re: Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has collapsed - container ship wrecked into it

quote:

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There maybe a better reason, but if the ship was veering starboard with forward thrust, why not reverse thrust immediately to pull it back to port? Im not suggesting the ship actually would reverse, I’m saying the screw reversing direction would generally steer the ship the other direction.

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none of these things happen that quickly. Think about the size of the prop and how long it takes to get it up to speed. Maximum revolutions of the propeller
may only be like 80rpm. These ships have less power in reverse than forward. Transverse thrust of the prop is not immediate and takes longer to take effect if the ship is moving forward. also most ships are right handed meaning when going astern the bow would go to starboard.