巴尔的摩大桥倒塌引发疑问
【中美创新时报2024 年 3 月 27 日讯】（记者温友平编译）巴尔的摩这座1.6英里长的大桥令人震惊的倒塌事件被官员们描述为一场事故，无数观看了该船冲向大桥的视频的人都铭记在心。这座于 1977 年启用、以出生于马里兰州的美国国歌作者弗朗西斯·斯科特·基 (Francis Scott Key) 命名的大桥倒塌引发了人们对是什么原因导致该船在关键时刻失去动力的疑问；关于引导大型船舶出港的程序；以及桥梁的设计是否使其更容易倒塌。《纽约时报》记者托马斯·富勒（Thomas Fuller）对此作了下述报道。
周二午夜刚过，大潮从巴尔的摩港涌出，一艘近三个足球场长、高高堆放的货船的巨大轮廓，载着数千个集装箱穿过寒冷的海水，驶向弗朗西斯·斯科特基大桥。
这艘名为“Dali”的船只从巴尔的摩出发，前往斯里兰卡科伦坡，为期 27 天，航行了半个小时。
然后大理上的灯光就暗了下来。船员紧急向当地当局报告，该船已失去动力和推进力。船冲向桥。
在直播摄像机捕捉到的场景中，这艘船撞上了桥的一根柱子，力量如此之大，导致大桥南部和中部巨大的跨度在几秒钟内崩塌。
公路维修人员正在建筑物上值夜班，填补坑洼。至少八名施工人员跳入下面 50 英尺深的帕塔普斯科河中。
周二晚间，官方暂停了搜救工作，据推测六人已死亡。
“根据我们在这次搜索中花费的时间长度、我们投入的广泛搜索努力以及水温，目前我们不相信我们会找到任何仍然活着的人 ，”海岸警卫队少将香农·吉尔里斯说。
两名建筑工人被从水中救出；其中一人被送往医院，后来出院。
这座1.6英里长的大桥令人震惊的倒塌事件被官员们描述为一场事故，无数观看了该船冲向大桥的视频的人都铭记在心。
马里兰州州长韦斯·摩尔表示：“我们还没有看到任何可靠的恐怖袭击证据。”他赞扬了迅速行动的官员所做的工作，他们急忙阻止交通进入这座注定要失败的桥梁，从而减轻了可能造成的严重后果。 更致命的灾难。
总统乔·拜登宣布无限期关闭巴尔的摩港。尽管到 2021 年，该港口仅在全美排名第 17 位，但它专门从事车辆运输——该港口的汽车和轻型卡车数量在美国排名第一——专家表示，该港口的关闭可能会影响包括农场和建筑业在内的机械交付。
据跟踪船舶的海事数据平台 MarineTraffic 称，周二，全球约有 40 艘船舶（包括 34 艘货船）将巴尔的摩列为目的地，其中包括 10 艘在附近水域抛锚的商船。
专家称基桥需要数年时间才能修复，它是一条南北主干道，它的倒塌摧毁了一条每天有数万人往返巴尔的摩的道路。根据马里兰州政府 11 月发布的报告，该桥到 2023 年将承载超过 1240 万辆商用车和客运车辆。
拜登称这座桥是支持美国东北部经济的“最重要因素之一”，并表示他预计联邦政府将支付桥梁维修的“全部费用”。
美国国家运输安全委员会主席詹妮弗·霍曼迪表示，该机构将牵头调查桥梁倒塌原因。
一名与六名疑似死亡男子一起工作的建筑公司员工表示，他的许多同事都是为养家糊口而工作的移民。
“我们是低收入家庭，”工人耶稣坎波斯说。 “我们的亲戚正在祖国等待我们的帮助。”
预计潜水员将于周三早上返回水中，试图打捞尸体。
这座于 1977 年启用、以出生于马里兰州的美国国歌作者弗朗西斯·斯科特·基 (Francis Scott Key) 命名的大桥倒塌引发了人们对是什么原因导致该船在关键时刻失去动力的疑问；关于引导大型船舶出港的程序；以及桥梁的设计是否使其更容易倒塌。
周二晚间，有关坠机前时刻的详细信息浮出水面。
美国飞行员协会执行董事克莱·戴蒙德说，当这艘船驶出巴尔的摩港时，船上有一名港口领航员和一名学徒。他说，马里兰州飞行员小组告诉他，该船在坠机前几分钟“完全停电”，再也没有恢复推进动力。
戴蒙德表示，拥有超过 10 年经验的船长下令将船尽可能向左转向，并抛下左舷锚，但结果证明这一努力并不成功。船只向驾驶台漂移。
大型船舶进港时往往有拖船陪同，以便在船舶遇到困难时，拖船可以将其推离危险。 目前尚不清楚周二凌晨是否有拖船伴随着“大理”号。
专家们就该船出发的航海细节进行了争论。大理号正驶出港，大潮正涌出。月亮仍然几乎是满月，在不到 24 小时前达到了最圆状态。
春季满月与当地海平面一些最大的潮汐变化有关。尽管即使在春季满月潮汐期间，巴尔的摩港的变化也相当小，但水的潮汐运动可能是桥梁影响的一个因素。
纽约的一家船舶检验公司 Karatzas Marine Advisors首席执行官巴兹尔·卡拉察斯（Basil M. Karatzas）表示：“退潮会增加海水向海的速度，这实际上会对出港船只的速度产生累积效应，而且水中的任何水流也可能使航行变得复杂。”
根据船东 Grace Ocean Investment 的一份声明，这艘悬挂新加坡国旗的“大理”号船上有两名引航员，他们是引导船只进出港口的当地专家。新加坡海事及港口管理局在一份声明中表示，港口引航员或船上其他 22 名船员没有受伤的报告。
启航前，“大理”号已于3月19日从巴拿马返回美国，停靠在纽约。然后它于周六抵达巴尔的摩，并在港口停留了两天。
航运巨头马士基周二在一份声明中表示，它已经租用了这艘载有马士基货物的船只。
Dali 号由韩国现代重工于 2015 年建造。第二年，这艘船在比利时安特卫普港撞上了石墙，发生了一起小事故。当时“大理”号受到损坏，但没有人员受伤。
去年在智利港口对“达利”号的检查报告称，该船存在与“推进和辅助机械”相关的缺陷。6 月 27 日在圣安东尼奥港进行的检查指出，缺陷涉及仪表和温度计。目前尚不清楚这些问题是否已得到解决，或者是否在事故中发挥了作用。
根据 Equasis 维护的数据库显示，自 2015 年以来，Dali 已进行了 27 次检查。
虽然弗朗西斯斯科特大桥的倒塌是美国历史上最戏剧性的桥梁事故之一，但它并不是最致命的。1993 年，九月的一个大雾早晨，一艘拖船撞上了阿拉巴马州的一座铁路桥，导致大河口卡诺特大桥上的火车铁轨失去了排列。几分钟后，一列美国铁路客运列车在过海时脱轨，造成 47 人死亡。
1980 年 5 月，佛罗里达州圣彼得堡附近的阳光高架在暴风雨中被一艘磷酸盐货船撞倒，导致 1,200 英尺高的钢结构倒塌，一辆灰狗巴士、至少五辆汽车和一辆皮卡车从 154 英尺的高度坠落 进入水中。三十五人死亡。
周二观看桥梁倒塌镜头的工程师们想知道，如果桥塔配备了称为挡泥板的阻挡装置，是否可以避免完全倒塌。
他们表示，对于该结构倒塌如此之快，他们并不感到惊讶。
