Baltimore was pursuing legal action, and that it would "hold
responsible all entities accountable for the Key Bridge tragedy, including the owner, charterer,
manager/operator, and the manufacturer of the M/V Dali, as well as any other potentially liable
third parties."
FBI
launches criminal probe into Baltimore bridge collapse. The FBI has launched a
criminal probe into the Baltimore bridge collapse that killed six construction workers.
Agents will investigate whether the 22-strong crew of the Dali knew it had serious systemic issues
before they left the Maryland port on March 26. Some were seen arriving at the ship today
to speak to the crew, who remain onboard.
Lessons
from Maryland Key Bridge Collapse. [Scroll down] Who should pay for the
Key Bridge's replacement? President Joe Biden jumped the gun by declaring that the federal
government would foot the entire bill. That ignores a number of key points, including that
the Key Bridge is a toll bridge whose replacement should be financed at least in part via toll
revenue bonds. It also ignores a $350 million Maryland insurance policy on the bridge
and ship insurance provided by Britannia P&I Club, one of about a dozen such insurance vehicles,
according to The Wall Street Journal. These clubs pool their resources in the event of a
major disaster, and up to $3.1 billion is available per ship. President Biden's hasty
over-reaction has drawn some bipartisan opposition, including from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). Rep. Garamendi told Bloomberg TV, "I don't think this has
to be federal taxpayer money. Let's first go to the insurance side of it, and then we'll see
what's left over." It's far too early to put a price tag on the replacement bridge. The
original Key Bridge cost only $316 million, but its flawed design must not be replicated.
African
American groups call for ditching 'racist' Francis Scott Key, naming new bridge after late
congressman. A coalition of African American groups in Maryland is pushing for
Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge to be renamed once reconstructed over what they say is racism
connected to Key's legacy. The Caucus of African American Leaders of Anne Arundel County
recently voted unanimously to call for changing the names of two bridges in Maryland, including the
Key Bridge, and will lobby Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and the state's Democrat-controlled
General Assembly on the proposal, the Baltimore Banner first reported Tuesday. The bridge
collapsed in late March when a cargo ship struck a support beam.
Let me guess: THEY will decide which black female the bridge will be named for. There will be no referendum. Civil
rights groups call for collapsed Baltimore bridge to be renamed when it's rebuilt.
Civil rights groups are calling for the collapsed Baltimore bridge to be renamed when it's rebuilt,
citing accusations of racism against national anthem author Francis Scott Key. The Caucus of
African American Leaders of Anne Arundel County in Maryland voted unanimously to call for the
renaming and will lobby governor Wes Moore on the proposal, as reported by the Baltimore
Banner. The caucus includes civil rights groups such as the NAACP and the National Coalition
of 100 Black Women.
Massive
container ship loses power near NYC's Verrazzano Bridge days after Baltimore Key Bridge
disaster. 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 the Kill Van Kull — 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.
Joe
Biden's Narcissism Devolves Into Sociopathy at Baltimore Bridge Collapse Site. Joe
Biden made a short trip to Baltimore on Friday [and ...] visited the site of the Francis Scott Key
Bridge collapse, which occurred after a container ship lost power and hit one of the support
structures. As the president's public appearances go, his latest was typical. Biden
slurred his words and got confused multiple times, both things that seem to occur every time he
gives a speech. If he ever figures out how to exit a stage, it'll be the first time in a long
time. There was one moment that caught my eye, though, because it exposed something deeper
than the president's general senility and lack of timing. [Tweet with video clip] [...]
This was not just a harmless infrastructure failure. Six people died after the bridge
collapsed, with some bodies being found in vehicles submerged at the bottom of the bay after an
extensive search. Biden was at the site of a deadly tragedy. What kind of person shows
up in that setting and starts giving a bad comedy routine? Further, what kind of person then
makes up a story in an attempt to make themselves the center of attention?
Here's
Why It Could Take Longer to Rebuild the Baltimore Bridge Than the Whole Transcontinental
Railroad. The effort to rebuild the recently collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge near
Baltimore, Maryland, could quickly turn into a years-long quagmire as a result of environmental red
tape under the Biden administration, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The
Baltimore Bridge was struck by a container ship navigating the Patapsco River out of the Port of
Baltimore in late March, sending several cars and workers into the water and rendering the
passageway unusable. It is unknown exactly how long the bridge could take to rebuild, as
officials could expedite the process, but experts warned the DCNF that government red tape, such as
environmental reviews filed by government entities or environmental activists, could slow down its
construction after debris is cleared from the site and new plans for a replacement bridge are drawn up.
