Montana Maritime Expert Was Right, Remember the Bridge Collapse?

Do you remember shortly after that bridge collapsed in Maryland back in March? We had a maritime expert from Montana join us on the show to talk about what he thinks may have happened. New info shows he was spot on.

If you listened to our conversation with Kirk Rider back in March, one of the main questions he raised was if the ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge was having power issues prior to the collision. Why did the ship spend so much time in port in Baltimore? Were they having maintenance issues? He also detailed why he believed a power outage was the likely culprit.

Kirk sent me a note recently and shared the below video. It looks like the NTSB has issued a report that supports his hypothesis during the interview regarding a failed repair:

Who is Kirk Rider?

Kirk Rider is a Billings, Montana native who received an appointment to the US Merchant Marine Academy in the 80s. He's got experience in the maritime industry both through the military and the private sector. In the early 90s he became a 'for hire' claims investigator, known in the industry as a 'Marine Surveyor' working throughout the Far East based out of Hong Kong.  During this time he was hired to investigate and report to various interested parties regarding ship collisions, fires, and other ocean going ship catastrophes. He returned to the maritime industry in the late 90s and has been working as a Marine Technical Director for several large US marine insurers.

Listen to our full conversation with Kirk Rider in the below podcast from back in March: