The lead front page story in the April 4 edition of The Coronado News warned of the risk of a ship colliding with the Coronado – San Diego bridge, causing damage to the bridge and closing one of two land access routes between Coronado and San Diego.
A report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that 68 bridges in the U.S. are at such risk. I am aware of this risk, having taught ship handling, seamanship and navigation as a master marine instructor at the San Diego Naval Base. I also commanded two naval warships that frequently passed under this and other bridges.
As the article notes, dozens of the nation’s bridges span important highways and some are occasionally damaged by ships that collided with their support structures. The 2024 collision between a large container ship over 900 feet long and the Francis Scott Key resulted in the collapse of the bridge, the closure of the road and the death of six workers, not to mention the damage to the ship when the bridge fell on it.
In such collisions of course, the ship, being the only participant that can maneuver, is obligated to stay out of the way of the bridge. As container ships grow larger, some displace more than an aircraft carrier. (Ship size is often measured by the weight of water its hull displaces.)
They can inflict considerable damage by striking the bridge, even at the relatively low speeds in the channel. Many bridges, including ours, have been reinforced to withstand minor collisions, but container ships and their cargos keep getting bigger and heavier.
Most ship collisions occur while mooring or unmooring to/at a pier or passing a restriction in a narrow channel or other restricted waters. San Diego Bay’s channel is designated a narrow channel by the U.S. Coast Guard, which means there is a speed limit (10 knots or less), ships should remain to the right in the channel, pass each other port-to-port when safe to do so and confirm passing intentions by voice radio. There may be additional restrictions and exceptions in the sailing directions or port guide for a particular port.
Mooring and unmooring are basic skills for Navy ship handlers and when I was teaching, aspiring officers of the deck were required to take a one-week (40 hours) course in basic ship handling with heavy emphasis on pier work.
Owing to cost constraints, that course was discontinued and pier work was later taught to several students at a time in 4-hour special evolution, reducing the practice time available.
Without going into the many details involved, preparation for this evolution is in three phases: 1) a discussion of the characteristics of the berth, ships, boats, barges and other possible hazards in the vicinity, expected traffic, etc.; 2) environmental conditions (wind direction and velocity, tide, etc.); and 3) a plan for executing the evolution with alternate plans if it isn’t working, use of pilots and tugs, etc.
In San Diego, the aircraft carriers and, most of the time, the oilers, berth at North Island seaward of the bridge. The cruise ship terminal is across the bay, also seaward of the bridge, and the Tenth Street Marine Terminal is located on the Embarcadero, also seaward of the bridge.
That leaves the following traffic that routinely passes under the bridge at risk of colliding with it: ships entering or leaving the shipyards, Navy ships based at the San Diego Naval Base and car carriers moving to and from the South Bay Marine Terminal in Chula Vista.
A question often asked of any crew member involved in any way with a marine accident is, “Where were you when the sh-t hit the fan?” After a collision with a bridge, that becomes, “Where were you when the ship hit the span?” Every detail is needed to determine liability and lessons learned. The NTSB, meanwhile, recommends that action be taken to reduce vulnerability to such accidents.
Here’s a simple suggestion. Nearly all large ships, including Navy ships, take a pilot and one or two tugs. (It’s sort of like a parking service). The presence of the pilot does not reduce the captain’s responsibility or liability whether he or she is conning (driving) or not.
It’s common practice to release the tug(s) and pilot when headed fair in the channel outbound instead of waiting until they’ve safely passed the bridge. Why? Probably because they are limited to five knots with a tug attached. Without the tug, they can do 10 knots most of the way. If it matters that much, cast the tug off and keep it in the vicinity of the bow to push it away if the ship has a power and steering casualty, as happened in the Baltimore example.
Lesson learned: Keep the tug until safely past nearby hazards. That’s what they’re there for. With one of San Diego’s powerful omni-directional tractor tugs on the bow and a ship handler that knows what he or she is doing, there’s no excuse for hitting a bridge.
Retired Navy captain and master maritime instructor Jim Kelly is a longtime Coronado resident and freelance writer. He commanded three San Diego-based ships and a Navy laboratory.
