Baltimore bridge collapse raises port safety issues

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore left six construction workers dead after a massive cargo ship collided with it on Tuesday, trapping about a dozen ships in the harbor, and diverting traffic and cargo. 

While some people voiced worry about future crashes, accidents like this are uncommon. “I don’t think it’s 1 in a million, but I do think it’s rare,” says Capt. Joseph Ahlstrom, a professor at SUNY Maritime College.

Emergency responders in Baltimore were still searching on Wednesday for remains of six people who had been repairing potholes on the bridge when it collapsed. Today, investigators recovered the Dali’s black box, which should help experts reconstruct the timeline of events leading up to when the ship hit the Key Bridge. 

Police said today that officials’ ability to stop traffic and close the bridge within two minutes of the container ship’s mayday call likely prevented more cars from being on the bridge during the collapse.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Wednesday that rebuilding the bridge will be a “long and difficult path.” Dozens of containers with hazardous materials remain on the ship, but they do not pose a threat to the public, said Vice Adm. Peter Gautier, deputy commandant for operations for the Coast Guard, at a White House press conference Wednesday. 

Secretary Buttigieg also said that a bridge built in the 1970s could not withstand a ship the size of the Dali. This year, ships also collided with, and destroyed, bridges in China and Argentina. The Dali, which measures nearly 1,000 feet long, is just one of many modern vessels that are much larger than ships were when bridges like the nearly 50-year-old Key Bridge were built. But there are still ways to make ship movements safer.

Who is responsible for maneuvering ships safely through ports?

Every ship is guided in and out of ports by a state-licensed pilot who takes the helm from the ship’s captain between the sea buoy and the dock. These local pilots go through a rigorous selection process and apprenticeship – and tests such as drawing out the diagrams for their local ports – before handling small ships. Gradually, they upgrade from smaller to larger rigs. There was a state pilot and an apprentice pilot aboard the Dali.

“We’re dealing with a lot of training here. These people are extremely well qualified,” says Captain Ahlstrom. “They know the harbor better than anyone else.”

The Coast Guard, meanwhile, is responsible for enforcing U.S. and international regulations. It oversees any vessel that enters U.S. waters and can spot-inspect any ship. “U.S. maritime safety standards are the highest in the world,” says Capt. Allan Post, a maritime safety expert at Texas A&M University at Galveston. “In this country, a bridge collision like this has not happened in over 40 years.”

What role do tugboats play?

Tugboats pulled the Dali away from the dock but did not escort it under the bridge. That raised questions for Captain Ahlstrom. “That bridge with its aged construction, you would think that a tug might have been useful to guide them.”

The Coast Guard can mandate the use of tugs in a certain body of water, and it often does for things like mechanical issues or narrow channels. When they are not required, companies can still request them – something Captain Ahlstrom himself recalls doing several times. “It’s cheap insurance,” he says.

The tugs that are large enough to guide a ship like the Dali are few and far between because they’re not widely required. “That’s something the industry needs to look at,” says Captain Ahlstrom. “It’s a good practice.”

Reports say that the Dali was stuck at port for two days with electrical problems that at times resulted in a total loss of power, including engine power.

“It’s not common for Panamax-style electrical ships to lose power,” says Captain Post, referring to a class of ship that can fit through the Panama Canal.

If a ship does lose power, backup generators should kick in. “Based on the preliminary information available, the Dali crew did everything they could with the time they had,” says Captain Post. 

What about the bridges themselves?

The Key Bridge was finished in 1977, before regulations were passed requiring barriers to be constructed around stanchions. The Key’s stanchions were fully exposed – and the Dali hit one. That highlights what Captain Ahlstrom says is a major issue in maritime engineering regulation. “Grandfathering is an issue. If it’s unsafe at this time for new construction, why is it safe for existing construction?”

It would take the length of five to six football fields to stop a drifting ship the size of the Dali, says Capt. Kurt Hallier, a maritime adviser to an oil shipping company. The anchors alone wouldn’t have been enough, says Captain Hallier.

“A bridge like this one, completed in the 1970s, was not made to withstand direct impact on a critical support pier from a vessel that weighs about 200 million pounds,” said Secretary Buttigieg today at a press conference. “It’s not just as big as a building. It’s really as big as a block.” 

The Key Bridge has passed its structural integrity tests in “fair” condition since 2008, but bridges built since the 1990s are required to have stronger supports. Near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California, the nation’s largest and busiest ports, bridge support columns have been seismically retrofitted to help them withstand major earthquakes. Near the port of Houston in Texas, all three major local bridges have support legs and pillars with substantial bumpers that offer the bridge protection from a collision.

How do inspections work?

The Dali passed a port inspection in September 2023. While inspections are important, says Captain Ahlstrom, they can’t cover every piece of equipment. “There’s not enough time in the day to find out exactly what problems there are.”

Prior to sailing, a vessel does a gear test and the pilot does a master pilot brief anticipating possible issues and how to avoid them. For example, if a ship has a problem with automation, it should anchor immediately. Captain Ahlstrom, who is also a commissioner on the New York state board of pilots, says he’s seen a number of vessels experience automation issues. They’re only cleared once the root cause is determined. 

Despite reports of the Dali’s power problems while in dock, the Coast Guard’s Vice Admiral Gautier said today that this particular ship had a “fairly good safety record.” He described inspections generally as “a pretty thorough process.”

Panamax cargo ships have frequent inspections, usually annually, based on the port of registry and the flag they fly under. The Dali ship flew Singaporean flags, a country that’s known for “top-tier oversight and maritime experience,” says Captain Hallier.

There are latticed layers of maritime oversight and inspections, including at a vessel’s port of registry and port of call, and the Coast Guard’s own inspections. That hasn’t always been the case. Captain Ahlstrom recalls crewmates referring to the “flag of convenience” – ships flying a foreign flag to sidestep regulations of the port they happened to be in, when he began as a mariner in the 1980s. “Those days are over,” he says.