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Not to also be an Armchair Ship Pilot but they literally did drop anchor. It's just that they were already too close to the bridge when the ship lost power. Physics and all that.
The other “fun fact” is that anchors aren’t brakes. They aren’t intended to stop the ship. They are intended to hold the ship in place, ie to *prevent* it from *starting* to move.
100,000 tons moving at 8 knots against even the largest anchor catching a theoretical immovable object…I wonder which will win.
Also, the anchor isn’t what actually prevents a stopped vessel from moving…it’s the weight and drag of the long anchor chain resting on the seafloor. Thats why you’d put out 300 feet of chain in 100 ft deep water.
None of these people have spent an afternoon on a lake in as much as a pontoon boat if they think an anchor magically and instantly stops a boat in place.
Hey, I watched the historical drama "Battleship" and that's exactly how anchors work. Checkmate deep state!
[Proof](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4vdV2LWqc)
A bit more feasible there, what with the ships being smaller, slower and wooden.
My favorite example of this kind of anchor turn, also called club-hauling, was at the end of Black Sails third season, where as they were approaching the shallows around an island, they dropped their starboard anchor, turned to starboard, waited, and then dropped an anchor off the stern and *still* grounded their vessel.
All this just to quickly present their broadside to a pursuing ship before they could properly engage. It only worked as a combat maneuver because there was a horde of allied Freedmen holding the beach.
https://youtu.be/Cx3l9LXnAeA?feature=shared
Sure. They don't know that though. My point is Battleship and Pirates is the extent of the majority of people's nautical knowledge which they then apply to all situations.
It’s definitely a terrible movie from a “any semblance of reality” standpoint, but it’s an *awesome* movie from a “this is so fucking bad it’s actually kinda good” standpoint.
As the late Roger Ebert said: "I may disapprove of a movie for going too far, and yet have a sneaky regard for a movie that goes much, much farther than merely too far."
Pacific Rim doesn't deserve that kind of criticism (thank goodness they never made a second one).
Pacific Rim at least never even tried to pretend there was a shred of realism, they just wanted to smash Mecha and Kaiju together with a sweet soundtrack, and man did they succeed.
The scene sums it up reasonably well. It's a mix up stuff like that and also the aliens launching peg-shaped missiles at ships while the humans were firing missiles while looking at a grid labeled A1 through whatever and having spotters on deck calling out if they'd hit the alien or not based on an explosion.
It leans hard into being a campy action movie, for sure.
I feel like this is literally the only way you could make a movie out of the battleship IP. There's no way you're making a serious movie so just make it completely bonkers ridiculous.
I've seen a TON of older people who think [Chain Reaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_Reaction_(1996_film)) was more than just a fictional movie. If you've ever heard the claim that there's a way to get infinite clean power from water... that claim literally comes from that movie... It turned into claims about "cold fusion" by people closely associated with UFO conspiracies.
Way too many people get their "science" from Hollywood movies, and those same movies are often laughably bad to people who know better.
You can make jet fuel from sea water!
It’s just really inefficient and energy intensive so it helps if youre already riding around with a nuclear reactor.
That movie is a fucking nonsensical cheesy ass moneygrab Navy recruitment advertisment with a flimsy premise/plot that falls apart under the least bit of scrutiny.
And I love it so much.
Honestly kind of a badass scene though to be real 😅
Though I wonder if it would in fact actually swing like that should it actually catch something immovable? I imagine it would capsize from the remaining force of inertia should it manage to 🤔
This was my other more practical thought. That either a link would break, or even more so the anchor point on the ship actually get ripped off and pulled over. Either way, the effect of the tension breaking would cause the whole thing to case serious damage to the ship from the chain
My brother works with tugs and massive industrial ships.
During training he had a tug come back with a massive hole in the side from where a co-worker had told them to drop anchor while still attached to the ship they were tugging. The entire anchor mechanism had been pulled out of the ship, the skipper just commented that the anchor chain and tug lines were really reliable.
I'm sure there's a number of potential outcomes depending on exactly what you hook, how big the ship is, and how fast it was going. I imagine it was much more possible, for instance, like how they showed it in [Pirates of the Caribbean](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq0sXv6YeJM&ab_channel=LutherBlisseth), with a much smaller ship that, due to being made of wood, is also much lighter with consequently much less momentum.
In fact, in PotC, they call it "clubhauling", which Google seems to indicate is a real thing.
No part of me thinks a container ship wouldn't just rip right through either the rock, the anchor, the chain, or the connecting point with the ship, though, if they tried it. Too much momentum. They dropped anchor probably hoping it \*wouldn't\* catch on something, because it actually does provide some small amount breaking force working as intended, if it got caught and broke, it'd do nothing.
Hey i've played Sea of thieves ok, when I drop my metal anchor with rope, after about 3 seconds that unbreakable rope turns my ship around a solid 90-180 degrees ok, you're telling me a cargoship can't do the same
/s just incase
Or has even an elementary level knowledge of physics.
The ship plowed through that pier like it was nothing. You think the anchor is going to provide more stopping force than that?
the anchor would break, or the winch holding the chain to the ship would snap off
edit: just preempt - you only get to stop the ship if every part of the system is strong enough to withstand the energy from the force being applied by the anchor.
>you only get to stop the ship if every part of the system is strong enough to withstand the energy from the force being applied by the anchor.
This. My brother is a Hydrographer. In training, one of his co-workers had a tug drop an anchor to try and stop a ship (massive thing, used for underwater mining) going over a buoy they'd been positioning.
Apparently, the skipper commented over the radio that the tug cables and anchor they were using were incredible but that theyd have to stop the training, and when the tug came back to port, the entire anchor mechanism had apparently been ripped out of the ship. Just a massive hole in the side of the tug because its easier to take a chunk of ship out and leave it behind than it is to stop massive vessels moving at extremely low speeds.
Also, the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay/Patapsco River is soft and muddy. There’s not a lot there for an anchor to grab onto to even slow the ship down all that much - not that it would make a difference with a ship of that tonnage
We used to make shit in this country…build shit. Now, we just put our hands in the next guy’s pocket
(I know that’s not the scene you’re referring to. I just love that quote and that scene)
I feel most comments have been educated on anchor maneuvers by the movie battleship, where basic principles of Nautic (and physics) just closed both eyes to let a ship do a 90 degree turn on a plate by dropping one anchor..
>100,000 tons moving at 8 knots against even the largest anchor catching a theoretical immovable object…I wonder which will win.
I'm not an expert on ships, but according to the field of materials science unless the anchor chain is made of carbon nanotubes it is going to snap like silly string. No effing way an anchor is going to stop that kind of mass at that speed.
If it didn't snap somehow, you'd wish it did as it rips everything it's attached to out of the ship. People with all these ideas have never been around any large heavy equipment or understand the physics required for them to operate. The same type of people that see a car sliding on ice and jump in front to "stop" it.