Dali
owners deny fault for Baltimore bridge collapse and demand lawsuits be capped at price of the
boat. The owners and manager of the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge
last week and sent its metal frame tumbling into the river below have denied responsibility, as
they tried to argue that they shouldn't be held liable for amounts larger than the new value of the
damaged vessel. Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., the owner of the cargo ship Dali,
and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., the ship's manager, filed a petition in federal court Monday denying
any fault or neglect, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Force
Majeure Is Now In Effect. Because of the Baltimore Bridge Disaster, multiple shippers
have declared Force Majeure. Two lessons learned out of this episode? First[,] having an
American Flag Merchant Fleet would provide much better ability to give legal direction and guidance
on a large scale in such circumstances. The second lesson? Slow speed diesels have
become the operating norm for 50 years with merchant vessels. Sprinting to a new harbor
to dump your cargo or outrun a Chinese submarine are much better with an ability to kick in
after-burner with the slow speed diesels and move the merchant vessel at 25 plus knots when an
In Extremis event happens. We are now descending into a new worldwide supply chain
shock — get ready.
Company
of Ship that Took Down Baltimore Key Bridge Responds, May Be Protected by 173-Year-Old 'Titanic'
Law. The owner of the container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge
in Baltimore last week, causing it to collapse and killing six workers, and the ship's management
company, have filed a petition in federal court to limit their liability in the tragedy. The
U.K. Independent reported that the petition and appeal filed by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private
Limited and Hong Kong's Synergy Marine Group are based on the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851.
This is the same U.S. law that protected the White Star Line, the owners of the Titanic, according to
the Independent.
First
ship passes through temporary channel in Baltimore bridge wreck. The first ship has
passed through a temporary alternate channel opened through the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key
Bridge in Baltimore. A tugboat maneuvering a fuel barge passed through the channel, bound for
Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The channel is meant to allow the passage of vessels that
are part of recovery and clean-up efforts at the site of the collapse. But officials say some
other cargo barges will be able to move through the channel. A second passage is also being
cleared that will allow larger ships with deeper drafts to pass, though there is no timeline for
when it may open.
2
ship companies are invoking a 200-year-old law to try to skirt huge legal liabilities from the
Baltimore collision. The owner and manager of the Dali containership that collided
with Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last week are attempting to limit their legal liability
through an old law. Grace Ocean, the vessel's owner, and Synergy Marine, the operations
manager, are seeking to cap their liability at about $43.7 million — the value of
the ship after the disaster, according to a court petition the companies filed on Monday in
Maryland. The Singapore-based companies valued the 95,000-metric ton Dali at up to
$90 million, pre-bridge collision. Cleanup from the disaster will eat into the ship's
overall value. Repair could cost at least $28 million and salvage another
$19.5 million, the companies estimated. The freight was valued at
$1.2 million. The companies will file another estimate after determining final salvage
and repair costs.
The Editor says...
If archaic laws are on the books, somebody will use them to their advantage. If that's a bad thing,
the laws should be repealed. Unfortunately, there are thousands of people writing new laws and
apparently nobody writing bills to repeal outdated ones.
The
Attack On The Port Of Baltimore. The evidence is overwhelming that Iran, with the
help of Russia and China, disabled the ship. My report documents another attack on a U.S.
port, the Port of Houston, in 2021, in which hackers were said to have breached a computer network,
and a "foreign-state actor" was involved but never identified. For the last several months,
various warnings have been given about cyber warfare directed against maritime targets. These
include a congressional hearing, a speech by the FBI director, indictments of Iranian cyber actors,
and the Biden Administration issuing a new Executive Order on "Safeguarding of Vessels, Harbors,
Ports, and Waterfront Facilities of the United States" on February 21 — just over a
month ago. In other words, the Biden Administration, and its CIA and FBI, saw this coming.
[...] The vaunted "surveillance state" that is up for review by Congress failed us again. And
this explains why most of the media will not even mention the possibility that cyber warfare
disabled the cargo ship's communications and navigational controls.
Biden's
War with Iran Comes to Baltimore. The coincidences just keep piling up. One
month ago, according to several news outlets, the U.S. conducted a cyberattack against an Iranian
military ship that had been collecting intelligence on cargo vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of
Aden. Then, on Tuesday morning, a cargo ship crashes into the Francis Scott Key bridge, after
mysteriously losing power, causing the collapse of the bridge, loss of life, and an economic
catastrophe costing tens of billions of dollars.
On Things
Collapsing. The recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was
profoundly dramatic. It struck a chord because something similar happened in Tampa in 1980.
