Local News

[Zzzptm]

Most folks thought Obama was an Irish family from down south in Birmingham, AL: O'Bama

[Vyn]

My dad, bless his antiquated heart, asked me last night on the phone if the Czech Republic had a dictator. I told him no, they have a president, who gets voted on by the citizens just like we have.

He then stated he had read somewhere recently that they have a dictator. I again explained that isn't the case, and in fact, the guy who is currently their president seems to enjoy widespread popularity. He must have been looking for what he had read while I was talking, because he said, "right here, it says Stubbs is considered a dictator by many." So, maybe the guy is Bohemian?

 

[Zzzptm]

My dad, bless his antiquated heart, asked me last night on the phone if the Czech Republic had a dictator. I told him no, they have a president, who gets voted on by the citizens just like we have.

He then stated he had read somewhere recently that they have a dictator. I again explained that isn't the case, and in fact, the guy who is currently their president seems to enjoy widespread popularity. He must have been looking for what he had read while I was talking, because he said, "right here, it says Stubbs is considered a dictator by many." So, maybe the guy is Bohemian?

 

He's got a steady job, some nice suits, and a tidy haircut. Hardly a Bohemian lifestyle in evidence.

[Charger]

But maybe he is from Bohemia! Those guys have dictator written all over them!

[Zzzptm]

But maybe he is from Bohemia! Those guys have dictator written all over them!

I found out just now that you might not be Finnish, Charger! The word "charger" seems to be of Anglo-French origin. You should get tested to see if you're French, that could be serious!

[Charger]

Oh merde!

[Zzzptm]

Oh merde!

Zoot alors! You *ARE* ze French! Ooh la la!

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

The main news here is... over there and that bridge collapse in Baltimore.

Hopefully casualties are minimal, but some great images of the ship hitting the bridge and its subsequent collapse.

Early suggestions are that the ship lost power, sent out a mayday and perhaps authorities managed to stop cars going across the bridge. If you're going to have some sort of collapse like this, the middle of the night is the time to have it.

[Charger]

I think I saw few cars on the bridge during the collapse.

Was there some sort of fire on the ship as well before impact? Looked like it on vid.

Probably lost all ability to steer...but still some epically bad luck there considering the size of the pylon compared to open water in between them!

[Zzzptm]

We have a number of people in my company that live in Baltimore, we had a bit of a check-in this morning for all of them.

But, yes, the ship lost power, had some kind of damage that produced smoke, and drifted into the pylon. Awful tragedy for the families of those not yet brought to safety.

[Vyn]

If there is a silver lining here it is that the collapse happened at 1:30 in the morning, so not many people were on the bridge. Read where they have found two people, both alive (!), one in good shape, the other not so good but hanging in there. No word on the others but they think there are six more.

The container vessel issued a mayday about lost power, and were cruising at a fast clip with no way to change course or speed. What a harrowing experience - I've driven across the key bridge a few times back in the day and when you're on it you can't see the other side until you're about half-way across - it's really long.

[Zzzptm]

I do hope that there are better safety rules that come out of this episode, in particular making sure ship systems are functioning properly before setting sail.

[Vyn]

Whoever the authorities determine is accountable for this tragedy - usually the steamship line owner - is going to be on a very large hook. No doubt they are insured. Typically, the boat itself has insurance, the crew have their own individual insurance policies, and the shippers that have freight on board have their own insurance policies as well.

1. The cost of a new bridge!
2. The cost of lawsuits from each person/family who was on that bridge when it was hit.
3. The cost of lawsuits from random people deciding to sue because the event made them nervous watching.
4. The cost of lawsuits from equipment manufacturers for lost gear (the guys fixing potholes).
5. The cost of lawsuits for new vehicles that were lost in the collapse.
6. The cost of lawsuits from individual shippers suing since their freight now isn't on time.
7. The cost of lawsuits from receivers who aren't getting their stuff on time.
8. The cost of lawsuits from other steamship lines and their shippers for not being able to access the port and thus their stuff not being on time as they re-route.
9. The cost of lawsuits from other steamship lines and their shippers stuck in that port so their stuff is all late since they can't leave.
10. The cost of lawsuits from insurance companies suing each other to recoup losses from ten thousand lawsuits.
11. The cost of lawsuits from the steamship line owner of the boat in question for repairs to the boat.

Probably some others I haven't thought of, too.

I read where this exact same vessel was also involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016. The Antwerp port authorities said the container ship Dali hit a quay on July 11, 2016, as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal.

The ship’s history underscores the importance of vigilance and safety measures in maritime operations - I imagine whatever caused the power outage is going to be looked at with a microscope - overlooked potential issue during a safety inspection, improper protocols followed by crew, poor mechanical design of the component that failed (if any), intentional sabotage? Jeez, man...

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

The early thoughts of an engineer...

[Zzzptm]

There could have been fixes to the bridge piers to modernize them. Now instead of spending millions for a fix, it's billions for a replacement.

And as bad as this was, there are many more things in state, county, city, and reservation governments that are in worse state and they're in need of both budget and skills to get the fixes in.

I do cybersecurity consultations with government entities and it's desperate stuff out there in the small and local government market.