A tugboat is a marine vessel that pushes or pulls other vessels via direct contact or by using a tow line. Tugboats are used in area where large ships can not safely move under their own power, such as crowded harbors or narrow canals. Tugboats have many other uses, such as firefighting with an onboard deluge gun or ice breaking, but one of the most important purposes is the boat’s namesake — tugging other vessels around.
In ports around the world, there is a requirement for certain numbers and sizes of tugboats for port operations with gas tankers. In some ports there are also tugboat requirements for large marine vessels.
In Australia’s Port procedures and information for shipping – Port Of Cairns [PDF] there is a requirement of two tugboats for arrivals and departures of all vessels greater than 130 meters long. The length of the MV Dali that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge this morning, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, is 299.92 meters, according to marinetraffic.com.
Shortly after leaving the port, MV Dali lost power, and a mayday was issued before the cargo ship collided with a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a catastrophic structural failure of the bridge.
TUGS (SECTION 9) …
Maritime Safety Queensland
9.2 Tug usage requirements
Pilots and masters are to assess the requirement for additional tugs on a case-by-case basis. Masters and their agents are requested to monitor the prevailing weather conditions and forecast, to ensure the initial tug allocation remains sufficient. Additional tugs should be
ordered in good time.— Port procedures and information for shipping – Port Of Cairns
No laws or requirements were discovered today in a review of the official website for the Maryland Department of Transportation Port Administration. Additionally, there was no information provided on the official website regarding tugboats. That doesn’t mean the requirements don’t exist, but does hint at the lack of importance given to utilizing tugboat escorts.
A report in The Baltimore Banner today, just hours after the crash, indicated that many ships are escorted by at least two tugboats running within 30 to 40 feet on either side of a ship as it is maneuvered under the Key Bridge. However, former tugboat captain Kurt Gray added, “If the pilot released the assist tugs, as in he didn’t need them anymore, then it seems normal that they peeled off. It is not uncommon. This would be documented in the captain’s log of the ship as well as the captain’s log on the tugs.”
Also, a “Chesapeake Bay pilot would have been on the ship giving navigation commands to the ship’s bridge, or those steering the boat. The ships are too big and waters too unfamiliar for foreign pilots to navigate the bay themselves, according to retired Chesapeake Bay pilot, Capt. William Band” (quoted in The Baltimore Banner).
The Baltimore Banner also interviewed an experienced tanker third mate for Crowley’s Tank Fleet. According to the Crowley official website, the company operates the largest American-flag petroleum and chemical tank vessel fleet.
The tanker third mate, who has sailed through the Baltimore Port repeatedly over the last 18 years, said that “two, or even one tug boat, may have been able to help a cargo ship of the size of the MV Dali, depending on the horsepower of the boats” (quoted in The Baltimore Banner).
The third mate added that it is common for tug boats to peel off ahead of a bridge, such as the Francis Scott Key — in other words, leave a cargo ship alone to pass the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
MV Dali left the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Port of Baltimore with the help of two tugboats that initially assisted the cargo vessel’s departure.
Container ship hits the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland on March 26, 2024 at approximately 1:30 am. The StreamTime LIVE camera captured the collapse. There is no audio (StreamTime Live). YouTube Tips ⓘ
NOTE: 720p video; there is 1080p video captured, but not available at time of publication of this article.
DALI CRASH TIMELINE
12:30 a.m. to 1:09 a.m. — Departure with two tugboats assisting
1:04 a.m. — MV Dali departs port.
1:09 a.m. — Tugboats “peel off” from escort.
1:24:32 a.m. — Dali veers right with apparent power problems with lights going out.
1:25:33 a.m. — Lights go back.
1:25:41 — Black smoke visible rising from ship (possibly a backup generator exhaust).
1:26:37 a.m. — Light go out again.
1:27 a.m. — Report of first collision to the US Coast Guard (Reuters).
1:28:45 a.m. — Observation of the beginning of significant collision on video followed by observation of at least four construction vehicles with flashing lights falling with the main span of the bridge into the Patapsco River.
MV Dali was in a previous collision at the berth at the container terminal in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, which caused significant damage to the cargo ship and caused significant damage at the berth. The collision with the berth caused the closure of the port for cargo handling operations.
MV Dali in 2016 was involved in a collision while leaving the Port of Antwerp, Belgium when the stern scraped the side of the quay — a structure built parallel to a waterway. YouTube Tips ⓘ
Presently, since tugboat precautions were not assigned as escorts to prevent a catastrophic destruction involving the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the accident has caused deaths and injuries, and the bridge is resting from the bottom of the Patapsco River under 50′ feet of water and arises above the water surface. Much of the bridge structure is visible above the surface, and the harbor will be obstructed for a prolonged period, limiting transit of large vessels, including cargo ships, cruise ships, and naval vessels of significant size.
SOURCES:
Greg Morton, Ramsey Archibald, Emily Sullivan and Matti Gellman. Could Key Bridge crash have been avoided if ship had tugboat guides? The Baltimore Banner March 26, 2024 7:30 p.m. EDT
(The Baltimore Banner is a news website in Baltimore, found by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which is a nonprofit organization founded by Stewart W. Bainum Jr to focus on the future of local news.)
Reuters Within minutes of departure, faltering container ship crashes into Baltimore bridge REUTERS March 26, 20243:04 PM CDT
Queensland Australia Government (Maritime Safety) Port procedures and information for shipping – Port Of Cairns [PDF] February 2024
Thoresen, Carl A (2003). Port Designer’s Handbook: Recommendations and guidelines. Thomas Telford Books. p. 116. ISBN 0-7277-3228-5.