Friday, 25 October 2024

Yet Another Runaway Cargo Ship Threatens Bridge, This Time In South Carolina

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Although the most notable example resulted in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, there have been a number of suspicious incidents involving out-of-control container ships either hitting or narrowly missing bridges across the United States in recent months.

The latest example occurred in South Carolina and led to a temporary closure and evacuation on a nearby bridge.

According to The Hill:

An investigation is underway after a large container ship lost the ability to control its engines in Charleston Harbor, prompting a temporary closure of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Command Center in Charleston, South Carolina, received a report from the harbor’s pilot dispatch around 12:17 p.m. of an out-of-control vessel in the Cooper River.

Deputy Commander Randy Preston said the vessel was identified as the MSC Michigan 7, a 997-foot, 74,000-ton container ship outbound from the North Charleston container terminal headed to Savannah, Georgia.

“The pilot on board indicated the vessel lost ability to control the engines and they were stuck nearly full-ahead with the vessel making between 14 to 17 knots,” said Preston. Throttles were near-full forward and could not be moved out of that position.

Coast Guard boats and other agency partner assets were alerted and cleared vessel traffic from the ship channel. Charleston and Mount Pleasant police departments closed the Ravenel Bridge and began evacuating pedestrians before the ship passed underneath.

The Baltimore incident and similar events in the subsequent months have sparked an array of theories that have spread far and wide on social media:

Although the South Carolina bridge did not sustain a direct impact from the ship, experts say it would not have met the same fate as the Francis Scott Key Bridge even if it had.

As Sky News reported:

The incident on 26 March destroyed the bridge and killed six construction workers.

Engineers said the Ravenel Bridge was designed differently and could withstand a similar blow.

The cable-stayed structure, which opened in 2005, stands 186ft (57m) above the Cooper River.

Its towers are 575ft (175m) above the water, and engineers claim it is designed to withstand wind gusts of up to 300mph (483kph) – stronger than any hurricane in recorded history.

Here’s some local coverage of the near miss:

RELATED REPORT:

ANOTHER ‘Accident’: Barge Collides With Texas Bridge, Resulting In Collapse

As crews continue sifting through the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, several other bridges have been hit by container ships in a series of incidents that has sparked speculation that U.S. infrastructure could be under attack.

The latest incident occurred in Galveston, Texas, as reported by Fox News:

A large barge crashed into the Pelican Island Bridge in Texas on Wednesday, causing a section of the bridge, including railroad tracks, to smash down onto the barge, Fox 7 Austin reports.

Officials say there were no reports of injuries in the collision that occurred around 10 a.m.

However, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry says two crew members did go overboard but were recovered from the water, Fox 7 Austin reports.

Henry says the collision caused oil to spill from the barge, which has a capacity of 30,000 gallons, although it is unclear how much of it went into the water.

Pelican Island is located north of Galveston and is connected to the city by the bridge.

Officials say the bridge has been shut down to traffic in both directions.

News of the latest incident quickly spread via social media:

In the aftermath of the Baltimore incident, a number of prominent figures began floating theories that the collision was part of an organized attack on the homeland.

One of the most notable examples was investigative journalist Lara Logan.

As TheBlaze reported last month:

After talking to many people, including some who “had worked in Baltimore for 30 years,” some who “worked in maritime attacks,” and others who “are still on active duty in the intelligence community,” Lara came away with a narrative about the bridge collapse that didn’t at all match the official statement given by authorities.

“One person in particular knew instantly that from the very first moment that he saw that ship, it wasn’t inside the channel, which is where it has to be when it’s on course,” she explains.

Further, “Multiple intelligence professionals” told Lara that they “knew the moment they saw it” that the collision “was a technique … because [they] carry out this technique on foreign battlefields.”

Here’s a full clip of her comments:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.

View the original article here.


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