S.T.

October 9, 2022 Bloomberg




By Antony Sguazzin (Bloomberg) A drone operator and helicopter pilot captured rare footage of a pod of orcas killing a great white shark near Mossel Bay on the south coast of South Africa. Now sharks haven’t been seen in the area for weeks.

Orca attacks have been cited by scientists as a possible cause of the giant shark species’ disappearance from some waters off the country’s coast.

The footage, captured on the afternoon of May 16, shows a group of five orcas bringing an apparently dead three meter (10-foot) white shark to the surface 400 meters off Hartenbos Beach, according to an Oct. 3 study released by researchers at the Marine Dynamics Academy in Gansbaai, South Africa. Mobile phone footage from a helicopter pilot in the same area at about the same time shows orcas chasing great whites and one of them eating the liver from a dead shark.

“This behavior has never been witnessed in detail before, and certainly never from the air,” said lead author Alison Towner, a PhD candidate at Rhodes University, South Africa, according to a press release from the Ecological Society of America, which published the study.

Minutes before the attack, white sharks were seen by a number of observers fleeing the area, with some swimming into shallows to escape the orcas.  While 10 sharks were observed during a 75 minute drone flight on the day, only one was seen in daily drone flights over the next eight days, the researchers said. Cage diving operators, who charge tourists to observe sharks from the safety of underwater cages, saw an average of more than three white sharks per trip in the 10 days before the attack and none of the predators for the 45 days after it.

“Given the well-documented, predictable year-round presence of white sharks in Mossel Bay, the sudden absence of white sharks for several weeks immediately after the predation event supports a flight response by surviving white sharks in the area,” the researchers said.

Two orcas , known as Port and Starboard because of their way their dorsal fins lean, have been blamed by a government-appointed panel for the disappearance of white sharks off Cape Town , which lies 344 kilometers (214 miles) west of Mossel Bay, after they killed and ate a number of the animals.

“The study confirmed that one infamous killer whale, locally known as ‘Starboard,’ was part of the pod and ate what was suspected to be a large piece of shark liver at the ocean surface, ” the Ecological Society said in the statement, referring to the Mossel Bay attack.

In the two years to 2020 only one confirmed sighting of a white shark was recorded in the waters off Cape Town compared with an average of 205 per annum between 2010 and 2016. A similar pattern was observed off California’s Farallon Islands after a spate of orca attacks.

Earlier this week a dozen white sharks, an unusual number for this time of year, were seen during an aerial survey off the coast of Plettenberg Bay, a popular resort 114 kilometers to the east of Mossel Bay, radio Algoa FM reported, citing a statement from the local Bitou Municipality. The municipality said that the sharks may have been “displaced from Mossel Bay” by the orcas.

Plettenberg Bay has reported two ☠️ fatal attacks on swimmers by white sharks recently, one late last month and the other on June 28. Footage on social media in recent days has shown large sharks swimming in water just a few feet deep off the town’s beaches.

Great white sharks can grow to about five meters and weigh two tons. Orcas can reach eight meters and weigh four tons.

Watch The Video 🧐

By Antony Sguazzin © 2022 Bloomberg L.P.
https://gcaptain.com/rare-video-shows-orcas-hunting-white-shark/

March 26, 2024 Bloomberg

A view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it collapsed, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., in this picture released on March 26, 2024. Harford County MD Fire & EMS/Handout via REUTERS


SNIPPETS:

The most severe US bridge collision 😖😵🤦‍♂️ since the Tampa Skyway Bridge disaster in 1980 happened in the early hours of the morning while the ship was under pilotage. Here are the details we have so far.

By Katrina Nicholas (Bloomberg) A major commuter bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being rammed by a container ship, causing vehicles to plunge into the water and threatening chaos at one of the most important ports on the US East Coast.


The Maryland Transportation Authority issued an alert on X telling drivers not to use Interstate 695. Kevin Cartwright of the Baltimore City Fire Department described it as “a mass casualty, multi-agency incident” in an audio interview with CNN, adding as many as 20 people could be in the water.

The disaster at the Francis Scott Key Bridge happened early Tuesday. It’s likely to cause huge disruption — both for shipping at one of the busiest ports on the US East Coast and on the roads — now that a key link has been severed on the major highway encircling Baltimore. ... ...


Full article:

https://gcaptain.com/baltimore-bridge-hit-by-ship-major-collapse/

What is Going on With Shipping? 249K subscribers Mar 27, 2024  #baltimore #dali #containerships
MV Dali Update

In this episode  - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the allision between MV Dali and the Baltimore Key Bridge and updates on the situation in and around the port of Baltimore.

#dali #baltimorebridge #baltimore #shipping
#supplychain #containerships #containerships

Support What's Going on With Shipping via:
Patreon: www.patreon.com/wgowshipping
Twitter: @mercoglianos 
Facebook:  @wgowshipping 
Email: mercoglianosal@gmail.com

00:00 Current Situation
02:29 Situation in the Port of Baltimore
05:21 Replay of Events of March 26 👀
10:22 Information on MV Dali

Marine Traffic
www.marinetraffic.com

Port of Baltimore Map
https://mpa.maryland.gov/Documents/20...

