Ferry Dock Collapse 13

[dik]

"At least seven people were killed and several others injured Saturday after part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

It happened as crowds gathered on the island for a celebration of its tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.

At least 20 people were plunged into the water when a gangway collapsed on the visitor ferry dock shortly before 4 p.m., Georgia DNR Capt. Chris Hodge said at a Saturday night news conference. A McIntosh County commissioner previously said a boat hit the dock but a DNR spokesperson later told The Associated Press there was no collision and it is unclear why the dock collapsed."

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/19/us/sapelo-island-georgia-boat-dock-collapse/index.html

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So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[Sym P. le]

Today I find many of the documents removed from the drop box. The only remaining items pertain to vessel maintenance ( MV Annemarie and MV Katie Underwood), which is irrelevant to the dock collapse. Are we to believe the documents have been pulled into a law enforcement investigation?

Please note that various records associated with the law enforcement investigation into the gangway collapse are being withheld according O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 (a)(4).

 

[Sym P. le]

All of the documents are there now so I'm not sure if I saw things correctly yesterday. It could be that I was just in the Vessel Maintenance folder and in too much of a hurry on a different platform.

 

[Sym P. le]

Two of several images uploaded today. More suspect welding. An image of the gangway center handrail weld is titled "marsh landing transition ramp.jpg".



Another photo, titled "marsh landing small boat hinge.jpg", one of the smaller gangways.

 

[Sym P. le]

The driver behind the Sapelo Island Marsh Landing/Meridian project was an action started in 2015 by residents of the island demanding the state provide adequate services for the population in keeping with rights and responsibilities. Drayton, et al. v. McIntosh County, Georgia

Although the final settlement was only reached in 2022, certain concessions were made in 2020 and these are reflected in an internal memo which was posted today in the incident drop box. No date is shown in or regarding the document.

It's tragic that efforts to improve the lives of island residents resulted in unimaginable grief.

 

[Sym P. le]

Update from State of Georgia - New gangways have been installed

... two new gangways ... One new gangway was installed on the mainland at the Meridian Ferry Dock and the other on the island at the Marsh Landing Dock.

The new GatorDock aluminum gangways were engineered and manufactured by CMI Limited Co., a leading fabricator of engineered products for marine environments. Overall, each of the gangways are 91 feet long, eight feet wide, and engineered and manufactured to a maximum live load of 260 persons, or 52,000 pounds.

 

[Sym P. le]

Here's the new gangway, which is a bit beefier, of course.


Fox30 Action News Jax

 

[3DDave]

Reminds me of advice from a guy who described engineering for a mining company. If an item breaks, double the section dimensions.

 

[LittleInch]

What type of truss is that?

 

[3DDave]

|/|\|/|\|/|\|

 

[Sym P. le]

... and there's also a top chord.

 

[3DDave]

I ran out of ASCII characters that would make a good joint.

 

[FacEngrPE]

I found this in several tables of "roof trusses". Dave's ASCII art is spot on.

 

[waross]

What type of truss is that?

Warren Truss with Verticals?

 

[dik]

If an item breaks, double the section dimensions.

Tighten 'er till she cracks, then back off half a turn...

 

[dik]

I found this in several tables of "roof trusses".

Common for wood, but the verticals connecting to the bottom chord are not there.

 

[LittleInch]

Any update on the official investigation?

 

[Sym P. le]

Nothing recent added to the document postings but there are alot that I haven't looked at too close. I think it comes down to the gov relying on a long term source without questioning the obvious inadequacy of the product. Litigation obligations combined with modern accessibilty requirements dictated longer ramps, which the standard profile couldn't accomodate.

Oddily, there was a tour of a different facility which utilized the beefier design. I'll try to dig out the references and the context later today or the coming week.

 

[LittleInch]

I tend to agree.

Too much responsibility passed down the line and then you have what looks like a stretched version of a design which was stretched too far.

I do get wary on gangways now as there have been far too many collapses over time, especially when heavily loaded or with out of balance loads.

 

[Sym P. le]

While reviewing the document cache, I came across several images which give the appearance of the gangway being peaked at the center (view along top rail) rather than cambered. If that were so, the manufacturing process may have been deficient or the gangway may have been damaged during handling (pick up points to close to the center) or both. I'm curious as to the implications of such a defect.