All skill is in vain, under certain circumstances.
There was a humorous homily that led with "all skill is in vain" and implicated an "angel." Back in the days when no one had a printer or copier at home (a long time ago), we used to use stores that sold photocopy services. Seriously, we did not have printers, copiers, computers. It was an analog world.
Those printers would put pithy sayings on various colored papers, with their logo and phone number, and you could pick them up for free. It was good for laughs before there was email, social media, and the like. Yes, we actually handed funny stuff to each other on paper. Before you young folks think too critically of me, it was not even that long ago, in the 1970s, and even 1980s.
The "skill" saying came to mind as I watched the Dali careen into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. On top of my sense of recollection (I’ve driven that bridge many times), my immediate reaction was for the motorists.
The ship personnel did not immediately come to mind, they were likely riding well aft of the collision. I had no premonition that there would be a maintenance crew fixing potholes on the bridge. The most likely victims, it seemed in that moment, would be the drivers.
The news soon broke that the ship made a radio call when it knew it was in trouble. That has been called a "mayday." In a technical sense, a "mayday" is sent in order to summon help. It is a way for a ship or plane to seek help. But in this case, it was a warning to public officials about the impending impact.
The Washington Post reports that "mayday" led officials to stop vehicle traffic. Someone(s) thought quickly, stopped traffic, and saved lives. They did not have hours to plan, discuss, and deploy. In a matter of minutes, someone(s) lept to action and they averted a significantly worse outcome. I hope someone gets a pat on the back.
Since the event every news organization in the world has sought material or perspectives. There is only so much click traffic you can expect from the same repetitive headline about the bridge collapsing. There have been interviews with harbor pilots, engineers, public safety experts and more.
Some of that is appropriate news gathering, and some of it is simply clickbait. You be the judge. I have been critical of clickbait periodically. Anyone who wants to shut down the flow of disinformation in this world, or the harassment of various people, should just say "no" to clickbait. If you stop clicking, they will stop publishing (eventually).
Pilots - where were the pilots? There were two, according to CBS. Each harbor in the world employs pilots. They are the "local experts." They are doing the driving in the harbor. They know the currents, the channels, and the challenges. The captain of a ship might steer through Baltimore harbor once in a blue moon, but the local pilots do it every day.
So how could this happen with the experts on board? There was a power failure. Business Insider says that Dali had a capacity of 95,000 tons. One ton is 2,000 pounds. Think of an object that weighs 190 million pounds. It would take an awful lot of force to make that move. And, from our familiarity with Newton, it would take a lot of friction to make it stop again. The pilots did not cause the collision, and having a dozen more on board would not have avoided it.
Fenders - could the government have built fenders around the support columns to stop or deflect a force like the Dali? The answer is absolutely yes. But, that answer is only to the specific question, "could they build them." The larger question is "would it have helped. See above re 190 millions pound projectile. What structure would effectively stop such force in motion?
CNN refers to the Dali and ships like it as "massive." Yeah, and LeBron James is a "good" ball player, Taylor Swift is "successful," and pizza is "tasty." Massive does not capture it. CNN quotes an expert who says "No bridge, unless a fortress is built around it, could survive such an impact,”
Speed - speed kills. We have all heard that a million times. What vehicular accident news fails to mention that? Every police official in every jurisdiction will note speed. They will reference it in absolute ("too fast") and relational ("for the conditions"). It is a persistent concern.
CBS reports that the Dali was traveling 9 miles per hour. Nine. Humans walk at about 3 miles per hour. Usain Bolt sprints at about 27 miles per hour. You drive your car down the interstate at 70 miles per hour. Speed? The boat was moving at 9 miles per hour. And, as several "experts" have opined, "boats have no brakes." No, speed was not a factor in this collision.
Age - our infrastructure is aging. There have been some expert interviews about our "aging infrastructure." A few have mentioned that the Francis Scott Key bridge was designed in an era before these "superships." Some see a challenge, and some suggest a different or more conscious design in its replacement. Admittedly, the bridge was old (1977), built in the days of passing around jokes from print stores.
USA Today aptly concludes that this is an outcome of force in motion (Newton), not of age, maintenance, or design. It concludes "it’s unlikely Baltimore’s bridge stood a chance against the ...Dali despite the quality of its build." That there is discussion of infrastructure is interesting, but it is not an issue.
Amid the aftermath, many will continue to conjecture, discuss, and perhaps they will place blame. But it is important to reach beyond that and figure out how the recovery will proceed. The shipping channel has to be cleared and the ship traffic restored. While there is disagreement as to the pervasive nature and reach of the economic impact, there will be impact.
Beyond the impact on shipping, port jobs, and the "ripples" of economic activity that emanate from such an economic engine, there is the local impact. Bridges have been broken before. We had a much less significant event in Paradise a few years ago. No container ship, no dramatic video, But even a small hole in a bridge can render it reasonably useless. And it turns out a lot of people rely on bridges. See If you were Half the Bridge I am (June 2021).
What can we learn from this event? The primary lesson is that sometimes all skill is in vain. Perhaps there will be some conclusion as to what could have been "different" or "better," but today it appears that reasonable minds and practices combined for a tragic result. People died; that is not to be minimized. Many more could have died though, but the ship was moving reasonably slow, it was staffed with local experts, and when things went wrong a warning was sent.
In the end, it seems that we might learn a better practice or an improvement. No process is perfect, and the investigation has only just begun. But we should also likely acknowledge that this does not happen every day. Ships enter and leave harbors every day, by the thousands. The practices employed are working in ports everywhere, every day. There are tragedies, but rarely. As they analyze, hopefully, there will be a focus on all the people who did things right, and their heroism.
