It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Baltimore accuses firms behind Dali ship that destroyed bridge of negligence
Salvage work continues on the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge as it lies on the container ship Dali on Monday, in Baltimore, Maryland.
April 23 (UPI) -- he city of Baltimore is blaming the the owner and manager of a merchant vessel that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge late last month of negligence.
In a filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, the city of Baltimore and its council said Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine "were grossly and potentially criminally negligent" in their operations of the Dali container ship.
The 985-foot Dali container ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private and it is managed by Synergy Marine. Early March 26, the vessel lost power shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore and crashed into the bridge, causing it to immediately collapse.
Six people were killed and nearly all commercial transit to the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest in the United States, has since come to halt.
The filing on Monday is in response the companies asking the court to limit their potential liability payouts to $43.6 million. The city is asking the court to deny the firms' request.
"For more than four decades, cargo ships made thousands of trips every year under the Key Bridge without incident. There was noting about March 26, 2024, that should have changed that," the city said in its legal filing.
The city argues that Dali was operated despite being "a clearly unseaworthy vessel."
It said hours before departing, alarms had been going off on Dali showing that it had been experiencing an inconsistent power supply, which was either not investigated or investigated but not fixed.
"The allision was a direct and proximate result of petitioners' carelessness, negligence, gross negligence and recklessness and as a result of the unseaworthiness of the vessel," the city said.
The city accuses the companies of committing 23 acts and omissions related to their alleged negligence, from providing the vessel with an incompetent crew to failing to properly maintain and operate the ship's engine and propulsion system.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also opened a criminal investigation into the collapse of the bridge.
Maersk May Set Up Container-on-Barge Service to Reach Baltimore
Contractors work to clear a 35-foot-deep channel for merchant ships in Baltimore, April 22, 2024 (USACE)
Baltimore's shipping channel is closed to deep-draft container ships because of the wreckage of the Key Bridge, and will probably not reopen until the end of May, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. This has an outsize effect on local businesses that depend on the port for logistics: they now have to truck their goods to and from New York or Virginia to get access to ocean freight. But Maersk may have an interim solution - a container-on-barge service, also known in the United States as a Marine Highway operation.
The federal coordinated response - led by the USACE and the U.S. Navy's Supervisor of Diving and Salvage (SUPSALV) - has cleared three channels to date. The third and deepest has a controlling depth of 20 feet, and might potentially allow Maersk and other container carriers to ship boxes into and out of Baltimore by barge. There is no guarantee yet, though, and Maersk says that it will reach out to customers directly if it can offer barge service.
Any tug-and-barge service would necessarily be carried out by a Jones Act operator, and would join a small number of similar operations around the country. The U.S. Maritime Administration has sponsored "Marine Highway" container on barge transport services in dozens of coastal ports and inland waterways.
The federal unified command will also temporarily open a fourth, 35-foot-deep channel through the wreckage on Thursday. It will be open over the weekend to allow the vessels trapped in the main harbor to leave (if desired). The ships currently in Baltimore include one carrier, the Swedish-flagged Carmen; five bulkers, the Klara Oldendorff, Balsa 94, Saimaagracht, Phatra Naree and JY River; and the tanker Palanca Rio. Five ships are expected to depart.
In the inbound direction, one container barge, a smaller bulker, and an aluminum carrier are scheduled to enter the port, Captain of the Port David O'Connell told reporters yesterday. (The charterer of the container barge was not immediately clear.) Traffic will be limited to vessels of less than 60,000 dwt, in calm weather, and with fore and aft tug escorts.
Baltimore to Open Larger Temporary Channel as Dali is Readied for Removal
Progress continues as they prepare to open a 35-foot deep channel this week (USCG)
A month after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland and Baltimore officials along with the members of the Unified Command highlighted the strong progress that has been made in the recovery by announcing plans for a brief window to move large commercial vessels. In addition to having removed large sections of the bridge debris, they are also now focused on the removal of the Dali in the coming weeks.
Buoys and lights are now being laid in anticipation according to the Captain of the Port David O'Connell of establishing a temporary deep draft channel into the Port of Baltimore. The Unified Command reports it will open, depending on the weather, on Thursday, April 25, with a 35-foot draft, 300-foot horizontal clearance, and 214-foot vertical clearance.
The plan is to run the channel for approximately four days to permit commercial vessels access. O’Connell reports there are seven ships trapped in the port ready to depart and they expect five, including a loaded car carrier, will use the channel in the coming days. In addition, a container barge, a smaller bulker, and an aluminum carrier are scheduled to enter the port. It will be the first movement of large commercial vessels since March 26.
Opening of the channel was made possible by the recent lifts, which between Sunday night and early Monday, April 22, included the largest yet completed. They removed a 560-ton section after two and a half days of prep and rigging. They also cleared debris that was wrapped around the piling to make the deeper channel possible. Another large 460-ton lift was completed on Friday. Governor Wes Moore reported today that a total of 2,900 tons of wreckage has been removed.