Ships are big and always getting bigger. And this bridge was a bit older and not made with
today's state-of-the-art design and technology. How did it happen? Was it a freak
accident? The poisoned fruit of affirmative action? Sabotage or terrorism? I have
no idea, and we may not know for a while. I do know that if the truth threatens some chestnut
of politically correct conventional wisdom, it will be hidden in a footnote, if it is allowed to be
released at all. Planes have crashed and ships have crashed into other ships, and the
possible influence of affirmative action and lower standards was never really explored in any
depth, even though it appeared to be a contributing factor. The powers-that-be seem to think
we can take people with one or more standard deviations lower general intelligence and obtain the
same result in technically demanding fields like aviation, seamanship, medicine, and engineering.
Baltimore
Bridge May Take 15 Years and $2 Billion to Rebuild. If you thought that the
collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was the real disaster, you aren't familiar with the
government. Stephen Green at VodkaPundit notes that, "Could it really take twice as long and
four times as much money to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge than it did to build it
in the first place? The Key Bridge was built at a cost (adjusted for inflation) of about
$200 million. Replacing it could take a decade and cost $400 million to
$800 million dollars, according to experts in what has become a dismal field." It'll get
worse before it gets better. And that's assuming that it ever does. Estimates for the
rebuilding time are stretching out to 15 years already. (And remember the reality will always
be worse than the estimates.)
The
Collapsed Bridge to Nowhere: Francis Scott Key and Missing Logic. Joe Biden is
demanding, and pronto, more of our tax money to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in
Baltimore. He wants more from us — naturally — but America needs, as
its first priority, to investigate and determine if the bridge's destruction was in fact
unintended... or malicious. Much documented evidence is emerging as to the bridge "accident"
being in fact, a political, and likely international, cyber-attack. Whether or not this is
so, something is off-kilter about the serial infrastructure fails happening all around us. It
is time for a much closer look. As to Biden's call for more cash, where are the trillion plus
dollars obligated by Biden's crowning achievement, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law? [...] Why is
Biden demanding, immediately, new money to cover the Baltimore bridge disaster, when insurers have
not yet submitted determinations as to eligible underwritten costs to rebuild? A good bet is
more federal fraud. The real answer is Joe Biden's graft and essential dishonesty.
Key
Bridge Disaster Highlights The Vital Importance Of American Energy. In the wake of
the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor, media and public
attention suddenly focused on the importance of the nation's ports. No one should doubt the
vital nature of the Port of Baltimore to trade on the U.S. East Coast: The facility is a
vital cog in the import and export of cars, coal, and other key commodities. The legacy media
has certainly done a good job of telling that specific story as the week progressed, which is to be
commended. But one aspect of the story that hasn't been told much if at all by these
mainstream media outlets is the fact that, as vital as it is to trade on the East Coast, the Port
of Baltimore ranks only as the 17th most-active US port in terms of total tonnage.
The
Bridge is out. The catastrophic destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in
Baltimore provides an apt metaphor for America. The wrecked bridge will cripple commerce and
supply channels up and down the east coast and will cause similar chaos extending into the
Midwest. Biden says he will have the government pay for all the necessary repairs, which
currently appear to be about 1.5 billion dollars. Really? And from where will this
money come?
Somewhat related: Oklahoma
State Patrol says it is diverting traffic after a barge hit a bridge. The Oklahoma
State Patrol said Saturday that it closed a highway south of Sallisaw after a barge struck a bridge
over Arkansas River. Troopers closed South U.S. Highway 59 about 1:25 p.m. after
receiving word of the incident and diverted traffic from the area, state patrol spokesperson Sarah
Stewart said. The bridge, which crosses the Arkansas River where it enters the Robert S. Kerr
Reservoir, will remain closed until it can be inspected, she said.
Oh
Say Can You See? Who among you was not impressed seeing the sudden and total collapse
of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after getting its pylon bonked by the container ship Dali a few
hours before the dawn's early light in Baltimore harbor? In America's ongoing
death-of-a-thousand-cuts, that one literally severed a major artery, but it may take a while to
know how badly the wounded colossus known as the USA is bleeding out. "Joe Biden" emerged
from his crypt pronto to state that the federal government would pony-up the cost of building the
bridge back better, meant to reassure the public, you'd suppose. But perhaps the real reason
was to obviate an otherwise requisite investigation of the crash by ship-owner Grace Ocean's
insurance company — since legal wrangling over responsibility would add more years to
the already years-long estimated bridge replacement time-frame. [...] Oh, one other thing, look out
for on-the-ground economic reverberations from the FSK Bridge disaster. For instance,
Baltimore is the USA's top port for importing and exporting automobiles. Also, earth-moving
and large farm equipment, fertilizer, lumber, coal, and steel.
