Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/06/cargo-ship-goes-haywire-in-south-carolina-doubles-its-speed-as-busy-bridge-is-forced-to-shut-down.html
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I wonder what protocol is for runaway ship? Normally a mayday would get shifted to a secondary frequency to keep the calling frequency clear, but EVERYONE on the water ahead of the ship needs to be kept in the loop.
Also I wonder what the wake was for a cargo ship doing twice normal speed.
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So, are we sure this is coincidence? I mean, we’ve seen this plot before.
And maybe the orcas already know this and are taking preventative action!
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How did it speed up after losing propulsion? I do not understand this sequence of events.
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The runaway train ran over the hill and she blew.
The runaway ship floats past the bridge and it’s “phew”
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When planes suddenly start crashing into skyscrapers, you think “Hmm. Once is an accident, but twice? Coincidence in these matters is just NOT a thing.”
This is no different. Someone [Putin, maybe? Or Xi…] has weaponized heavy cargo carriers and is targeting U.S infrastructure (for obvious competitive advantage). And if they haven’t then we should be very aware of the risk of exactly that.
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The difference is that we have evidence of the 9/11 attacks being just that and at the time, too. It was easy to put together the chain of evidence and to prove it was, in fact, an act of terrorism. I’d suggest, however, if you have some actual evidence that this is terrorist attacks, you, you know, provide that, rather than making unsubstantiated claims based on nonsense…
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This sounds like the gas pedal got stuck to the floor, or at least the ship equivalent.
Presumably we can blame a computer somewhere. How do these ship engines control the throttle anyways?
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Clearly it’s coming from the steel manufacturers and large construction firms.
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“Yesterday, the ballast program for a supertanker training model mistakenly thought the vessel was empty and flooded its tanks.”
“Excuse me?”
“The little boat flipped over.”
– Hackers (1995)
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Seems if you are worried about hitting something then steering is your friend.
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The thing about actual acts of terrorism is that the terrorists want people to know it was an act of terrorism and are usually more than happy to claim the credit so the targets know who and what they should be afraid of. That’s the whole POINT of terrorism.
What you’re hypothesizing (without evidence) is industrial sabotage, which is not really the same thing at all.
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And still without evidence…
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I was watching the second clip in that video, where there’s a large dock in the foreground with many boats moored, with that in mind. It cut away before the impacts were clear but the bow wave was visible and substantial. Wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there has been damage to boats and more. Lawsuits may follow.
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Software, which can have bugs and operator errors. And valves, which can get stuck.
Don’t let the image scare you - the controller isn’t a windows box; that’s the UI. The controller is an embedded device.
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What happens when the Windows box providing the frontend crashes?
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Good question! On ships, not sure. But if it’s like on land: there will be more than one PC, with separate power sources, at least one of which is backed up by battery power. When any PC reboots, there’s no effect on the controller unless there’s specific programming to check. Often, “change nothing” is safest, especially if there’s a handy Big Red Button to stop things if the humans detect an emergency.
edited for clarity
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