Did anybody here about this in Alabama last week???

[01 Thunder]

A ship struck a Container crane in the Port of Alabama last Thursday at 11:30AM.
This is a pretty horrific event..
while the ship was turning in the channel.. aparently the ship broke away from the tugs and while it was turning it struck the 2 front legs of the container ship..
what happened next is just awfull.
It scares the Bejesus out of me, as these are what I work on everyday..
I am a Maint. electrician for the Port of Houston Authority..
every maint guy has had the dream, after a few months of starting the job, that they are on the crane when it suddenly falls over..
I never thought I would actually see it..
it had always just been talked about..
any ways here is the aftermath...
There was only one fatality.. an electrician that was installing some equipment

what the container cranes look like, and how they operate..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/container_crane.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/container_crane1.jpg

whats left after the ship struck the crane..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_111.jpg

[01 Thunder]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_accident.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_accident_3.jpg

[01 Thunder]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_accident_5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_collapse_11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_collapse_15.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_collapse_8.jpg

[01 Thunder]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_collapse_ws.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/01thunder/crane_collapse_ws_3.jpg

[Camaroextra]

holy crap!

im speechless. good thing fatalaties were minimal considering how much metal fell!

[CamTom12]

thats nuts!

[Phoenix 5.7]

the ground must of shook something fierce when that fell. very good that the fatalities were so low for such an incident

[PNYKLR2]

Are there any pics of the ship actually hitting or in contact with the crane?

[01 Thunder]

yes we where just as amazed...
we do the maint. on the ones we have here in Town..
the one that fell over was a 40 long Ton Paceco Container crane..
we have the same exact one ..
it's a Ride when you are up in the Mechanic room on the crane when they are working...
they sway back and forth, and bounce around.. gets abit hairy when you are trying to Diagnose a problem, and it's operating...
I was operating ours a few months ago, and we had to Certify it for wieghts..
picking up 20 tons.. will make your butt pucker...
expecially when you feel the whole crane, and cab tilt backwards because you are picking the wieght up behind the back 2 legs...