The
Baltimore bridge collapse and supply chains. It's not just ships that will be
affected. With so major a road transport artery shut down, trucks will be severely delayed by
having to detour around the affected area (and, of course, by greatly increased traffic congestion
due to everybody else having to take the same detour). Our supermarkets rely on truck transport to
receive food and other essentials every day. This incident will almost certainly have a
serious impact on consumers in north-eastern states. It'll take years to rebuild this bridge,
and heaven knows where the money will come from.
It
Could Take HOW LONG to Rebuild Francis Scott Key Bridge? Could it really take twice
as long and four times as much money to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge than it did
to build it in the first place? The Key Bridge was built at a cost (adjusted for inflation)
of about $200 million. Replacing it could take a decade and cost $400 million to
$800 million dollars, according to experts in what has become a dismal field. "To actually
recreate that whole transportation network" could take a decade or more, structural engineer Ben
Schafer told USA Today on Wednesday. Huge projects, Schafer said, now take "rarely less than
10 years." Well, they didn't use to. By comparison, the Apollo program that put a
man on the moon required seven years, eight months, and 23 days. And — this
is the really exciting part — everything about Apollo, from the massive Saturn V rocket
to the "tiny" flight computer, had to be created from scratch.
The Editor says...
Rebuilding this bridge will take much longer and cost much more than building it originally because of environmental
impact studies, and the unspoken requirements that [#1] most of the workers must be women or minorities or gay,
and [#2] the workers must be unionized. The California high-speed rail line might be finished before this
bridge is.
How
Baltimore bridge disaster threatens to leave key global shipping markets 'frozen in
time'. Major shipping markets are braced for impact following the collapse of an
iconic bridge in Baltimore after it was struck by a Maersk-chartered container ship in the early
hours of Tuesday morning. Pictures and video of sections of the Francis Scott Key Bridge
plummeting into the Patapsco River after it was hit by the 9,962-teu Dali (built 2015) made
headlines around the world.
Francis
Scott Key Bridge collapse FAQ. Who will pay for the damages? President Joe
Biden announced that the federal government will fully foot the bill to pay for a new bridge.
The Key Bridge saw over 11 million passengers per year before its fall. "We're going to
work with our partners in Congress to make sure the state gets the support it needs. It's my
intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge,
and I expect the Congress to support my effort," Biden said. He has plans to visit Baltimore
"quickly." Similar bridge collapses have seen full federal government support.
Impact
of Baltimore port closure on global supply chains. Baltimore is among the top 20
ports in the United States by tonnage and number of containers handled, according to the US Bureau
of Transportation Statistics. Last year, it handled a record 1.1 million 20-foot
equivalent units (TEU) of containers — a measure of volume for shipping
containers. Container imports via Baltimore amounted to 2.1 percent of the total for all
US ports, according to Allianz Trade. [...] The port hosts transatlantic traffic, including small
ships from northern Europe and the Mediterranean as well as some shipping lines from the Indian
Ocean, Tourret said. But it is a key hub for the auto industry. Its private and public
terminals handled 847,158 autos and light trucks last year, more than any other US port for the
13th year in a row, according to Maryland state figures. It also ranked first for farm and
construction machinery, as well as imported sugar and gypsum, and second for coal exports.
NTSB
Update on Baltimore Bridge Collapse, Investigation and Current HAZMAT Concerns for Baltimore
Harbor. The NTSB gives an update on the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in
Baltimore, Maryland, following the impact of a Singaporean-flagged cargo ship, the Dali.
According to the update, 56 containers of hazardous materials were on board, including corrosive
flammable cells, lithium ion batteries, and other hazardous materials. Some of the HAZMAT
containers were compromised and some fell into the water.
DEI
and Racial Narratives Crop Up in the Wake of Baltimore Bridge Disaster. On Tuesday
morning, a cargo ship collided with a pier supporting Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge.
The collision took out the structure's support, causing it to collapse. Six people tragically
lost their lives during the incident. Fortunately, two people were rescued. The
incident has elicited an outpouring of grief and sympathy from across the country as efforts are
being made to understand what led to the disaster. However, as with most tragedies, some
members of the chattering class pounced on the opportunity to politicize the tragedy by racializing
it. Influencers and media figures on both sides of America's political divide used the
incident to promote racial narratives on an issue where it clearly does not belong.
Was
loss of Francis Scott Key Bridge an attack? Closings of port, I-695 have consequences.