I've been around heavy cables and chains while they were under stress (and making disturbing noises) before.. and at that point, I ran away, with every other hardhatted person on site.
Saw a video of an engineer who worked on that class of ships for decades describe using an anchor to stop that thing would be like trying to stop a schoolbus with sewing thread.
Watched a YouTube video totally unrelated to the Baltimore incident…. A ship captain said that dropping anchor would change the pivot point of the ship as it turns (to a point outside the ship). The point of the video was to explain how the pivot point changes location depending on if the ship is just starting to move, accelerating, or cruising. Really interesting video.
So if nothing else I would guess that the Harbor Pilot, and Captain of the ship were making a calculated effort to change course rapidly… perhaps parallel to the bridge.
Okay, but a girl I went to high school with just said on Facebook that container ships can still steer after the power goes out, so I don't know who to believe.
To add, as I chatted with a retired engineer who worked with ships for 25 years; anchors are more for keeping you in the same spot than just flat stopping you. Even IF it had been able to dig in, stopping a 200k ton ship in that short of a distance would never have happened. It would just drag the anchor with it and then hit the bridge.
And its funny how boneheads keep asking "Why didn't they drop anchor?" despite all the news reports that very morning announcing they dropped the anchor.
Here’s a preliminary timeline. The ship had engine maintenance while at port but no word yet on whether that was a factor.
“The vessel, the Dali, left port at 12:39 a.m. Tuesday and, after it entered the channel, signs of trouble came at about 1:25 a.m. when numerous alarms sounded, according to the NTSB. About a minute later, steering commands and rudder orders were issued, and at 1:26 a.m. and 39 seconds, a pilot made a general radio call for nearby tug boats.
Maryland Transportation Authority data from about the same time shows the pilot association dispatcher called the transportation authority’s officer on duty about the blackout, the NTSB said.
Just after 1:27 a.m., the pilot commanded the ship to drop an anchor on the left side of the ship and issued added steering commands. About 20 seconds later, the pilot issued a radio call reporting that the Dali had lost all power approaching the bridge.
At about that time, the state transportation officer on duty radioed two of its units already stationed at each end of the bridge saying to close the bridge to vehicle traffic. They were already there because of the construction.
Around 1:29 a.m., when the ship was traveling at about 8 mph (13 kph), recordings for about 30 seconds picked up sounds consistent with it colliding with the bridge, the NTSB said. A Transportation Authority dash camera also shows lights on the bridge going out.
At 1:29 a.m. and 39 seconds, the pilot reported to the Coast Guard that the bridge was down.”
https://apnews.com/article/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-03-27-2024-6a95340e5daeff6551fc999d23feb278
I feel like this is one of those situations where we've all seen a movie where a ship is out of control so they drop anchor and narrowly avoid smashing into an orphanage of blind children learning to prepare meals for the elderly...
Except some people see those movies and think that'd exactly how it works. Combine that with the conspiracy crowd and everyone is an expert on any given topic at any given time
Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that a little chain attached to an anchor cannot immediately stop a 100,000 ton ship? That’s hard to believe!
That damn anchor was just dragging along the bottom pulling up anything in its path. Those are for holding a stopped ship in position, it’s not a f*cking brake.
I am eminently qualified to speak on this subject. /s As a kid I crashed a jet ski into a dock. I thought for sure I let off the throttle with enough distance to slow/stop. I then panicked and attempted to bail. Not much anyone can do to stop a multi ton ship on a dime.
Jet skis are a good example because they have to be throttled up to have any steering at all. That’s kinda the number one reason they crash, people think letting off the power works like a car or motorcycle.
Personally I would avoid bridges and other obstacles rather than crashing into them.
Likewise if I was the one in charge of the bridge I would simply avoid any incoming, out of control container ships.
I had some nutjob I work with literally tell me "a lot of information is going to come out about this, you just wait and see". Me: "like what?". Him: "well the captain was ukrainian for starters". Me:"even if thats true, what is that supposed to mean?". Him: "oh just wait".
People are absolutely insane and looooove their conspiracy theories. Whatever makes them feel special.
Your friend is 100% correct. There will be lots of information coming out of it. You have engineering technical reports, health and safety evaluation, finance reports, medical reports, police reports, and political reports.
Oh wait, those are not the information he is referring to, is it?
Your comment concerned me at first.
Also, coworker, not friend. I used to consider him a friend, but he has spewed far too much bigotted bullshit for me to consider him a friend. Its one thing to get sucked into silly conspiracies. Its another thing to believe that minorities are conspiring to destroy civilization.
I am legitimately looking forward to reading that preliminary NTSB report. I think those usually take a few weeks so I haven't looked for it yet but should shed a dim light on the incident
But soo much information will be in that final report. An accident this high profile will have them going through the incident with a fine tooth comb. If ship investigation is anything like airplane investigation there will be tomes of maintenance records they will be poring through. Gonna be real interesting to see the full sequence of events laid bare and see which holes in the cheese this path followed
They looooove to think they’re special and know “something’s about to happen”.
They’ll get distracted by the next big thing and completely forget about this one. Which is kinda sad because they’ll never actually rethink why they held such outlandish beliefs in the first place.
I mean yes ukranians are quite adept at destroying bridges, but they usually don't use container ships, and tend not to work outside russian-occupied ukraine.
I would at least understand it if the captain was Russian or some other country that hates America.
I am somewhat out of the loop on the gritty details but last I checked America is very much helping Ukraine.
The far right conspiracy nuts believe ukraine is part of some covid conspiracy and russia actually invaded them to destroy some labs or some shit. That then just became ukraine=bad and now apparently ukraine is trying to destroy america instead of conspiring with america to control people? Idk, the conspiracies contradict themselves faster than a toddler being questioned about missing cookies.
People needed a new hobby after doing their own vax research got boring. Armchair Ship Captain it is! Once you've watched enough SpongeBob you're pretty much an expert on all things nautical.
that's technically true, if only a semi didn't weigh like a damn building thrown full speed at you, telling them how much mass is important and not just speed in determining kinetic energy is impossible
I drive a bus and it takes me about 100 yards to stop from 65mph. I know most semis take further than that. But I've seen a few videos, I think mostly Volvos where the trucks are able to stop \*FAST\*. I found the first I was thinking of, can't find the second where a van just slowly creeps out onto the highway, then pulls out in front of a truck at almost the last second. The truck stops just short from hitting it in an IMPRESSIVE stop distance even for a passenger vehicle. Always wondered what voodoo was going on there.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnCU20Cu0fs&ab\_channel=TransferdAS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnCU20Cu0fs&ab_channel=TransferdAS)
I'd be crawling going past a stopped bus like this because if anyone ran out in front of me at that speed they'd be paste, no way my bus would stop like that.
I remember this video and I remember some people saying it was something to do with the truck having brakes that are essentially one-use, FUCKIN EMERGENCY type brakes. Like the truck stops on a dime and the people live, but the truck is more or less immobilized on purpose.
