In the news

Investigators have found the data recorder from the ship which hit the bridge in Baltimore.

Would that have been much of a challenge?

Depends how much road/bridge it was under.

Probably would have been at the other end, for ease of checking

It's something I've known before, but it's always crazy to be reminded that ships like this can carry tens of thousands of containers, and this one was not even one of the largest and only about half full at 4,700-something. Loads that can take more than 20,000:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_container_ships

Yup. This one was under 10,000 TEU. The biggest are ca. 25,000 TEU.

When that bridge was built, the largest container ships in the world were smaller than 5,000 TEU.

Can you drive a container ship in GTA? A meme is called for.

Investigators have found the data recorder from the ship which hit the bridge in Baltimore.
Would that have been much of a challenge?

Apparently it needed divers which sounds like a bit of a challenge.

Presumably because the ship still doesn't have power.

I don't think power would make a difference. The recorder is supposed to be bolted somewhere high up. If they need a diver it must have been knocked off its mounting by the impact and fallen in the sea.

Oi, no bad words against mince.

Come on, we have to take a step back and applaud that kind of link.

Thought most container ships were GPS controlled. Minimal crew needed. There is no pilot and captain is for the men not the ship.

Come on, we have to take a step back and applaud that kind of link.

Except that person’s vote (assuming they’re not a bot) is worth precisely the same as yours, even if facts and plausibility are of no concern to them.

Will Thames Water be declared bankrupt?

Not a huge fan of nationalisation but also not a fan of them hemoraging money and literal raw sewage.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/27/water-companies-in-england-face-outrage-over-record-sewage-discharges

I'd rather they found a way of clawing money back first

I’m sure they’ll find some innovative version of nationalization where the state accepts all the liabilities and the shareholders get their dividends

The perfect neoliberal snow job. 😒

I know it's not so black and white, but what's the problem with nationalisation?
If it's that it's economically unwise then I'm not seeing any convincing alternatives....

How can you create a market for water? Genuine question.

It's national infrastructure providing a basic need, not a commercial opportunity. Privatisation of it has been a disaster, allowing rapacious shareholders to make millions of pounds whilst investment in infrastructure has fallen off a cliff and unscrupulous management have caused an environmental catastrophe on a national scale. The regulator has done fuck all to address it, and it'll be left to Labour to fix yet another Tory fuck up.

this ^

Because markets are free or some shit. Stop questioning it and let the Adam Smith fan club make their millions.

Even crazier the hull is only 3/4” thick

Yebbut that's doubtless beefed up with ribs at regular intervals, effectively making the section much thicker.

I think I should have clarified that my qualm with the specific nationalisation of Thames Water is that the taxpayer picks up the pieces, the bags, and the tab.

I think the company should be declared bankrupt and wound down, with a new state company taking its place. Private investors can chase the people who ran the company into the ground, instead of deus ex treasury saving their asses.

That would be better, but any situation where renationalisation happens and can be shown to disprove the "privatisation is good bullshit" to be false, helps get more stuff renationalised in the future, and it'll hopefully stop people swimming in shit.

Agreed, however I think it also reinforces the idea that the private sector gets a chance to run amoc in their management of critical national infrastructure, and if they fuck up the taxpayer will always be the lender of last resort.

I’d say if they love the free market so much, let it eat their company. The taxpayer can then buy the assets back or nationalise the liquidating assets, and wipe the slate of the processes and people who ruined the company in the first place.

Edit- I know it’s not as simple, and the system is built to protect the capitalists, but that doesn’t mean it’s how it should be, could be, or would function best.