The wreckage of the I-695 bridge continues to block access to the Port of Baltimore and could disrupt
shipping flows across the U.S., shipping industry officials say. Predictably, the disaster promptly
attracted a large gathering of political and media figures, not to mention the U.S. Transportation
Secretary, all of whom fell short of explaining the inexplicable. "For the shipping community,
the accident will affect maritime lanes as carriers must seek alternative ports of call while the
collapsed bridge continues to block the river," FreightWaves cited industry experts as saying.
In 2023, the Port of Baltimore handled $80.8 billion in trade, including 1.1 million
twenty-foot equivalent units, 1.3 million tons of roll-on/roll-off farm and construction
machinery, 11.7 million tons of general cargo, and 847,158 shipments of cars and light trucks.
Transportation
Dept Will Not Say How Many National Defense Ships Stuck in [the Baltimore] Harbor.
After an initial strong public response from President Biden vowing the federal government would do
whatever it took to fix the situation, his administration is showing early signs it is bungling the
response to the collapsed bridge in Baltimore. Questions abound — such as exactly
how many ships are stuck in the harbor, but the administration has been unable to provide fast or
forthcoming answers.
Matt
Walsh Addresses "Coincidence" of Obama's New Movie Containing Scene Where a Cargo Ship Crashes Due
to Cyber Attack. Shortly after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, former fraud
investigator and veteran Jimmy Corsetti took to X and pointed out that in Obama's new Netflix movie
"Leave the World Behind" there is a scene where a massive cargo ship crashes into the beach after
losing power from a cyber attack. Corsetti added in the thread that the cargo ship in the
movie was named the "White Lion" and highlighted that the country of Sri Lanka has a lion on its
national flag. He then noted the Dali cargo ship was en route to Sri Lanka before it
tragically crashed into the Key bridge. [Tweet with video clip]
NTSB
Releases Data on DALI's Black Box. As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy announced the voyage data
recorder known as the "black box' was recovered from the DALI cargo ship that crashed into the
Francis Scott Key bridge early Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening, Homendy and NTSB
investigator Marcel Muise held a press conference to reveal the data on the DALI's black box, also
known as the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR). NTSB investigator Marcel Muise revealed there were
about six hours of VDR on data and included a timeline of midnight to 6 am. Before revealing
the data on the VDR, Muise warned that the quality of the voice recording and radio data was hard
to comprehend due to background noise.
If
It Ain't Woke, Don't Fix It: Biden Urged To Use Baltimore Bridge Rebuild For Race
Reparations. President Joe Biden is being pressed to use the reconstruction of the
Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore as an opportunity to remedy alleged racial discrimination
against blacks in the construction industry. Biden said this week that he had told his
administration officials to "move heaven and earth" to reopen the port of Baltimore and rebuild the
bridge. The reconstruction efforts, however, may be complicated by demands that the project
further leftwing ideas about racial justice, the treatment of immigrants, climate change, and
wealth redistribution. An op-ed in The Hill underscores that some of these demands may
be irreconcilable. For example, demands for more black representation in construction can
conflict with demands that the U.S. continue to welcome the surge of migrants at our borders.
Over
1,600 planes affected by mysterious GPS jamming across Europe. Planes flying over and
near the Baltic Sea in northern Europe have faced technical issues due to jamming. A total of
1614 planes, mostly civilian, have reported problems since then. A map shared on X by an
open-source intelligence account, which monitors interference, displays incidents spread across
Poland and southern Sweden, reported lbc.co.uk. Although most incidents seem to be in Polish
airspace, OSINT blogs have mentioned that planes flying in airspace belonging to Germany, Denmark,
Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania have also experienced interference problems. According to
lbc.co.uk, there seems to be minimal to no interference in Belarus, a strong ally of Russia, or in
Kaliningrad, the Russian province separated from the mainland by sea and land.
Baltimore
Ship 'Black Box' Data Recorder Taken by Investigators. The investigation and recovery
after the catastrophic bridge strike over the Patapsco River continues, with National
Transportation Safety Board officials having boarded the MV Dali and professionals continuing to
seek victims of the collapse. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials have now
removed the MV Dali's data recorder — like the famous 'black boxes' of commercial
aircraft — which upon evaluation may contain further information about the cause of the
loss of propulsion that seems to have contributed to Tuesday's disaster. Among the more
mundane reasons for the "lost propulsion" that would have left the ship not able to steer its own
way and vulnerable to currents and changing dynamic forces in the water as it crossed dredged
channels are dirty or bad fuel, insufficient maintenance, or freak mechanical failure.
Nevertheless, it was stated the ship was up to date with its inspections and certifications at the
time of the accident.
Document location http://akdart.com/bc.html
Updated October 30, 2024.