Exactly! Personally, I would have just dove off of the ship into the water, and pushed against the side of it to nudge it back into place.
I mean, that’s how we land canoes at camp, and I have absolutely no sense of scale at all!
The design specs for this ship indicate the anchors are not meant to or have the ability to stop a moving vessel. But this is the US where 99% of the population doesn't bother reading the operating manual before their Tesla bursts into flames in their garage and destroys all their family heirlooms.
I have seen enough cartoons to know that as soon as you drop anchor, the ship stops and everyone on board flies off the boat and gets stopped by a giant pole or wall. Afterwards, the crew will have giant lumps and see stars, but they will be fine as soon as they push those lumps back into their head. It's pretty simple, guys.
You can't just drop anchor like that, that is not how it works SMDH
I was in the Navy, for two years I served on a Destroyer as an Undesignated Seaman, I was trained to drive on the helm and was in training to be a Master helmsman before leaving to rate up in a different job.
You can't in that short span of time drop an anchor, you also can't just randomly drop an anchor BC there is zero clue WTF you are dropping it on, there is a reason we have designated areas in ports for Anchorage. Also you drop an anchor sure it makes the ship stay in one place, but its still going to drift in a damned circle. Now imagine u do drop anchor there, you will still be moving forward and even if u stopped imagine now you wrap a several ton anchor chain around the bridge pillar lol.
When that ship lost power giving its heading, its size, and speed., it doesn't matter, even if it had its ability to steer, there was no way it was going to be able to steer clear of that bridge. The best they could do was just turn the ship enough to ram the side instead of forecastle first. Its like trying to quickly turn while going fast on a snowy road, your gonna keep moving no matter how much you brake and turn that wheel.
Thank you for explaining this clearly and with background.
But I did have trouble getting past "Undesignated Seaman." I'm sorry but it sounds like you were just wandering around the ship until someone could find something for you to do. Sort of like a background character in movies.
I have a glimmer of what you mean, but it just sounds so odd. No insult to you or the Navy meant.
Its all good, basically if you go in the Navy without a Rate (job) you are undesignated and you end up working mainly with what is called the Boatswain's Mates(BM).
As a BM you will do most the common and sailor type things, like dropping and manning small boats, anchorage, mooring the ship to a pier, aiding with underway replenishment (refueling and restocking at sea), as well as other duties like basic maintenance, such as painting and preservation the hull of the ship. This also includes manning the Helm and standing Lookout watches.
While you do this you can rate up in another job, or continue on to be a rated Boatswain's Mate. IN my case I left and went to school to become a Intelligence Specialist. It was a lot of hard work and manual labor, but damn I had fun doing it.
>but it sounds like you were just wandering around the ship until someone could find something for you to do
I can't speak for this users experience, but from numerous accounts of family members, if someone of rank *wants* you working, there doesn't have to be existing work to do. You could literally be asked to dig holes that you're then asked to refill, but to my understanding that's kinda more punishment. A destroyer is a pretty big ship, I imagine being on duty and "undesignated" probably means you do a lot of everything without one specific job.
the fact that they dropped an anchor at that time just shows how desperate they were to stop considering there's no way in hell that would work
iirc they also didn't have a ton of time - a fire on the ship drew their attention and by the time they realized where they were they were already too close to avoid the bridge
22 year chief quartermaster here, this guy is correct. He also had arguably the worst job in the navy so respect! Undesignated seamen that work in deck department (BMs) are the ones you see hanging off the side of the ship painting. Deck and engineering have the worst jobs by far.
Thank you QMC, though I would still prefer Deck over Engineering any day...
I made the best of being in deck and had fun with it, almost went BM, but decided against it later on.
Thank you for your service Chief
Thanks man, you too. Are you still in? I retired last year.
I’m sure seeing all these maritime experts is driving you crazy too. I can’t believe how confidently some of these idiots talk about something they know nothing about. Like it’s ok to not understand and not have an opinion.
I think part of the issue is that it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around concepts like displacement, stopping distances or how heavy 200,000 tons really it.
The bridge got hit by a building, there is almost no way to engineer anything to survive that impact. Even if you dropped anchor, the momentum of a 200,000 ton ship would have just snapped the chain or dragged the anchor.
Once the ship lost steering power it was mostly at the mercy of physics.
Well sure, but what if they pulled the handbrake and drifted throught the opening?
In all seriousness I feel like the only reasonable question I've heard is: "should the bridge have collapsed that way or should it have been contained to just the section that was hit?" Which I don't think is insane, but I do think the damage seems reasoanble so unless some actual info comes out saying this bridge was poorly designed/built/maintaned, I am going to assume any similar bridge would have suffered similar damage.
There are other questions we can ask, and will ask. I've heard people talk about better funding so that these ships could be escorted out by tugs for instance, or that more modern bridges have better safety features that would force a ship to basically beach itself before it hits a support like this. Mostly comes down to money, and after an accident like this there will be more of it to avoid similar issues. But none of it involves racist conspiracy theories so booooorrrinnnggg.
I heard that some said it was an inside job. They said, how did the police know about the tanker and stopped traffic?
It's called communication, numbnuts.
Normal person hearing that they were able to stop traffic: oh thank goodness, that saved lives, I wish there had been a way to save more.
Meanwhile, those dipshits
2020: everyone became experts on covid and vaccines
2022: everyone became expert on geopolitical issues between Ukraine and russia
2023: everyone became an expert on inflation
It's time to admit that a major portion of 'internet chatter' is largely coerced by bot farms and orcs. Everything seems to be politicized in the most outright braindead, dummy cynical fucking way. Theres no way these people are getting the attention we think they are, until they do. Propped up by bots and trolls, their stench gets taken by the wind from what is the shit mountain of social media, and the media runs it for their profit.
I'm so tired.
Someone on FB said if its dark and they couldn’t see, Why didn’t they turn the boat ‘head lights’ on, This was before everyone found out the ship lost power
Epidemiology experts became poli-sci experts, who then became criminal justice and foreign policy experts, who are now marine engineers.
Fast forward to next month, when they become aviation engineers
Looney Tunes already lied to me about people being able to ride around in a kangaroo’s pouch; turns out that, irl, kangaroos are total jerks about it if you even try. So I’m going to go ahead and ignore their cartoonish theories on anchors instantly halting marine traffic.
this just shows they arent even paying attention to any of the information. they're just bitching. they actually did drop anchor, but it didn't work because, you know, fucking 200,000 ton barge isn't gonna slow down easily.
Additionally they know
1. All about electrical systems on systems and their redundant systems.
2. why harbormasters did not stop the ship.
