Update on Baltimore bridge cyber attack
Dali owners deny fault for Baltimore bridge collapse
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Baltimore Bridge was a CYBER ATTACK and an "Economic Nuke" against America | Redacted News
Baltimore Bridge Collapse: New Underwater 3D Images Show "Sheer Magnitude" Of Salvage Operation Ahead
Update (0945ET):
Local, state, or federal officials have yet to offer a timeline for salvage crews to completely remove the collapsed bridge from the main shipping channel entering the Port of Baltimore.
On Tuesday morning, the Baltimore District, US Army Corps of Engineers published new 3D images of the wreckage at the bottom of the shipping channel on social media.
"These 3D images show the sheer magnitude of the very difficult and challenging salvage operation ahead," the US Army Corps of Engineers said in a Facebook post.
The post continued, "The underwater sonar imaging tool, known as CODA Octopus, is the primary survey tool used by divers, with visibility clouded to just one to two feet because of the four to five feet of mud and loose bottom of the Patapsco River."
"Divers are forced to work in virtual darkness, because when lit, their view is similar to driving through a heavy snowfall at night with high-beam headlights on. So murky is the water, divers must be guided via detailed verbal directions from operators in vessels topside who are viewing real-time CODA imagery," Army Corps of Engineers pointed out.
They added that "no usable underwater video exists of the wreckage" because, as one Navy diver put it, "there's no need to take video of something you can't even see."
The complexity of this salvage operation suggests the main shipping channel will be closed for weeks if not months.
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Salvage crews at the Port of Baltimore have opened up a temporary channel to keep commercial traffic flowing one week after the collapse of the 1.6-mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Officials said the narrow channel is 11 feet deep, with a 264-foot horizontal clearance and a 95-foot vertical clearance. Small barges were seen passing through the new channel, as the main shipping channel remained clogged with the mangled steel bridge twisted around the container ship "Dali."
The tug Crystal Cove with a fuel barge passed under the remaining northern side of the Key Bridge at Baltimore through the newly buoyed 11ft channel. pic.twitter.com/bVQFjccG04
— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴☠️ (@mercoglianos) April 2, 2024
"This marks an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore," US Coast Guard Captain David O'Connell, federal on-scene coordinator, said on Monday.
O'Connell said, "By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore."
New footage of the Key Bridge wreckage pic.twitter.com/9uUQdWGvlb
— The Baltimore Banner (@BaltimoreBanner) April 1, 2024
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" that federal officials have no timeline for reopening the main shipping channel or rebuilding the bridge.
"This is going to be a very complex process," Buttigieg said, adding, "There are, even now, forces acting on that steel, so it takes a lot to make sure that it can be dismantled safely, to make sure that the vessel stays where it is supposed to be and doesn't swing out into the channel."
On Monday, the Department of Defense stated three massive cranes have arrived at the collapsed bridge:
"The Chesapeake, a 1,000-ton lift capacity derrick barge, the Ferrell, a 200-ton lift capacity revolving crane barge, and the Oyster Bay, a 150-ton lift capacity crane barge have arrived in Baltimore Harbor."
The DoD added:
"An additional 400-ton lift capacity barge is on track to arrive early next week."
On Monday evening, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath told reporters that salvage operations underneath the water are even more complicated than initially imagined:
"These girders are essentially tangled together, intertwined, making it very difficult to figure out where you need to potentially cut so that we can make that into more manageable sizes to lift them from the water."
At the same press conference, Governor Wes Moore said:
"We're talking about something that is almost the size of the Statue of Liberty ... and the scale of this project, to be clear, is enormous. And even the smallest (tasks) are huge."
Even with a temporary channel reopened, activity at the Port of Baltimore has crashed and will remain paralyzed until the main shipping channel is reopened.
CBS News' Alex Glaze spoke with Scott Cowan, president of the local chapter of the International Longshoremen's Association, who warned, "If there are no ships, there's no cargo. If there's no cargo, there is no work."
Cowan said thousands of unionized port workers could lose their jobs.
ILA leaders have met with state and federal officials about the situation.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson introduced emergency legislation to the General Assembly to provide stimmy checks for ILA workers.
