LETTERS | Baltimore bridge collapse could have been avoided

The recent bridge collapse incident in Baltimore in the US state of Maryland was a tragedy that I believe could and should have been avoided.

The bridge was built in 1977 and as can be seen from media footage, it can hardly be described as robust although it was probably adequate in the 1970s.

Dali is a containership of 95,000 GT, 300 metres long, and carrying 4,700 containers. In comparison to the size of the bridge, it’s a monster. Such monsters were not going up and down the Patapsco River in those days.

On the assumption that Dali is not the only vessel of this size navigating the river, it is almost inconceivable that the relevant authority hasn’t made it law for such vessels to be accompanied and connected to tugs. In the event of an engine breakdown or some other calamity, the tug(s) would be on hand to stop a catastrophe such as we’ve witnessed.

Interestingly, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure, between 1960 and 2015, there have been 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision, with a total of 342 people killed. Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States!

In the aftermath of this recent incident, there is currently much being written about bridges and bridge supports. Let’s face it: the ship collided with the bridge at one end of it and yet the rest of the 1.6-mile structure fell like dominoes. That shouldn’t happen.

However, on reading the media reports since the Baltimore bridge accident, there is not one mention of using tugs to solve the problem short and long term. Yet employing tugs to act as fail safe units during ships’ navigation of rivers world-wide is a quick fix and would not cost the earth.

Tony Russell-White

Ex-Century Marine, UK

Now retired and residing in Western Australia

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