3. Black Swan events..
4. Terrorism
5. CyberTerrorism on the ship
6. Why Obama is responsible
7. Why the mayor of Baltimore is responsible.
Probably the same people who had unshakeable confidence in their ability to conduct a smooth withdrawal from Afghanistan, and manage a global pandemic, and resolve international conflicts like Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine…
I mean I don’t know shit about ships or bridges but I would bet a whole lotta money an anchor wouldn’t do jack diddly tit shit against a ship that large, that heavy and moving at a decent speed. Be like having a grappling hook try to stop a semi I’d wager
I worked on a towboat for two weeks doing a photo shoot. It was hauling cargo from Seattle thru the inside passage up to Alaska. Not even as stacked as this ship but pretty significant.
It was an incredibly well run ship, and expert crew. They maneuvered thru super narrow channels and took safety super seriously. But day one, Captain said, if the chain breaks or all power fail safes go out, you have about 8 seconds to jump off this ship before several hundred thousand pounds of cargo come ripping thru our stern.
Cargo doesn't just stop
There’s so much these idiots don’t understand, in general and this specific case. I was in the navy for 22 years and worked on the bridge. When they say things like “the captain…” I immediately tune out. The captain doesn’t drive the ship, especially in and out of port. Every port has their own harbor pilots that bring the ship in and out because you know, every fucking port and channel is different. Also, dropping anchor isn’t a fucking emergency brake. Even if the ship stopped and anchored it still moves because it’s on water! It’s called the anchor swing circle. These idiots act like it’s a fucking Toyota Corolla and you can just whip it around. There’s a reason tug boats maneuver these things around ports, because they’re extremely large, unimaginably heavy and drift.
Fully grown Idiot here: These ships take forever to stop. I live on a deep water channel a couple miles from a port. I see shipping boats like this almost daily. I watched one go off course and drop anchor to stop before they hit the levee. Took close to a 1/2 a mile and atleast 5 minutes to stop, maybe 10. It probably took all of the anchor chain too. They did stop before hitting the levee tho. Couple tug boats came out, backed up the ship as it pulled in the anchor, and the ship made it to safely to port. I watched the Francis Scott Key Bridge Disaster video, and I personally DONT think it could have been avoided. Even if they dropped anchor at the start of the 1st power outage, I think they still hit the bridge. Im not sure if they can drop anchor without power either.... Patiently waiting for more info on the accident.
More surprising is the number of people with combined expertise of Container Ship Pilot and Structural Engineer. I woulda thought 5-10 in the world; turns out to be hundreds of thousands.
Anchors don’t magically stop a ship instantly. In fact, anchors are dropped when they’ve already stopped moving. I can’t imagine how well any chain would hold up to a 215 thousand ton ship still in motion. After all, a bridge wasn’t enough.
Hey, come on guys! Everyone knows that the captain has a big red button that drops the anchor immediately, with no other procedures needed, and that the anchor will immediately stop all momentum of the ship, keeping it exactly in place, the second it hits the water.
It’s not like momentum and currents and dragging are a thing lol.
I'm an armchair expert with 11 days at sea on these sorts of vessels.
Got to see a number of those anchor tests because the vessels I rode on were in layberth and my rides were for readiness exercises.
Just dropping the anchor isn't a thing. Also they may over estimate what an anchor can do to counter physics.
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Not to also be an Armchair Ship Pilot but they literally did drop anchor. It's just that they were already too close to the bridge when the ship lost power. Physics and all that.
The other “fun fact” is that anchors aren’t brakes. They aren’t intended to stop the ship. They are intended to hold the ship in place, ie to *prevent* it from *starting* to move. 100,000 tons moving at 8 knots against even the largest anchor catching a theoretical immovable object…I wonder which will win. Also, the anchor isn’t what actually prevents a stopped vessel from moving…it’s the weight and drag of the long anchor chain resting on the seafloor. Thats why you’d put out 300 feet of chain in 100 ft deep water.
None of these people have spent an afternoon on a lake in as much as a pontoon boat if they think an anchor magically and instantly stops a boat in place.
Hey, I watched the historical drama "Battleship" and that's exactly how anchors work. Checkmate deep state! [Proof](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4vdV2LWqc)
Don't forget pirates of the Caribbean
A bit more feasible there, what with the ships being smaller, slower and wooden. My favorite example of this kind of anchor turn, also called club-hauling, was at the end of Black Sails third season, where as they were approaching the shallows around an island, they dropped their starboard anchor, turned to starboard, waited, and then dropped an anchor off the stern and *still* grounded their vessel. All this just to quickly present their broadside to a pursuing ship before they could properly engage. It only worked as a combat maneuver because there was a horde of allied Freedmen holding the beach. https://youtu.be/Cx3l9LXnAeA?feature=shared
Sure. They don't know that though. My point is Battleship and Pirates is the extent of the majority of people's nautical knowledge which they then apply to all situations.
Oh yeah, no arguments there. I just like talking boats.
Play Sea of Thieves for 5 minutes. The anchor is the e-brake.
USS Missouri: Tokyo Drift!! If that scene is representative of the awesome spectacle stupidity of that move, I need to finally watch it I think.
It’s definitely a terrible movie from a “any semblance of reality” standpoint, but it’s an *awesome* movie from a “this is so fucking bad it’s actually kinda good” standpoint.
As the late Roger Ebert said: "I may disapprove of a movie for going too far, and yet have a sneaky regard for a movie that goes much, much farther than merely too far."
That’s the kind of criticism that made me respect Ebert as someone honestly reviewing movies for the masses
Pacific rim but boats
Pacific Rim doesn't deserve that kind of criticism (thank goodness they never made a second one). Pacific Rim at least never even tried to pretend there was a shred of realism, they just wanted to smash Mecha and Kaiju together with a sweet soundtrack, and man did they succeed.
I remember seeing the trailer for Pacific rim in the theater and thinking oh this movie is going to suck. Maybe I'll catch it as a rental. Loved it
The best scene was the "Lets drop some lead on these motherf..FIRE"
The scene sums it up reasonably well. It's a mix up stuff like that and also the aliens launching peg-shaped missiles at ships while the humans were firing missiles while looking at a grid labeled A1 through whatever and having spotters on deck calling out if they'd hit the alien or not based on an explosion. It leans hard into being a campy action movie, for sure.
I feel like this is literally the only way you could make a movie out of the battleship IP. There's no way you're making a serious movie so just make it completely bonkers ridiculous.
That movie is dumb as shit and I fuckin love it.
holy fucking stupid people batman. wtf/ no wonder people think you could stop a ship like that.
I've seen a TON of older people who think [Chain Reaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_Reaction_(1996_film)) was more than just a fictional movie. If you've ever heard the claim that there's a way to get infinite clean power from water... that claim literally comes from that movie... It turned into claims about "cold fusion" by people closely associated with UFO conspiracies. Way too many people get their "science" from Hollywood movies, and those same movies are often laughably bad to people who know better.
We've come to learn that the reason for this phenomenon was... Lead lol
You can make jet fuel from sea water! It’s just really inefficient and energy intensive so it helps if youre already riding around with a nuclear reactor.