马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校土木工程教授桑杰·R·阿瓦德 (Sanjay R. Arwade) 表示，如果这艘船像看上去那样摧毁了桥梁的一个支撑墩，那么倒塌几乎是不可避免的。
“对于任何大跨度桥梁，”他说，“其中一个桥墩的完全丧失将是灾难性的。”
交通部长皮特·布蒂吉格在现场附近的新闻发布会上发表讲话，称这座桥是“美国基础设施的大教堂之一”。
他将这次倒塌描述为“独特的情况”。
他说：“我不知道有哪一座桥梁能够承受如此大小的船只的直接撞击。”
本文最初发表于《纽约时报》。
题图：3 月 26 日，一艘船驶过一艘靠在弗朗西斯斯科特基大桥残骸上的集装箱船。MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/美联社
附原英文报道：
Questions swirl over Baltimore bridge collapse
By Thomas Fuller New York Times,Updated March 27, 2024
As a spring tide rushed out of Baltimore harbor just after midnight Tuesday, the hulking outlines of a cargo ship nearly three football fields long and stacked high with thousands of containers sliced through frigid waters toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The vessel, the Dali, was a half-hour into its 27-day journey from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Then the lights on the Dali went dark. The crew urgently reported to local authorities that the vessel had lost power and propulsion. The ship bore down on the bridge.
In a scene captured from a livestreaming camera, the ship smashed into a pillar of the bridge with so much force that the massive southern and central spans of the bridge collapsed within seconds.
A highway repair crew was on the structure, working the night shift, filling potholes. At least eight members of the construction crew plunged into the 50-foot-deep Patapsco River below.
Six people were presumed dead as officials suspended the search-and-rescue effort Tuesday night.
“Based on the length of time we’ve gone in this search, the extensive search efforts that we’ve put into it, the water temperature, that at this point we do not believe we are going to find any of these individuals still alive,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said.
Two construction workers were rescued from the water; one went to the hospital and was later released.
The shocking collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge, seared into the memories of the countless people who viewed video of the ship bearing down on the bridge, was described by officials as an accident.
“We haven’t seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack,” said Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, who praised the work of quick-acting officials who rushed to stop traffic from entering the doomed bridge, mitigating what could have been a far deadlier disaster.
President Joe Biden announced that the Port of Baltimore would be closed indefinitely. Although ranked only the 17th biggest port in the nation overall in 2021, it specializes in vehicles — the port ranks first in the United States for the volume of automobiles and light trucks — and experts said its closure could affect deliveries, including of farm and construction machinery.
