We had this happen decades ago and took steps to make sure it never happened again.
The Sidney Lanier bridge in Brunswick, Georgia is named after a poet - as is Lake Lanier. Georgia does have a soul - some other States would name their bridges after Senators who claimed to have obtained funding for them - after voting down the legislation. Georgia elected not one, but two Democratic Senators on January 7th - and the State cast all its electoral votes for Biden. Our Republican governor and Secretary of State even stood up to Trump, when he asked them to throw the election for him.
So, next time you see one of these postings online (from Russian trolls) about how "the South" should secede from the Union, cry "bullshit!" loud and long. Georgia ain't buying that shit.
But I digress.
We have the second-largest "ro-ro" car port on the East Coast, depending on what year it is. We import cars and trucks and export them as well - "American" cars such as SUVs as well as Mercedes, KIAs, Hyundais, and BMWs. We also export farm and construction equipment and even pleasure boats. You see it all, lined up and ready to load, as you drive by. Trade today goes both ways. And the shipping business can be dangerous. We had one car carrier flip over in the channel and it took three years to cut it up and remove it.
And back in 1972, a ship hit our old lift bridge and knocked it into the water, killing 10 people who were waiting in their cars. Sound familiar?
Since then, a new bridge was built - also called the Sidney Lanier bridge - and ships pass under it almost ever day. You can watch their progress as you drive over the bridge. And in every case, these Panamax freighters are accompanied by at least two large tugboats which are never far from either side of the ship.
These ships generally have one engine (one huge engine) and if they lose power, the ship is helpless and will be pushed by the currents and wind. So the tugs are "on station" until the ro-ro clears the Sidney Lanier bridge, at which point they turn around and go back to port. Later on, when the ship clears the St. Simon's lighthouse and the channel, the Pilot boat picks up the pilot and returns to Brunswick. It is a fascinating business.
So, there are questions galore about this latest bridge collapse in Baltimore. Were tugboats not "on station" next to the ship while it transited the bridge? It doesn't sound like it - but I guess we'll have to wait for the NTSB report to know what actually happened. Like our situation with the ro-ro tipover, there were a lot of rumors abounding before the actual report came out. It pays to wait for the real data.
Sadly, some on the far-right have already politicized this, claiming the captain was a "diversity hire" and that somehow Baltimore's black mayor was directly responsible for the accident. It is kind of disgusting and stupid. Harbor pilots steer the ship, not captains, when in harbor. And if you lose power, well, there is no steering. The only real question is why a tugboat wasn't on the scene rapidly enough to push the ship in the right direction.
Like I said, we'll find out, in a couple of years, when the NTSB report comes out.
In the meantime, it is quite a mess and I am sure our little port will see more traffic as a result. In addition to car carriers, we have a limited port for bulk goods (mostly wood pulp, I think) and big rolls of Georgia Pacific paper. I think there are two or three container cranes, but nothing like what Savannah or Jacksonville have (there the containers are stacked as high as office buildings, for acres!). I am sure they will also pick up the slack and the delay in shipping will be measured only in days, as these containers are rapidly unloaded and transferred to rail cars. CSX no doubt will prosper as well.
And years later a new Key bridge (in addition to the one in Washington) will emerge. And maybe measures will be taken to make sure such an incident is unlikely to happen again.
RIP to the seven men who died. It must have been a terrifying final moment.