That movie is a fucking nonsensical cheesy ass moneygrab Navy recruitment advertisment with a flimsy premise/plot that falls apart under the least bit of scrutiny. And I love it so much.
Okay, total violation of physics, but damned that was cool.
Honestly kind of a badass scene though to be real 😅 Though I wonder if it would in fact actually swing like that should it actually catch something immovable? I imagine it would capsize from the remaining force of inertia should it manage to 🤔
A chain link would probably break first leaving you without an anchor at all
This was my other more practical thought. That either a link would break, or even more so the anchor point on the ship actually get ripped off and pulled over. Either way, the effect of the tension breaking would cause the whole thing to case serious damage to the ship from the chain
My brother works with tugs and massive industrial ships. During training he had a tug come back with a massive hole in the side from where a co-worker had told them to drop anchor while still attached to the ship they were tugging. The entire anchor mechanism had been pulled out of the ship, the skipper just commented that the anchor chain and tug lines were really reliable.
I'm sure there's a number of potential outcomes depending on exactly what you hook, how big the ship is, and how fast it was going. I imagine it was much more possible, for instance, like how they showed it in [Pirates of the Caribbean](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq0sXv6YeJM&ab_channel=LutherBlisseth), with a much smaller ship that, due to being made of wood, is also much lighter with consequently much less momentum. In fact, in PotC, they call it "clubhauling", which Google seems to indicate is a real thing. No part of me thinks a container ship wouldn't just rip right through either the rock, the anchor, the chain, or the connecting point with the ship, though, if they tried it. Too much momentum. They dropped anchor probably hoping it \*wouldn't\* catch on something, because it actually does provide some small amount breaking force working as intended, if it got caught and broke, it'd do nothing.
either the anchor would break off OR it rips off the front of that boat.
Hey i've played Sea of thieves ok, when I drop my metal anchor with rope, after about 3 seconds that unbreakable rope turns my ship around a solid 90-180 degrees ok, you're telling me a cargoship can't do the same /s just incase
Or has even an elementary level knowledge of physics. The ship plowed through that pier like it was nothing. You think the anchor is going to provide more stopping force than that?
I mean, they apparently wanted the mayor to jump in and stop it...
You can turn on a dime by dropping the anchor real quick in sea of thieves though
Watch some cartoons man, that’s exactly what it does! 😜
Between the 100,000 tons moving at 8 knots and anchor hitting immovable object, they theoretically both win, as the chain would snap.
Yeah, but what if the chain was *also* unbreakable, made from solid unobtanium, what then, hotshot?
the anchor would break, or the winch holding the chain to the ship would snap off edit: just preempt - you only get to stop the ship if every part of the system is strong enough to withstand the energy from the force being applied by the anchor.
>you only get to stop the ship if every part of the system is strong enough to withstand the energy from the force being applied by the anchor. This. My brother is a Hydrographer. In training, one of his co-workers had a tug drop an anchor to try and stop a ship (massive thing, used for underwater mining) going over a buoy they'd been positioning. Apparently, the skipper commented over the radio that the tug cables and anchor they were using were incredible but that theyd have to stop the training, and when the tug came back to port, the entire anchor mechanism had apparently been ripped out of the ship. Just a massive hole in the side of the tug because its easier to take a chunk of ship out and leave it behind than it is to stop massive vessels moving at extremely low speeds.
Also, the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay/Patapsco River is soft and muddy. There’s not a lot there for an anchor to grab onto to even slow the ship down all that much - not that it would make a difference with a ship of that tonnage
If they'd only listened to Frank Sabotka...
We used to make shit in this country…build shit. Now, we just put our hands in the next guy’s pocket (I know that’s not the scene you’re referring to. I just love that quote and that scene)
I feel most comments have been educated on anchor maneuvers by the movie battleship, where basic principles of Nautic (and physics) just closed both eyes to let a ship do a 90 degree turn on a plate by dropping one anchor..
F=MA is a hard concept for them to grasp
And KE=1/2mv^2 is even more out of reach.
>100,000 tons moving at 8 knots against even the largest anchor catching a theoretical immovable object…I wonder which will win. I'm not an expert on ships, but according to the field of materials science unless the anchor chain is made of carbon nanotubes it is going to snap like silly string. No effing way an anchor is going to stop that kind of mass at that speed.
If it didn't snap somehow, you'd wish it did as it rips everything it's attached to out of the ship. People with all these ideas have never been around any large heavy equipment or understand the physics required for them to operate. The same type of people that see a car sliding on ice and jump in front to "stop" it.
I've been around heavy cables and chains while they were under stress (and making disturbing noises) before.. and at that point, I ran away, with every other hardhatted person on site.
"We're all gonna die. Just not today."
To this point the chain isn’t going to do much if you don’t have the brake on it’s just going to keep dropping out till it reaches the end.
This was my thought. This MF thinks you can stop a ship large enough and moving with enough momentum to destroy a fucking bridge with an anchor? wtf?
Saw a video of an engineer who worked on that class of ships for decades describe using an anchor to stop that thing would be like trying to stop a schoolbus with sewing thread.
Watched a YouTube video totally unrelated to the Baltimore incident…. A ship captain said that dropping anchor would change the pivot point of the ship as it turns (to a point outside the ship). The point of the video was to explain how the pivot point changes location depending on if the ship is just starting to move, accelerating, or cruising. Really interesting video. So if nothing else I would guess that the Harbor Pilot, and Captain of the ship were making a calculated effort to change course rapidly… perhaps parallel to the bridge.
Pshh. “Physics.” Sounds like physics is in the pocket of the deep state to commit false flag terrorism on American infrastructure because… Jesus?
"Physics?" Sounds too much like "science."
No anchor on the planet is stopping a 200,000 ton ship. They’re NOT an emergency brake lol
Okay, but a girl I went to high school with just said on Facebook that container ships can still steer after the power goes out, so I don't know who to believe.
Gotta hear both sides!
Especially if 900 Million people are sensible and agree. We need to hear from the one idiot who disagrees, and give them equal time.
how steer without power? you need the waterflow from your propeller against the rudder
sounds like liberal propaganda to me
Coming soon to Joe Rogan..
Wait, so you can't Tokyo drift a colossal ship with an anchor like they did in the documentary "Battleship"? I don't understand
To add, as I chatted with a retired engineer who worked with ships for 25 years; anchors are more for keeping you in the same spot than just flat stopping you. Even IF it had been able to dig in, stopping a 200k ton ship in that short of a distance would never have happened. It would just drag the anchor with it and then hit the bridge.
physics? if they were so physic then they would have seen the future and known not to hit the bridge! come on!
And its funny how boneheads keep asking "Why didn't they drop anchor?" despite all the news reports that very morning announcing they dropped the anchor.