"In the coming days, the General Assembly will pass the PORT Act which will support workers not covered by our unemployment insurance system, ensure impacted businesses can retain their workforce and incentivize companies to come back to the Port after it reopens," Ferguson posted on X on Friday.
The bridge collapse could have been avoided or at least not a total disaster if Maryland officials had not neglected to spend millions of dollars to install anti-ship strike barriers around critical bridge supports. Also, despite the federal government immediately coming out one week ago and saying the container ship strike was not terror-related, some users on X continue to float the idea this could've been "deliberate."
The Biden regime would not try and pin blame on the shipowners, would they?
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.
“The [bridge collapse] was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care on the part of Petitioners, the Vessel, or any persons or entities for whose acts Petitioners may be held responsible,” the “limitation of liability” petition filed in the US District Court of Baltimore says, the Banner reports.
The owner and manager of the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge last week have denied responsibility.AP
“Alternatively, if any such faults caused or contributed to the [bridge collapse], or to any loss or damage arising out of the Casualty, which is denied, such faults were occasioned and occurred without Petitioners’ privity or knowledge.”
The ship had reportedly lost power ahead of the collision with one of the support beams of the bridge, causing the crew to lose control.
The two companies also argued in the petition that liability costs should be capped at $43.6 million, which they say is the cost of the 984-foot-long vessel after the damage it sustained.
They claimed that before the ship set off from the Port of Baltimore last Tuesday, its value was about $90 million.
But they estimated that repairs to the ship will cost at least $28 million, salvage operations will cost at least $19.5 million and the freight costs are estimated to cost $1.1 million.
Those opposing limiting the companies’ liability must now prove there was some fault or neglect, according to the Banner.
The two companies also argued in the petition that liability costs should be capped at $43.6 million, which they say is the cost of the 984-foot-long vessel after the damage it sustained.Getty Images
If they are successful, the burden shifts to the ship owner to demonstrate that it did not have “privity or knowledge” of any issues.
But because six construction crew members were killed when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed last week, the ship’s owner and manager must set aside money for those claims, Alexander Giles, a partner at Tydings and Rosenberg LLP, told the Banner.
Those funds would amount to $420 per gross ton of the ship, which works out to about $39.95 million.
Because six construction crew members were killed when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, the Dali’s owner and manager must set aside money for those claims.AFP via Getty Images
A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible for the fatal crash and how much they owe.
The collision is expected to be one of the costliest marine insured losses in history, a report from credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS predicts.
It estimates that the total insured loss would be between $2 billion and $4 billion.
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge effectively shut down operations at the Port of Baltimore, affecting about 8,000 jobs and about $2 million in wagesGetty Images
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge effectively shut down operations at the Port of Baltimore, affecting about 8,000 jobs and about $2 million in wages, according to ABC 7.
Between $100 million and $200 million worth of trade passed through the port every day.
Everything you need to know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge's collapse in Baltimore
The Dali, the Singapore-flagged container ship that smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and destroyed it early Tuesday, reportedly lost propulsion and tried to warn officials that it was going to crash, according to a report.
Six people were unaccounted for, according to authorities. Two people were pulled from the river by rescuers.
Seven vehicles were missing after falling from the 1.6-mile-long span. Officials are using sonar technology to find the vehicles.
Videos show power on the ship flickering off, and then on again, shortly before the crash. Watch footage of the bridge’s collapse here.
A Baltimore resident described how the horrifying collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday caused his entire house to feel like it was falling down.
The Dali was also involved in a collision while leaving the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.
The ship’s path before the collision into Baltimore’s Key Bridge.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.
The cost to rebuild the collapsed bridge, meanwhile, will likely be at least $400 million, experts have said — but could be double that, depending on the new design.
The Biden administration has already approved $60 million in emergency federal aid to pay for the debris removal from the Patapsco River, it announced last week.
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The president said in the aftermath of the disaster that he intended for the federal government to “pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort,” Politico reports.
But it remains unclear whether members of Congress will support the plan.
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In the meantime, Biden is expected to travel to Baltimore on Friday to survey the wreckage.
“The president is continuing to lead a whole-of-government approach to the collapse,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Monday.
She added that Biden will continue to work with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the state’s congressional delegation and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott “to reopen the port, rebuild the bridge and support the people of Baltimore.”