Video of MV Dali
 
 • RAW: Cargo ship loses power, crashes ... 

Synergy Group MV Dali Update
https://www.synergymarinegroup.com/da...

Equasis
www.equasis.org



eSysman SuperYachts 262K subscribers Mar 28, 2024

March 30, 2024 by John Konrad

A Maryland Natural Resources Police officer conducts an overflight assessment of the M/V Dali, a 948-foot Singapore-flagged container ship, and Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, March 30, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Kimberly Reaves)


by John Konrad (gCaptain) The Unified Command started clearing debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse today. They did not specify when they will resume the salvage operation for the ship, which was paused yesterday due to the discovery of a high-pressure gas line under the wreckage.

In an afternoon statement, the Unified Command announced that they are working with Baltimore Gas And Electric to decrease the pressure in the pipeline that traverses the channel and runs beneath the incident site. They are coordinating to render the pipeline inert to mitigate any hazards and risk. Pipeline operations will persist over the weekend.

No comment was made about why the gas line was not secured immediately following the grounding on Tuesday.


For the bridge salvage operation, trained demolition crews will start by cutting the top part of the collapsed bridge’s north side into smaller pieces. This will allow safe removal by crane. A crane barge and work barge are prepared at the incident site to support Saturday’s operations.



Salvage teams will use gas-powered cutters to methodically disassemble sections of the steel bridge for disposal. Concurrently, salvage divers will conduct underwater assessments of the work site to facilitate future operations. Each lifting operation requires an engineering analysis to guide the salvage operation plans.

The Coast Guard continues to maintain a 2000-yard maritime Safety Zone around the M/V Dali recovery efforts.

Unified Command also stated that the ship remains stable with crew aboard.
https://gcaptain.com/demolition-work-begins-francis-scott-key-bridge/

jeffostroff 🧐 462K subscribers 7.2K 367,784 views  Premiered Apr 1, 2024

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD in 2024 will look at a few new videos that have surfaced, capturing different angles of the crash of the MV Dali container ship into the Baltimore bridge.

🎥 Watch Next:
🎥 FIU Bridge Collapse: WORST Engineering Blunders Ever:   
 • FIU Bridge Collapse: WORST Engineerin... 
🎥 Titan Sub NEW Air Force Audio: An SOS For Help?   
 • NEW Titan Sub Air Force Audio: Trying... 
🎥 LEAKED Titan Sub Transcript Shows Crew In Battle For Lives:   
 • LEAKED Titan Sub Transcript Shows Cre... 

00:00 Introduction to Bridge Collapse recovery and new video angles
00:16 Using Oxy-Acetylene torch to slice bridge truss
01:48 Creating a new temporary alternate shipping channel
03:20 Army has 2 Blackhawks to help
04:26 Photos around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site
05:00 New Video angle of Dali ship and Key Bridge collapse
06:56 New video from traffic cams
11:51 Views of concrete dolphins
14:05 Why conspiracy theorists spread provoking theories

April 3, 2024 Mike Schuler

Picture taken March 29, 2024. Unified Command Photo


SNIPPET:

Severe weather conditions, including 🌪 thunderstorms and 🌬 high winds, impeded wreck removal and recovery efforts at the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Wednesday, causing a temporary halt to dive and crane operations.

“Current conditions make it unsafe for rescue divers to return to the water. We have to move fast — but we cannot be careless,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore during an afternoon press conference with members from the Unified Command. “My directive is to complete this mission with no injuries and no casualties.”

The Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command continues to coordinate response operations despite the challenging weather conditions in Baltimore, Maryland, April 3, 2024. U.S. Coast Guard Photo

Moore described the underwater damage as ‘absolutely staggering,’ as evidenced by the 3D sonar images released yesterday revealing the mangled wreckage partially buried in mud. He said the images underscore the complexities involved in cleaning up the wreckage and reopening the main shipping channel.

Underwater survey image showing the collapse Baltimore Key Bridge captured by the CODA Octopus sonar imaging tool. Image courtesy USACE Baltimore

Poor visibility is also posing another challenge for divers.

Full article:
https://gcaptain.com/baltimore-bridge-salvage-and-wreck-removal-megathread/



What is Going 🌊😬 on With Shipping? 271K Apr 4, 2024  #dali #baltimorebridge #baltimore
Baltimore Update

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - provides an update on MV Dali, Baltimore, and Key Bridge salvage as of Apr 4, 2024.

#dali #baltimorebridge #baltimore #shipping #brdigecollapse #supplychain #containerships #containerships

Support What's Going on With Shipping via:
Patreon: www.patreon.com/wgowshipping
Twitter: @mercoglianos 
Facebook:  @wgowshipping 
Email: mercoglianosal@gmail.com

Key Bridge Response 2024
https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/

April 3, 2024 | Governor Wes Moore Press Conference on the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge
https://www.youtube.com/live/eBb6-Vba...

Commander, Coast Guard 5th District
https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our...

Captain O'Connell Bio
https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Por...

Colonel Estee S. Pinchasin
https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/About/...

Paul Hankins, SUPSALV
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-hank...