A former merchant marine captain who has been in and out of the Baltimore port “a number of times” described what happens when a mechanical fault occurs aboard cargo ships.
“When you look at these instances, you’ll usually see human error, mechanical fault, and potentially a security issue. At first glance, there appears to be a mechanical issue,” former Cpt. Klaus Luhta stated on “Varney & Co.”
“There are some cases where, when a ship loses propulsion, you just have no way of controlling it,” he said. “And this appears to be one of those catastrophes where it was just out of the hands of what anybody could do.”
Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that rescue efforts were ongoing following the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge along I-695 in Maryland into the Baltimore Bay due to a “ship strike.”
Several automobiles and personnel were on the bridge when it collapsed. Two people have been rescued from the water as of Tuesday afternoon, one of whom was in critical condition, according to officials. Just before 1 p.m. EST, Fox News’ Griff Jenkins reported that six people were still missing.
According to the most recent information from the Maryland governor’s office, the cargo ship lost power and issued a Mayday signal before colliding with the Baltimore bridge.
According to sources, the big container ship DALI collided with a stone wall at a pier in Antwerp, Belgium, on the afternoon of July 11, 2016.
The container ship sustained damage and was moored for repairs, but no one was wounded in the incident, according to The New York Times.
“You’re accelerating the vessel as you leave the port so that you can maneuver under that bridge and through the channels effectively,” he said. “So it’s likely that when the speed increased, the propulsion failed. The video appears to support this theory.
The captain asserts that cargo ship crews receive training for situations like these and will handle them as an all-hands-on-deck crisis.
“These ship pilots are the best-trained vessel operators in the world, and especially at the Port of Baltimore. So they’re prepared to cope with these types of occurrences,” Luhta explained.
“It sounds from the reports here on Fox that they were able to preserve some life by not allowing vehicles across the bridge, which is a great achievement.”
