- Protective concrete barrier missing
- Sri Lankan among 21 seafarers confined to vessel
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) this week faulted the designers of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore USA that crashed into the water like a pack of cards after it was rammed by a huge container vessel on March 26 this year.
“The total destruction of the bridge could have been avoided if the designer, E. Greiner Company had constructed the outer concrete structure around the supporting tower on to which the vessel struck and subsequently brought down the bridge.
Such a structure known in maritime terms as ‘Kassun’ is mandatory but sadly this was not the case with the Key Scott Bridge and, therefore, the runaway 984-foot-long Singapore-based cargo vessel Dali struck the core of the supporting tower and the rest is now known”, ITF Senior Representative Lars Lindgren told the Sunday Observer.
He said the protected concrete enclosure would have served as an effective barrier because the vessel was sailing around two knots or equal to six MPH and, therefore, the damage to the bridge would have been zero on one hand and on the other the ship would have sustained some damage.
The ITF is an international maritime trade union organisation with affiliates in 77 countries, including Sri Lanka with a membership of nearly 20 million members.
The ITF also continues to monitor the welfare of the crew on board the crippled Dali.
Six persons who were repairing pot holes on the bridge died after they were thrown into the waters when the bridge collapsed while the Dali currently remains alongside at a harbour along with its 21-member crew that includes a Sri Lankan seafarer. The crew has been confined to the vessel for more than two months since they are listed as ‘Persons of Interest’ while the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) USA conducts a thorough probe into the incident that may take a year or even two to complete.
The NTSB has not ruled out criminal negligence even though the entire crew tested negative for alcohol or drugs shortly after the crash.
In its initial findings the NTSB stated the Dali had lost electrical power hours before leaving the Port of Baltimore and crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
In less than 12 hours, the ship experienced four blackouts before colliding with the central truss spans of the Key Bridge.
The preliminary report provided a synopsis of factual information collected during the on-scene phase of the investigation. A final report, which will include conclusions and safety recommendations, should come in one or two years.
