The History of US Bridge Collapses Caused by Ship Strikes: The Baltimore Incident Is Not the First

The US state of Maryland, which is known for having the greatest road system in the world, has seen other incidents of this kind before, including the collapse of a bridge on Tuesday when one of its supports was struck by a cargo ship.

In its 2018 report, the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure reveals that between 1960 and 2015, boat impacts were responsible for 38 significant bridge failures, resulting in 342 fatalities. And the US was the scene of 18 of those instances.

Let’s examine a some of the noteworthy occurrences:

1967: On December 15, high traffic caused the Point Pleasant Bridge, commonly called Silver Bridge, to collapse. Two of the forty-six victims who perished in the collapse were never located.

1972: An 11,000-ton ship known as the African Neptune collided with the Sidney Lanier Bridge across the Brunswick River in coastal southeast Georgia, causing a 450-foot part of the bridge to collapse. On November 2, an accident claimed ten lives.

1980: A cargo struck one of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge’s central support piers on May 9, causing the bridge to collapse and killing 35 cars and bus passengers.

1993: In Alabama, on September 22, a towboat struck the Big Bayou Canot Bridge. A few minutes thereafter, an Amtrak passenger train crashed off the bridge, leaving 103 passengers injured and 47 dead.

2002: On May 26, an Oklahoman freight barge hit a pier that supported the I-40 bridge, causing it to collapse. After the towboat skipper apparently passed out and struck the pier, a portion of the bridge collapsed. There were fourteen fatalities.

2007: On August 1, during evening rush hour, the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, also called Bridge 940, fell into the Mississippi River, killing 13 and wounding 145. With over 140,000 cars crossing it each day, it was the third busiest bridge in Minnesota at the time.

BRIDGE OF BALTIMORE
The US national anthem’s lyrics were written by Maryland poet Francis Scott Key in the 19th century, and the bridge was dedicated in his honor in 1977.

Built 2.6 kilometers long, the bridge spans Baltimore Harbor and the Patapsco River. It is called a continuous bridge made of trusses.

When the container ship Dali strikes one of the bridge’s supports, video from the event shows how the bridge starts to crumble.

WHAT ARE OUR KNOWLEDGES OF THE SHIP?
Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea initially constructed the Dali ship for Greek shipowner Oceanbulk.

According to a statement from Maersk, the massive container shipping business had temporarily leased the vessel, which is now managed by Synergy Group, a charter vessel company. According to the BBC, it also said that while the ship was transporting goods for Maersk clients, no employees of the business were there at the time.

The ship departed for Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday at 12:24 local time from Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal.

The ship abruptly veered and slowed down while still staying on route. According to the BBC, “at this point, all of the ship’s exterior lights abruptly turned off, and smoke started to emerge from the funnel.”

Authorities halted the automobiles traveling on the bridge after the ship sent out a mayday signal.

Governor Wes Moore of Maryland said that the vessel was traveling at a high speed of eight knots, or fifteen kilometers per hour.

For months, there will be severe traffic disruptions due to the bridge collapse; maritime activity is also expected to be impacted.

An estimated 11.5 million cars traveled over the four-lane bridge each year since it was a component of Interstate 695, sometimes known as the “Baltimore Beltway,” which is the outer ring road around Baltimore City.