Francis Scott Key Bridge - Class I Impact

Mr. Toolmaker, I doubt if there would be damage to any lading within containers situated Aft of the Bridge, which means most.

Those Forward, especially about the vessel's Prow, different story, the photo in this Journal article clearly depicts.

toolmaker wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 2:45 pm I read about the containers being removed and sent on through the system but is anyone inspecting the containers for damage as they pass on to another ship or will the end user be standing there with crossed fingers hoping their shipment is in good condition?

Nobody's opening those containers before they're delivered to the consignee. Why risk further damage?

Appearing today in The Times is an article describing the disruption affecting the Port Of Baltimore arising from the Key Bridge incident:

Fair Use:

New John Deere tractors made their way last week through the sprawling port of Brunswick, Ga., their distinctive green paint glinting in the sunshine. Stevedores drove the tractors up a ramp into the belly of the Leo Spirit, a ship that would take them to Asia.

As orderly as everything looked, the tractor convoy was an example of the enormous lengths to which East Coast ports, railways, truckers and shipping lines have gone to remake supply chains after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month. The bridge’s collapse closed most of the Port of Baltimore, which last year handled 1.3 million tons of farm and construction machinery and 850,000 cars and light trucks.

The Deere tractors would normally be shipped from Baltimore, getting there on trains from a factory in Waterloo, Iowa, according to Georgia port officials. Instead, the tractors had to be trucked to Brunswick, a journey that adds time and costs.

While BAULTIMOAH resident Mr. Wolf likely does, I think some like myself did not appreciate to what extent ocean shipping has been affected by the Port's closure, which is reported to last through May for the large Container vessels such as the m/v Dali.

Finally, while it appears the article is more focused upon trucking industry affairs than it is rail, rail is not completely overlooked. Of concern to me is a photo of an NS worker standing atop an open top hopper loaded with coal. I think that is a safety violation, but I will defer to those active, or more recently retired than I, in the industry.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 7:04 am Appearing today in The Times is an article describing the disruption affecting the Port Of Baltimore arising from the Key Bridge incident...

While BAULTIMOAH resident Mr. Wolf likely does, I think some like myself did not appreciate to what extent ocean shipping has been affected by the Port's closure, which is reported to last through May for the large Container vessels such as the m/v Dali.

Finally, while it appears the article is more focused upon trucking industry affairs than it is rail, rail is not completely overlooked. Of concern to me is a photo of an NS worker standing atop an open top hopper loaded with coal. I think that is a safety violation, but I will defer to those active, or more recently retired than I, in the industry.

Pronounce it right, Mr. Norman. It's Balehmer! Even folks like me who don't live in the city (I'm actually way south on the other side of the airport and along the NEC).

But not only is ship-to-rail traffic affected, but you also have hazmat traffic that went over that bridge. Now instead of driving on roughly 1/3rd of the beltway, they have to drive "the long way round", which is extra fuel being burned on a more congested part of the beltway...

...now only if there was a rail terminal on the east side that could take all of that stuff...

Mr. Wolf, my way sure sounded like a waitress at Haussner's. But then, you live in the area, and I do not.

And I understand that Haussner's is no more.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 8:10 pm Mr. Wolf, my way sure sounded like a waitress at Haussner's. But then, you live in the area, and I do not.

And I understand that Haussner's is no more.

Sadly my haunts were a few blocks north of the Inner Harbor, while Haussner's was well east. Sadly, it closed up in late 1999 and the area redeveloped over time. I never got to dine there.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 8:30 pm

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 8:10 pm Mr. Wolf, my way sure sounded like a waitress at Haussner's. But then, you live in the area, and I do not.

And I understand that Haussner's is no more.

Sadly my haunts were a few blocks north of the Inner Harbor, while Haussner's was well east. Sadly, it closed up in late 1999 and the area redeveloped over time. I never got to dine there.

I passed by it, but never ate there. It was ripped down and replaced with an apartment building in 2016.

Meanwhile, back on the rails and waves.

https://gaports.com/rail/

Presuming the Times' reporter has the facts straight, I have to wonder why Deere has chosen to use trucks from Waterloo to Brunswick. Both Chessie and Topper serve the Port.

It certainly appears that the Baltimore Longshoremen represented by the ILA do not have displacement rights at other East Coast ports where ILA holds the contract. I think that all parties in interest are hoping that end of May date for clearing the channel holds.

But have fun driving the 695 for probably the next four years.

I was wondering myself why the same cars that would have been loaded at Waterloo could not have been routed to Brunswick instead of Ballamer -- something to do with port facilities at Brunswick?

As to the ILA, during my working years they seemed quite parochial as far as seniority rights were concerned; in New York in the 1950's and after, members had no seniority outside their own area of the port. At some point an election was held to determine whether seniority districts within the port should be merged, and it was voted down by the membership. Following a lengthy East Coast strike, United Fruit reached an agreement with the Port of Albany and the first banana ships to arrive after the strike sailed right past Weehawken to Albany and since bananas were all that moved through Weehawken the longshoremen there had no work and afaik had no rights to jobs on the North or East Rivers or in Brooklyn. In Baltimore in 1963 (!) there were two locals, a white one and a Black one -- no transferability there, I'm sure.

Possibly Mr. ExCon, Deere wanted to get their farm tractors to the Port of Brunswick in time to make the sailing the Times' reporter was covering, and that they will revert to rail transportation as the pipeline gets filled again.

No question whatever; highway transport is quicker than rail. But if a "pipeline" is filled and moving at a constant speed, what matters is the rate on that Bill.

Can't be sure, just a guess on my part.

Finally, one of the readers made the comment as to why didn't Deere send those tractors Westward by rail to be ocean shipped from the West Coast if their destination was Asia?

With all the bad guys aiming their pop guns around the Suez Canal at present, the vessel from Brunswick would be sailing around the Cape. A vessel sailing from the West Coast would be unaffected by those playing "cops and robbers".

The big thing with the ports is not just "does rail serve them" but also "how deep are their docks?" The Port of Baltimore and the channel out had a 55 foot "below the water" clearance channel heading all the way out to sea, and thus could handle superwide/deep ships. That's a lot of freight being moved on and off trains and trucks.

That said, they're working on clearing a temporary channel opposite the Dali to get 80% of regular traffic flowing again by the end of this month. 120 out of 140 containers removed off the Dali needed to help remove the bridge off the ship.

Let's hope for the good of your local economy, Mr. Wolf, your immediate holds to be the case.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 7:16 pm Possibly Mr. ExCon, Deere wanted to get their farm tractors to the Port of Brunswick in time to make the sailing the Times' reporter was covering, and that they will revert to rail transportation as the pipeline gets filled again.

Very likely; if the ship's sailing from Brunswick on a given date the main thing is to get the freight there in time to make the ship by any means available. I can just imagine the mad scrambling going on in offices around the world to pull things like that together.

Mr. Wolf's local Fox outlet, WBFF 45, has a good report on the status of the debris removal. The video apparently was produced within the past several days:

https://youtu.be/IQGDAtc0IkQ?feature=shared

I can't help myself. This coming Tuesday is the four week mark.

Whoever had money on "three weeks to clear the channel" has already lost to the house.

My 90 day estimate for removing the wreckage stands.