(Map courtesy of USCG)
Movement on the deepest channel will be suspended starting next week till approximately May 10 as they prepare to remove the Dali. Coast Guard officers highlighted that they will be focusing on the span laying on the Dali and in early May they will be rigging and then lifting that section. Shortly after that, they expect the Dali will be freed and removed.
The Governor reports that 145 commercial vessels have used the three channels already established and they will continue movements during the upcoming work. This includes the 20-foot channel opened at the end of last week and the two prior channels with 10- and 11-foot draft clearance.
The Captain of the Port reviewed additional conditions for using the 35-foot draft channel which will include a requirement for a tug at the bow and another at the stern of each vessel and a minimum three foot under keel clearance. Due to the proximity to the Dali, speed must also be at or below 5 knots and transits will only be permitted while wind speeds are below 15 knots. They expect vessels below 50,000 dwt will be permitted, while vessels between 50,000 and 60,000 dwt will be individually reviewed, and vessels above 60,000 dwt will most likely not be permitted at this time.
Major shipping companies had highlighted that they were closely following these developments. Wallenius Wilhelmsen has a car carrier trapped in the port that had unloaded when the port was closed due to the collapse. Last week, Maersk advised customers that the temporary channels were not deep enough to accommodate the ocean going container vessels that Maersk and other carriers use to call at Baltimore. They reported they were waiting for details from the Captain of the Port. Maersk advised customers today, April 23, that the temporary 20-foott channel, "could potentially allow Maersk and other carriers to operate limited barge services into and out of the Port of Baltimore."
The officials said today they expect to have the 35-foot channel reopened in mid-May. The port is on track to fully have the 50-foot channel reopened by the end of May.
Baltimore Opens Third Channel as Plans Sequence Efforts to Refloat Dali
Progress continues in Baltimore with teams planning the efforts to refloat the Dali (US Army Corps photo April 19)
Recovery efforts in Baltimore continue to make good progress Maryland Governor Wes Moore highlighted in a briefing on Friday afternoon, April 19, reporting that more than 1,300 tons of steel have now been removed from the waterway. While the priority remains on establishing a larger temporary channel to reopen Baltimore harbor, late today they also opened a third temporary channel while the teams are also beginning to converge on the Dali for the effort to refloat and remove the vessel.
Crews they reported have now removed 120 containers from the bow of the vessel and expect to move approximately 20 more in the coming days to clear a path for the salvage team to safely reach the debris resting on the vessel. Governor Moore reported that each of the laden containers weighs between 1.5 and 2.5 tons and that in addition, the salvage teams project that there are 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel from the bridge sitting on the bow of the vessel.
After the containers are removed, they are planning to build a staging area to address the debris. Representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard reported that they planning the effort to cut the sections of roadway and steel and remove it from the ship and then the refloating sequence.
More than 100 containers have been removed over two weeks from the Dali (USCG photo)
Another 20 containers need to be removed before they begin staging for the controlled demolition of debris on the bow of the Dali (USCG photo)
They declined to specify a timeline for these efforts saying that the focus remains at this moment on establishing the Limited Access Channel. The third smaller channel established today should provide for about 15 percent of the harbor's normal traffic with a controlling depth of 20 feet, a 300-foot horizontal clearance, and a vertical clearance of 135 feet. Maersk earlier in the weekly however informed customers that the channels being established are too small for containerships and that they did not have a timetable for access to the port.
The Army Corp said they are working on debris wrapped around the other pier of the bride after teams modeling the channel identified this area as a priority. However, they noted that three salvage teams are also all working around the vessel as they plan the controlled demolition of the sections on and around the Dali. They noted that sections of the bridge’s pier are embedded in the vessel adding to the challenge to remove the ship. The plan is to take it back to a dock in Baltimore.
Three channels have been established which should permit approximately 15 percent of commercial activity in Baltimore (Unified Command)
Governor Moore highlighted that there are now 80 different assets working in the area and 380 people. They reported that 113 vessels have already passed through the first two channels and they are still on schedule to have the larger temporary channel established by the end of April.
Maryland also announced the next phase of financial assistance programs both for port workers and businesses impacted by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. More than $5.5 million in assistance is budgeted and they will be paying people who worked at the port $430 a week as temporary job assistance.
At the same time today, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro traveled to Baltimore to personally assess the work. He met with both Naval Sea Systems Command and the Unified Command emphasizing the contribution of the Navy’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving in the effort. The Navy is providing its diving expertise and coordinating efforts to aid in the recovery. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assigned the Navy’s SUPSALV with supporting by leading the clearing of the waterway.
During today’s briefing, they said two large sections of the bridge steel have already been successfully lifted. They are currently rigging a third section to be lifted.
No comments:
Post a Comment