The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has Collapsed

Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by reaperman on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @05:27PM (#39833074)

I can’t find any bridges which have a barrier that can protect against a fully loaded container ship. I have seen plenty of barriers which would protect against personal watercraft and smaller working ships like smaller tugs/coast guard ships/shrimping boats, etc.

But a loaded container ship at 8 knots is not going to be stopped by anything remotely feasible.

Container ships weigh between 50,000 and 220,000 tons. A US aircraft carrier weighs 100,000 tons.

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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by pja on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @07:24PM (#39834003)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_%28structure%29?wprov=...

If they're designed to stop a bulk carrier then presumably they can stop a container ship.

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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by userbinator on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @08:12PM (#39834337)

That article gives an example of being hit by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Summit_Venture

deadweight tonnage of 33,912, gross tonnage of 19,735, and a net tonnage of 13,948.

The one that took down this bridge:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Dali

Her registered gross and net tonnages are 91,128 and 52,150, respectively, and her deadweight tonnage is 116,851

Many times larger.

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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by reaperman on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @08:57PM (#39834614)

Closer than I expected though! It’s possible there are some out there made for this scenario.

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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by dragonwriter on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @08:26PM (#39834428)

The Key Bridge had dolphins but not fenders, some descriptions since the incident have indicated that it has fewer dolphins than some other bridges.

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