Could tugboats have helped avert the bridge collapse tragedy in Baltimore?
slammed into the bridge in the predawn darkness Tuesday, toppling the span and killing six construction workers. Whether those tugs could have averted the disaster with the Dali already out of control is debatable.
But maritime experts interviewed by The Associated Press say they could have made a difference if the tugs had stuck by the ship longer, escorting it on its 18-minute trip through the port’s deep-water channel, in a position to see it drifting off course and potentially nudge or tow it back in line. Such extended tugboat escorts aren't required or even customary in Baltimore or at many other U.S.
ports, mostly because of the costs they would add for shippers. But with the increasing size of cargo ships and the threat they pose to bridges and other critical infrastructure, some are questioning whether they should be.
“I’m a big fan of tug escorts," said Joseph Ahlstrom, a member of the Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of New York, which regulates the state's harbor pilots. “If applied early enough and effectively, yes, a tug escort could prevent a collision with the bridge or with another ship, or going aground." “Going to sea is danger," added Ahlstrom, who also teaches at the State University of New York’s Maritime College.
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