Around the world, about 40 ships, including 34 cargo vessels, had Baltimore listed as a destination Tuesday, including 10 commercial ships with anchors dropped in nearby waters, according to MarineTraffic, a maritime data platform that tracks ships.
The Key Bridge, which experts said would take years to replace, was a major north-south artery, and its collapse wiped out a roadway that tens of thousands of people used to travel to and from Baltimore every day. The bridge carried more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023, according to a Maryland state government report issued in November.
Biden called the bridge “one of the most important elements” supporting the U.S. economy in the Northeast and said he expected the federal government to pay for the “entire cost” of bridge repairs.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the agency would lead the investigation into the cause of the bridge collapse.
A construction company employee who labored alongside the six men who were presumed dead said many of his co-workers were migrants working to support their relatives.
“We’re low-income families,” said the worker, Jesus Campos. “Our relatives are waiting for our help back in our home countries.”
Divers were expected to return to the water Wednesday morning to try to recover the bodies.
The collapse of the bridge, which opened in 1977 and is named after Francis Scott Key, the Maryland-born author of the American national anthem, raised questions about what caused the ship to lose power at a critical moment; about the procedures of guiding massive vessels out of the harbor; and whether the design of the bridge made it more susceptible to collapse.
Details were emerging late Tuesday about the moments before the crash.
A harbor pilot and an apprentice were on the ship as it navigated out of the Port of Baltimore, said Clay Diamond, the executive director of the American Pilots Association. He said he was told by the Maryland pilots’ group that the vessel had a “complete blackout” a few minutes before the crash and never regained propulsion power.
Diamond said the pilot in command of the ship, who had more than 10 years’ experience, ordered that the vessel be turned as much as possible to the left and that the port anchor be dropped in what turned out to be an unsuccessful effort to halt the vessel’s drift toward the bridge.
Large ships are often accompanied by tugboats as they leave or enter harbors so that the tugboats can push them away from harm if a ship has difficulties. It was not immediately clear whether tugboats had accompanied the Dali in the early hours of Tuesday.
Experts debated the nautical details of the ship’s departure. The Dali was exiting the harbor as a spring tide was rushing out. The moon was still almost completely full, having reached its fullest less than 24 hours earlier.
Full moons in springtime are associated with some of the largest tidal changes in local sea level. And while Baltimore’s harbor experiences fairly small changes even during springtime full moon tides, the tidal movements of water could have been a factor in the bridge impact.
“The ebbing tide increases the speed of the water seaward, which effectively has a cumulative effect on the speed of an outbound vessel, and any currents in the water could also have complicated navigation,” said Basil M. Karatzas, the CEO of Karatzas Marine Advisors, a ship inspection company in New York.
The Dali, which was operating under the Singaporean flag, had two pilots onboard — local specialists who guide vessels in and out of harbors — according to a statement by its owners, Grace Ocean Investment. There were no injuries reported to the harbor pilots or the other 22 crew members on board, the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement.
Before heading off on its voyage, the Dali had returned to the United States from Panama on March 19, harboring in New York. It then arrived Saturday in Baltimore, where it spent two days in the port.
Maersk, the shipping giant, said in a statement Tuesday that it had chartered the vessel, which was carrying Maersk cargo.
The Dali was built in 2015 by South Korea-based Hyundai Heavy Industries. The next year, the ship was involved in a minor incident when it hit a stone wall at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. The Dali sustained damage at the time, but no one was injured.
An inspection of the Dali last year at a port in Chile reported that the vessel had a deficiency related to “propulsion and auxiliary machinery.” The inspection, conducted June 27 at the port of San Antonio, specified that the deficiency concerned gauges and thermometers. It is unclear whether the problems were fixed or if they played any role in the accident.
The Dali has had 27 inspections since 2015, according to a database maintained by Equasis.
While the collapse of the Francis Scott Key was one of the most dramatic bridge crashes in U.S. history, it was not the most deadly. In 1993, a towboat struck a rail bridge in Alabama on a foggy September morning and threw the train tracks out of alignment on the Big Bayou Canot Bridge. Minutes later, an Amtrak passenger train derailed as it crossed the water, killing 47 people.
In May 1980, the Sunshine Skyway near St. Petersburg, Florida, was struck by a phosphate freighter in a storm, causing a 1,200-foot steel section to collapse and sending a Greyhound bus, at least five cars and a pickup truck plunging 154 feet into the water. Thirty-five people died.
Engineers who viewed the footage of the bridge collapsing Tuesday wondered whether the total collapse might have been avoided if the pylons had been equipped with blocking devices known as fenders.
And they said they were not surprised that the structure came down so quickly.
Sanjay R. Arwade, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said that if the vessel had taken out one of the bridge’s support piers, as it appeared to have done, a collapse would be almost inevitable.
“For any long-span bridge,” he said, “the complete loss of one of the piers is going to be catastrophic.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, speaking at a news conference near the site, called the bridge “one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure.”
He described the collapse as a “unique circumstance.”
“I do not know of a bridge that has been constructed to withstand a direct impact from a vessel of this size,” he said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
