Campbell professor: More resources, protections needed to prevent catastrophes like Baltimore bridge collapse
In the days following the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, experts are weighing in on how it might have happened and how it could have possibly been prevented.
Local maritime historian and Campbell University professor Sal Mercogliano said the moments before the crash are crucial to understanding how it all unfolded.
“When you move cargo [with] a lot of volume and a lot of velocity, then there's not a lot of time for error,” Mercogliano said. “When errors happen in the maritime sector, they happen very quickly, and with catastrophic results. Even though there are less accidents today than ever before, when they do happen, they tend to be of large scale.”
Leading to the crash, the cargo ship’s lights went out at least twice in the span of five minutes.
“The ship had started to be affected by wind and current. It started drifting south and unfortunately, what we saw was the vessel strike the southern pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” Mercogliano said. “Because of the nature of the construction of that bridge, once you knock the leg out of it, it takes the entire bridge down.”
A port worker told CNN the ship was docked for two days before the crash due to a ‘severe electrical problem.’ Mercogliano said there’s a clear need for more investment in maritime infrastructure and protection for bridges. That includes better ship inspections and barriers for bridges.
“We just don't put enough resources and personnel to ensuring that vessels are safe and operating in our waters,” he explained. “The protection for the bridges are not in place, should a ship lose control, we don't have the barriers built around them.”
Mercogliano commended the pilot of the ship for his quick action.
“[The] pilot on board was able to issue a mayday that went through a series of people to alert the bridge workers who are up on the bridge to stop traffic coming across,” he said. “They had four minutes to stop traffic going across a bridge. The six fatalities that we have in this were probably part of that crew that had helped save the lives of dozens, if not hundreds of people. Fortunately, this happened at a time period when there wasn't a lot of traffic. If this happened during rush hour traffic in the morning or evening, the scale of the potential casualties here would have been in the hundreds.”
WRAL asked how the bridge’s collapse could affect North Carolinians.
“There are key things in each port. In the case of Baltimore, it's coal, it’s sugar, it’s salt, it’s liquified natural gas. It really demonstrates really the fragility of our global supply chain.”