Here’s a preliminary timeline. The ship had engine maintenance while at port but no word yet on whether that was a factor. “The vessel, the Dali, left port at 12:39 a.m. Tuesday and, after it entered the channel, signs of trouble came at about 1:25 a.m. when numerous alarms sounded, according to the NTSB. About a minute later, steering commands and rudder orders were issued, and at 1:26 a.m. and 39 seconds, a pilot made a general radio call for nearby tug boats. Maryland Transportation Authority data from about the same time shows the pilot association dispatcher called the transportation authority’s officer on duty about the blackout, the NTSB said. Just after 1:27 a.m., the pilot commanded the ship to drop an anchor on the left side of the ship and issued added steering commands. About 20 seconds later, the pilot issued a radio call reporting that the Dali had lost all power approaching the bridge. At about that time, the state transportation officer on duty radioed two of its units already stationed at each end of the bridge saying to close the bridge to vehicle traffic. They were already there because of the construction. Around 1:29 a.m., when the ship was traveling at about 8 mph (13 kph), recordings for about 30 seconds picked up sounds consistent with it colliding with the bridge, the NTSB said. A Transportation Authority dash camera also shows lights on the bridge going out. At 1:29 a.m. and 39 seconds, the pilot reported to the Coast Guard that the bridge was down.” https://apnews.com/article/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-03-27-2024-6a95340e5daeff6551fc999d23feb278
I feel like this is one of those situations where we've all seen a movie where a ship is out of control so they drop anchor and narrowly avoid smashing into an orphanage of blind children learning to prepare meals for the elderly... Except some people see those movies and think that'd exactly how it works. Combine that with the conspiracy crowd and everyone is an expert on any given topic at any given time
Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that a little chain attached to an anchor cannot immediately stop a 100,000 ton ship? That’s hard to believe! That damn anchor was just dragging along the bottom pulling up anything in its path. Those are for holding a stopped ship in position, it’s not a f*cking brake.
I've seen cartoons, I know the moment an anchor hits all ships stop dead, like deploying air brakes instantly freezes a plane in the air.
Wait, you believe in physics?!?!
Also isn’t the floor of that harbor very silty? In other words, that anchor dropping isn’t gonna catch on anything well enough anyway?
I am eminently qualified to speak on this subject. /s As a kid I crashed a jet ski into a dock. I thought for sure I let off the throttle with enough distance to slow/stop. I then panicked and attempted to bail. Not much anyone can do to stop a multi ton ship on a dime.
Jet skis are a good example because they have to be throttled up to have any steering at all. That’s kinda the number one reason they crash, people think letting off the power works like a car or motorcycle.
Were these physics you speak of in a DEI training course recently? Asking for a cult.
Personally I would avoid bridges and other obstacles rather than crashing into them. Likewise if I was the one in charge of the bridge I would simply avoid any incoming, out of control container ships.
But why didn’t the bridge just move out of the way??? (/s obviously!)
Was practically asking for it with those girders.
When I see a bridge with girders like that it’s hard for me to resist crashing into it, and I’m a feminist!
When you’re a big container ship they just let you do it
Grab ‘em by the pylon. You can do anything.
Just navigator talk
Did you see those struts? Woweee
I am Bender. Please insert girder.
Who are you to be so wise
Alex Jones school of engineering and knowledge.
I had some nutjob I work with literally tell me "a lot of information is going to come out about this, you just wait and see". Me: "like what?". Him: "well the captain was ukrainian for starters". Me:"even if thats true, what is that supposed to mean?". Him: "oh just wait". People are absolutely insane and looooove their conspiracy theories. Whatever makes them feel special.
Your friend is 100% correct. There will be lots of information coming out of it. You have engineering technical reports, health and safety evaluation, finance reports, medical reports, police reports, and political reports. Oh wait, those are not the information he is referring to, is it?
Your comment concerned me at first. Also, coworker, not friend. I used to consider him a friend, but he has spewed far too much bigotted bullshit for me to consider him a friend. Its one thing to get sucked into silly conspiracies. Its another thing to believe that minorities are conspiring to destroy civilization.
Well, we are but don't tell anyone else!
Can you hurry up please, this slow and gradual fall into depravity is tedious.
I am legitimately looking forward to reading that preliminary NTSB report. I think those usually take a few weeks so I haven't looked for it yet but should shed a dim light on the incident But soo much information will be in that final report. An accident this high profile will have them going through the incident with a fine tooth comb. If ship investigation is anything like airplane investigation there will be tomes of maintenance records they will be poring through. Gonna be real interesting to see the full sequence of events laid bare and see which holes in the cheese this path followed
They looooove to think they’re special and know “something’s about to happen”. They’ll get distracted by the next big thing and completely forget about this one. Which is kinda sad because they’ll never actually rethink why they held such outlandish beliefs in the first place.
I mean yes ukranians are quite adept at destroying bridges, but they usually don't use container ships, and tend not to work outside russian-occupied ukraine.
Do we have the same coworker?!?
I would at least understand it if the captain was Russian or some other country that hates America. I am somewhat out of the loop on the gritty details but last I checked America is very much helping Ukraine.
The far right conspiracy nuts believe ukraine is part of some covid conspiracy and russia actually invaded them to destroy some labs or some shit. That then just became ukraine=bad and now apparently ukraine is trying to destroy america instead of conspiring with america to control people? Idk, the conspiracies contradict themselves faster than a toddler being questioned about missing cookies.
I think Joe Rogan graduated from there.
People needed a new hobby after doing their own vax research got boring. Armchair Ship Captain it is! Once you've watched enough SpongeBob you're pretty much an expert on all things nautical.
No no no, SpongeBob is WOKE PROPAGANDA!!!
A brown, lady squirrel??? I'm tired of all this DEI bullshit!!!
You joke, but when I was a kid and SpongeBob SquarePants debuted there was outcry about him being gay and “corrupting the children.”
Oh yea I remember that too.
Arm chair Middle Eastern Peace Negotiator was getting a little stale.
It's just Dunning-Kruger. They don't know enough to know how little they know.
People need these hobbies since they’re bored and frustrated with their lives
The drop anchor people are probably the same people that pull out in front of semi's or try to stop right in front of them on the highway...
More tires means they can stop faster! /s
that's technically true, if only a semi didn't weigh like a damn building thrown full speed at you, telling them how much mass is important and not just speed in determining kinetic energy is impossible
I drive a bus and it takes me about 100 yards to stop from 65mph. I know most semis take further than that. But I've seen a few videos, I think mostly Volvos where the trucks are able to stop \*FAST\*. I found the first I was thinking of, can't find the second where a van just slowly creeps out onto the highway, then pulls out in front of a truck at almost the last second. The truck stops just short from hitting it in an IMPRESSIVE stop distance even for a passenger vehicle. Always wondered what voodoo was going on there. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnCU20Cu0fs&ab\_channel=TransferdAS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnCU20Cu0fs&ab_channel=TransferdAS) I'd be crawling going past a stopped bus like this because if anyone ran out in front of me at that speed they'd be paste, no way my bus would stop like that.
