Conspiracy Theories and the Key Bridge Collapse

There has been a plethora of conspiracy theories out there within 24 hours of the Key Bridge coming down. I find it frustrating as they were popping up before I could post my claim that the Deer Resistance Movement in alliance with the Squirrel and Moose Army Faction was responsible. Let alone how…

No. The U.S. east coast is not divided along the Mason Dixon lines by losing one circumnavigation bridge to Baltimore. But this will ply havoc with traffic for the foreseeable future around Baltimore. After spending a year living at Bolling Air Force in DC, the best I can say about traffic in the DC/Baltimore area is that it is one of the most congested areas ever. It does not play into the scariest places to drive in which puts it far below Cairo, Riyadh, or anywhere in the Mideast. I would not recommend driving near Baltimore for some time. It will take months for commuters and other travelers (35K transiting the Key Bridge daily) to adjust. This adjustment will be most painful for commuters as they may be people driven strongly by habit of familiar routes and routines.

Claims that the loss of the bridge will impede HAZMAT shipping may have some validity. This will be determined later as much of that specific traffic will be in the rerouted flow around Baltimore and not going in the tunnel, unless specific permits are issued. Oversized loads will add to the surface road congestion.

Initially it was considered a monstrous disaster for shipping as Baltimore has one of the larger container ports on the East Coast. The map above illustrates its relative size and the capability of the east coast to absorb the container shipping traffic. The transit from those ports to final or intermediate destinations has been a major effort of those in the maritime, rail and over the road (OTR) companies. 

The Dali lost power twice in its approach to the Key Bridge as can be seen in videos all around news and social media sites. Some are saying that the sudden turn to right the ship made shortly before the impact could be an indication on anchor was dropped and was dragging on the bottom. While the ship can hold over 2 million gallons of fuel, I can hazard no guess what the total tonnage of the ship was at the time. Stopping it would be more akin to telling an ‘Old School’ Infantry Sergeant Major to ‘just relax’ while in the middle of a full-blown screaming rant. Calming the Sergeant Major having a better chance.

The Dali was able to broadcast a ‘Mayday’ which enabled traffic coming to the bridge being stopped limiting loss of life. Though some are crediting the Bridge workers curtailing traffic. This did not help the seven-person crew that were repairing potholes on the bridge at the time. One of those were recovered from the water and the other six are still missing. It was also released that the ships ‘black box’ is in federal custody.

Much thought has gone into the development of the ‘how’ theory of terrorist attack could cripple such a ship that have redundant backups for major systems. A cyber attack on the ships systems seems to be the theory in the lead of possible explanations of a deliberate attack.  Internal sabotage by members of the crew is possible. Foreign flagged container ships, like the Dali, flying Singapore colors and built in South Korea are manned by crews from a variety of countries. 

Depending on the ship the crew could be very low paid with marginal competencies. Chief Engineers of ships are often paid more than the Captains, because of the complexity and technological knowledge needed for the engineering positions. Information on this crew has not been released as I am writing this.

There was one factor that made the collision by the Dali with the Key Bridge worse is the lack of protection for the main support structures of the bridge spanning the navigation channel. In the below picture the Tampa Bay Bridge is on top and the Key Bridge is below. It is very possible the hit to the Key Bridge would have been somewhat mitigated by adequate protection to the main support structures of the span over the shipping channel.

The following is from ‘Barrons’: “The 95,000-tonne Dali had two pilots on board when it issued a Mayday call early Tuesday warning that it had lost power — moments before smashing into a pier supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge. “Each ship engaged in foreign trade coming to Maryland ports is required to take on a local ship handling specialist, known as the Pilot, to navigate the vessel safely into port,” says the website of the Association of Maryland Pilots. Pilots also handle the ship as it leaves port.”

Along with the six road workers still missing and their families the two port pilots deserve prayers.

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Carl began his military career as a Marine Sergeant stationed in various locations, including Japan and Camp Pendleton, before shifting gears to become an Elementary Special Education teacher and working in EMS in Flagstaff in 1977. Opting out of Marine Corps duties in 1978, he joined the Army in January 1979, directly reporting to the Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca. Throughout the early 1980s, he served as a Middle East Analyst for the 82nd Airborne Division and later aided in preparing the deployment of the first US Battalion to the Multinational Force and Observers in February 1982.

Transitioning roles, he became a Middle East Analyst for XVIIIth Airborne Corps, contributing to Operation Urgent Fury. In 1984, he joined the Ranger Regiment and later attended the University of Maryland in Heidelberg, graduating in 1988. Assigned to 1st Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg in 1989, he found himself deploying to Desert Storm in 1990 as an Intelligence Sergeant. Post-war, he continued his service in various intelligence management roles, completing his MA in International Relations before retiring.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.