The massive ship that fatally struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge should teach SC Ports, DOT and harbor pilots how else they can keep Charleston safe.
For many people, simply driving over a long, tall bridge is enough to trigger a phobia: Heart rates rise, eyes dart about, and a driver’s mind swirls as reason battles more anxious thoughts.
That’s one reason what unfolded in Baltimore early Tuesday — when a massive container ship lost power, struck a main support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused a catastrophic collapse, killing at least six people — reverberates so much.
In its wake, Charleston and every other major U.S. port city should review their infrastructure and ship policies and protocols, not only to ensure a similar tragedy does not happen again but also to assure the public that they’ve done all they reasonably can to make sure it doesn’t.
The strike by the 984-foot-long Singapore-flagged container ship Dali is a tragedy on many levels, beginning with the death toll. Fortunately, the ship apparently was able to send a Mayday message in time to let law enforcement stop traffic heading toward the doomed span. Beyond the six lives believed lost, the strike will cause significant economic harm, particularly for the Baltimore region, as its port remains shuttered for an indefinite time and vehicular traffic faces significant delays because there’s one less major harbor crossing.
Less than a day later, officials with the S.C. Department of Transportation, South Carolina Ports and the Charleston Branch Pilots Association began discussing what happened in Baltimore and vowed to review Charleston’s harbor operations, procedures and related infrastructure.