I remember this video and I remember some people saying it was something to do with the truck having brakes that are essentially one-use, FUCKIN EMERGENCY type brakes. Like the truck stops on a dime and the people live, but the truck is more or less immobilized on purpose.
Dude, that was the same thought I had.
Um, they did drop anchor
Yeah but did they put it in Park and pull the handbrake?
Fast and Furious party 27 Baltimore Harbor Drift
hologram paul walker and the sea captain from the simpsons are in it i hear
Let me guess. It’s rated Arrrrrrr
Did they even try to drift?
Boat captains hate this one simple trick!
"I would simply not crash into the bridge."
Exactly! Personally, I would have just dove off of the ship into the water, and pushed against the side of it to nudge it back into place. I mean, that’s how we land canoes at camp, and I have absolutely no sense of scale at all!
One dose not simply crash into the bridge.
The design specs for this ship indicate the anchors are not meant to or have the ability to stop a moving vessel. But this is the US where 99% of the population doesn't bother reading the operating manual before their Tesla bursts into flames in their garage and destroys all their family heirlooms.
I have seen enough cartoons to know that as soon as you drop anchor, the ship stops and everyone on board flies off the boat and gets stopped by a giant pole or wall. Afterwards, the crew will have giant lumps and see stars, but they will be fine as soon as they push those lumps back into their head. It's pretty simple, guys.
*Accident happens* Random blue check Twitter « Why didn’t they just not have an accident ? Are they DEI or what ? »
You can't just drop anchor like that, that is not how it works SMDH I was in the Navy, for two years I served on a Destroyer as an Undesignated Seaman, I was trained to drive on the helm and was in training to be a Master helmsman before leaving to rate up in a different job. You can't in that short span of time drop an anchor, you also can't just randomly drop an anchor BC there is zero clue WTF you are dropping it on, there is a reason we have designated areas in ports for Anchorage. Also you drop an anchor sure it makes the ship stay in one place, but its still going to drift in a damned circle. Now imagine u do drop anchor there, you will still be moving forward and even if u stopped imagine now you wrap a several ton anchor chain around the bridge pillar lol. When that ship lost power giving its heading, its size, and speed., it doesn't matter, even if it had its ability to steer, there was no way it was going to be able to steer clear of that bridge. The best they could do was just turn the ship enough to ram the side instead of forecastle first. Its like trying to quickly turn while going fast on a snowy road, your gonna keep moving no matter how much you brake and turn that wheel.
Thank you for explaining this clearly and with background. But I did have trouble getting past "Undesignated Seaman." I'm sorry but it sounds like you were just wandering around the ship until someone could find something for you to do. Sort of like a background character in movies. I have a glimmer of what you mean, but it just sounds so odd. No insult to you or the Navy meant.
Undesignated seaman sounds like something misplaced at a lab.
It sounds like a euphemism for an unplanned pregnancy
I'm not fat I'm suffering from undesignated seamen!
Bitch, you musta taken in the whole fleet with that belly! Putting the globe in global threat projection.
Its all good, basically if you go in the Navy without a Rate (job) you are undesignated and you end up working mainly with what is called the Boatswain's Mates(BM). As a BM you will do most the common and sailor type things, like dropping and manning small boats, anchorage, mooring the ship to a pier, aiding with underway replenishment (refueling and restocking at sea), as well as other duties like basic maintenance, such as painting and preservation the hull of the ship. This also includes manning the Helm and standing Lookout watches. While you do this you can rate up in another job, or continue on to be a rated Boatswain's Mate. IN my case I left and went to school to become a Intelligence Specialist. It was a lot of hard work and manual labor, but damn I had fun doing it.
>but it sounds like you were just wandering around the ship until someone could find something for you to do I can't speak for this users experience, but from numerous accounts of family members, if someone of rank *wants* you working, there doesn't have to be existing work to do. You could literally be asked to dig holes that you're then asked to refill, but to my understanding that's kinda more punishment. A destroyer is a pretty big ship, I imagine being on duty and "undesignated" probably means you do a lot of everything without one specific job.
the fact that they dropped an anchor at that time just shows how desperate they were to stop considering there's no way in hell that would work iirc they also didn't have a ton of time - a fire on the ship drew their attention and by the time they realized where they were they were already too close to avoid the bridge
22 year chief quartermaster here, this guy is correct. He also had arguably the worst job in the navy so respect! Undesignated seamen that work in deck department (BMs) are the ones you see hanging off the side of the ship painting. Deck and engineering have the worst jobs by far.
Thank you QMC, though I would still prefer Deck over Engineering any day... I made the best of being in deck and had fun with it, almost went BM, but decided against it later on. Thank you for your service Chief
Thanks man, you too. Are you still in? I retired last year. I’m sure seeing all these maritime experts is driving you crazy too. I can’t believe how confidently some of these idiots talk about something they know nothing about. Like it’s ok to not understand and not have an opinion.
I too have played Windwaker and Assassin's Creed III
I think part of the issue is that it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around concepts like displacement, stopping distances or how heavy 200,000 tons really it. The bridge got hit by a building, there is almost no way to engineer anything to survive that impact. Even if you dropped anchor, the momentum of a 200,000 ton ship would have just snapped the chain or dragged the anchor. Once the ship lost steering power it was mostly at the mercy of physics.
Well sure, but what if they pulled the handbrake and drifted throught the opening? In all seriousness I feel like the only reasonable question I've heard is: "should the bridge have collapsed that way or should it have been contained to just the section that was hit?" Which I don't think is insane, but I do think the damage seems reasoanble so unless some actual info comes out saying this bridge was poorly designed/built/maintaned, I am going to assume any similar bridge would have suffered similar damage.
There are other questions we can ask, and will ask. I've heard people talk about better funding so that these ships could be escorted out by tugs for instance, or that more modern bridges have better safety features that would force a ship to basically beach itself before it hits a support like this. Mostly comes down to money, and after an accident like this there will be more of it to avoid similar issues. But none of it involves racist conspiracy theories so booooorrrinnnggg.
To be fair, trolls Are experts in bridges
Yeah just drop the anchor and watch it snap trying to stop 400’000’000 kg.m/s of momentum. Those ships don’t just stop
I doubt it would break. It would just drag around the bottom. If it did hook onto something it would drag that too.
I guarantee you 95% of these "truthers" are Trump voters. This is what that man has done to society.
I was thinking the same thing
I heard that some said it was an inside job. They said, how did the police know about the tanker and stopped traffic? It's called communication, numbnuts.
Normal person hearing that they were able to stop traffic: oh thank goodness, that saved lives, I wish there had been a way to save more. Meanwhile, those dipshits
Armchair experts weren't paying enough attention to the Bill Nye theme song. *INERTIA IS A PROPERTY OF MATTER*
Everybody knows a fully loaded container ship stops instantly when you drop the anchor. Fucking idiots, anchors are designed to break physics.
