BLOODY HELL!!!

[carmanmemoranda]

No none of that is a problem for ships.

The towers in the deep channel are protected with collision prevention “fenders”. Think retaining concrete walls around the towers with bumpers attached.

Ships and boats have been dealing with night time / poor visibility for years.

1. Everything is on a chart
2. The towers / banks will have a navigation aids / light sequence (also on the chart)
3. Everyone has radar.

I am sure the bridge is marked on charts, and would have lights too

 

[noseall]

No none of that is a problem for ships.

The towers in the deep channel are protected with collision prevention “fenders”. Think retaining concrete walls around the towers with bumpers attached.

Ships and boats have been dealing with night time / poor visibility for years.

1. Everything is on a chart
2. The towers / banks will have a navigation aids / light sequence (also on the chart)
3. Everyone has radar.

Whilst they are all working, of course. Human intervention and logic would suggest that the bridge and its supports are say 10 times or 100 times easier to spot than the cable towers, simply because of the massive visible structure above.

 

[motorbiking]

You’d be amazed how hard it is to spot stuff at night particularly when you have so many lights in the background.

Every skipper will prepare pilotage for entering and leaving port and will have it on a piece of paper, with key transits and bearings.

But of course this wasn’t a navigation screw up is was a loss of command, hence why in the U.K. at least a bridge like that would definitely have protection.

 

[motorbiking]

I am sure the bridge is marked on charts, and would have lights too

Lateral green and reds (though the US have them the wrong way round to the rest of the world) and the bridge itself had an active AIS beacon. So every boat with a half decent chart plotter would get Closest point of approach and collision warnings.

 

[noseall]

Someone thought it was worth protecting the overhead cables.

Are they merely token gestures where ships as massive as the Dali is concerned?

 

[carmanmemoranda]

You’d be amazed how hard it is to spot stuff at night particularly when you have so many lights in the background.

Every skipper will prepare pilotage for entering and leaving port and will have it on a piece of paper, with key transits and bearings.

But of course this wasn’t a navigation screw up is was a loss of command, hence why in the U.K. at least a bridge like that would definitely have protection.

Which all goes back to the comment. Hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

[ajohn]

Are they merely token gestures where ships as massive as the Dali is concerned?

LOL Depends if you are an engineer or not.

 

[noseall]

LOL Depends if you are an engineer or not.

Not really. They'll either stand a direct impact from a massive ship or they wont.

 

[motorbiking]

The goal is to deflect not stop. But the electrical cable poles are sat in 7M of water, so a ship like DALI would be pretty close to grounding in that depth.

For the main Bridge, a pile of Dolos (funny shaped concrete blocks) banked around the supports would work. Nothing keeps going when it grounds.

 

[noseall]

The goal is to deflect not stop.

It still doesn't answer the question. All the will in the world, all the engineering in the world and all the deflection doesn't change the question - will the bumpers resist a direct hit like in the Dali bridge impact?

 

[motorbiking]

Banking + Fenders

 

[noseall]

Someone thought it was worth protecting the overhead cables.

Are they merely token gestures where ships as massive as the Dali is concerned?

Direct hit etc?

 

[carmanmemoranda]

The goal is to deflect not stop. But the electrical cable poles are sat in 7M of water, so a ship like DALI would be pretty close to grounding in that depth.

For the main Bridge, a pile of Dolos (funny shaped concrete blocks) banked around the supports would work. Nothing keeps going when it grounds.

Not everybody agrees with you. As I linked to before.....



The incident is raising questions about how much money American taxpayers are willing to spend to protect against these rare but deadly catastrophes. And not everyone agrees the Key Bridge could have been saved.

“There's a lot of debate taking place among the engineering community about whether any of those features could have had any role in a situation like this,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday at a White House briefing.


I will take their expertise over yours.

 

[ajohn]

It still doesn't answer the question. All the will in the world, all the engineering in the world and all the deflection doesn't change the question - will the bumpers resist a direct hit like in the Dali bridge impact?

It's a problem for an engineer to sort out.

 

[noseall]

It's a problem for an engineer to sort out.

I'm baffled by your answer. I'm also baffled why you have answered a statement made by and aimed at another poster.


It still doesn't answer the question posed to MBK - i.e. will the protection of the cable towers stand a direct hit from as ship like the Dali?