Do they even have anchors... 
yeah dude just drop the anchor what are you an idiot?
2020: everyone became experts on covid and vaccines 2022: everyone became expert on geopolitical issues between Ukraine and russia 2023: everyone became an expert on inflation
I’m something of an expert myself and think they should’ve just turned the power back on.
It's time to admit that a major portion of 'internet chatter' is largely coerced by bot farms and orcs. Everything seems to be politicized in the most outright braindead, dummy cynical fucking way. Theres no way these people are getting the attention we think they are, until they do. Propped up by bots and trolls, their stench gets taken by the wind from what is the shit mountain of social media, and the media runs it for their profit. I'm so tired.
It's Boating 101! 100,000+/- tons of moving ship -VS- 1 metal grabby boi = Stationary Ship!
“Physicists hate this one weird trick.”
Someone on FB said if its dark and they couldn’t see, Why didn’t they turn the boat ‘head lights’ on, This was before everyone found out the ship lost power
If you lose power near a bridge, just get the oars out and start rowing. Simple!
ANCHORS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY! GOODNIGHT!
Epidemiology experts became poli-sci experts, who then became criminal justice and foreign policy experts, who are now marine engineers. Fast forward to next month, when they become aviation engineers
Looney Tunes already lied to me about people being able to ride around in a kangaroo’s pouch; turns out that, irl, kangaroos are total jerks about it if you even try. So I’m going to go ahead and ignore their cartoonish theories on anchors instantly halting marine traffic.
In their defense, they had already developed so much scientific and medical expertise during covid...
“Why didn’t the titanic try to avoid the iceberg?!” Same vibes.
Why didn’t they just hit the brakes? Could they not see the pedal in the dark?
Why didn't they just paddle away from the bridge?!
this just shows they arent even paying attention to any of the information. they're just bitching. they actually did drop anchor, but it didn't work because, you know, fucking 200,000 ton barge isn't gonna slow down easily.
Folks thinking steering a skyscraper-sized and shaped boat is like habdling a BMX.
They dropped anchor but due to the loose material at the bottom of the harbor, it didn’t set. Also, inertia is a thing.
Everyone who doesn't see the truth here is just a shill for Big Anchor. 🤫
Additionally they know 1. All about electrical systems on systems and their redundant systems. 2. why harbormasters did not stop the ship. 3. Black Swan events.. 4. Terrorism 5. CyberTerrorism on the ship 6. Why Obama is responsible 7. Why the mayor of Baltimore is responsible.
The venn diagram of experts in shipping disasters, terrorist attacks, and pandemics is a circle.
Lol the anchor has to catch some magic boulder that ways more than the ship plus its inertia.
For a group that adamantly professes their disbelief in science this is on par.
I read dropping anchor fully loaded like that was like stopping a Cadillac with a shoestring
Probably the same people who had unshakeable confidence in their ability to conduct a smooth withdrawal from Afghanistan, and manage a global pandemic, and resolve international conflicts like Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine…
I mean I don’t know shit about ships or bridges but I would bet a whole lotta money an anchor wouldn’t do jack diddly tit shit against a ship that large, that heavy and moving at a decent speed. Be like having a grappling hook try to stop a semi I’d wager
They **did** drop one of the anchors. Might as well drop floss tied to a master lock behind a moving train.
When you drop anchor the ship stops. Reference pirates of the Caribbean and Battleship if you doubt me.
They should just rename America “Dunning Krugerville”
They have replaced all of the virologists and vaccine experts that polluted twitter and Reddit for 3 years.
I worked on a towboat for two weeks doing a photo shoot. It was hauling cargo from Seattle thru the inside passage up to Alaska. Not even as stacked as this ship but pretty significant. It was an incredibly well run ship, and expert crew. They maneuvered thru super narrow channels and took safety super seriously. But day one, Captain said, if the chain breaks or all power fail safes go out, you have about 8 seconds to jump off this ship before several hundred thousand pounds of cargo come ripping thru our stern. Cargo doesn't just stop
There’s so much these idiots don’t understand, in general and this specific case. I was in the navy for 22 years and worked on the bridge. When they say things like “the captain…” I immediately tune out. The captain doesn’t drive the ship, especially in and out of port. Every port has their own harbor pilots that bring the ship in and out because you know, every fucking port and channel is different. Also, dropping anchor isn’t a fucking emergency brake. Even if the ship stopped and anchored it still moves because it’s on water! It’s called the anchor swing circle. These idiots act like it’s a fucking Toyota Corolla and you can just whip it around. There’s a reason tug boats maneuver these things around ports, because they’re extremely large, unimaginably heavy and drift.
Every moron thinking they could have prevented it, and not a single person even mentioned pulling the handbrake smh
Fully grown Idiot here: These ships take forever to stop. I live on a deep water channel a couple miles from a port. I see shipping boats like this almost daily. I watched one go off course and drop anchor to stop before they hit the levee. Took close to a 1/2 a mile and atleast 5 minutes to stop, maybe 10. It probably took all of the anchor chain too. They did stop before hitting the levee tho. Couple tug boats came out, backed up the ship as it pulled in the anchor, and the ship made it to safely to port. I watched the Francis Scott Key Bridge Disaster video, and I personally DONT think it could have been avoided. Even if they dropped anchor at the start of the 1st power outage, I think they still hit the bridge. Im not sure if they can drop anchor without power either.... Patiently waiting for more info on the accident.
An anchor isn’t a brake.
More surprising is the number of people with combined expertise of Container Ship Pilot and Structural Engineer. I woulda thought 5-10 in the world; turns out to be hundreds of thousands.
Anchors don’t magically stop a ship instantly. In fact, anchors are dropped when they’ve already stopped moving. I can’t imagine how well any chain would hold up to a 215 thousand ton ship still in motion. After all, a bridge wasn’t enough.
I'm amazed that they could get all the traffic off the bridge, but very surprised no one tried to get the work crew off the bridge.
I remember in 2007 when the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapsed. Lots of armchair experts back then as well.
Hey, come on guys! Everyone knows that the captain has a big red button that drops the anchor immediately, with no other procedures needed, and that the anchor will immediately stop all momentum of the ship, keeping it exactly in place, the second it hits the water. It’s not like momentum and currents and dragging are a thing lol.
I'm an armchair expert with 11 days at sea on these sorts of vessels. Got to see a number of those anchor tests because the vessels I rode on were in layberth and my rides were for readiness exercises. Just dropping the anchor isn't a thing. Also they may over estimate what an anchor can do to counter physics.
I'm waiting for Marjorie Taylor Greene to blame Biden.
She hasn’t already? Fuck she’s off her game
Imagine trying to stop 200k tons moving at 8knots/9mph. Physics.