After a cargo ship crashed into and knocked over a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, Massachusetts officials told Bay State residents that such an incident is unlikely to unfold here.
“It was reassuring for everybody involved that we have a very safe system,” MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference. “We have some very, very strong maritime professionals to ensure the waterways are safe, and again, Massachusetts bridges are worked on every single day by professionals.”
Gov. Maura Healey convened a meeting with officials from the Coast Guard, state Department of Transportation, Massport, Massachusetts Maritime and Boston Harbor Pilots Association, addressing safety in maritime traffic.
The gathering came hours after a massive cargo ship, the Dali, lost power exiting the Port of Baltimore and rammed into and dismantled the Francis Scott Key Bridge, destroying it in a matter of seconds and causing it to plunge it into the river in a terrifying collapse that could disrupt a vital shipping port for months.
Six people were missing and presumed dead.
The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the bridge, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
The ship struck one of the bridge’s support piers, causing the structure to collapse like a toy. A section of the span came to rest on the bow of the vessel, which caught fire, sending thick, black smoke billowing out of it.
Gulliver highlighted how piers on a few of Massachusetts’ most essential structures – the Bourne and Sagamore carrying traffic to and from Cape Cod, and the Tobin, carrying traffic over the Mystic River between Boston and Chelsea – are located outside of navigation channels, unlike the bridge in Baltimore.
Recreational ships mostly travel under the Bourne and Sagamore, owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulliver said.
“There’s very strict standards as to what you’re able to build in the water so that you are very mindful of the kind of the traffic that you’ll be getting both above and below the bridge,” he said. “We put in fender systems where appropriate, and other systems that prevent the ships from coming in and striking those piers.”
The federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics ranked Boston as the 40th largest port in 2021, bringing in 13.3 million tons of cargo, much smaller compared to the 17th-ranked Port of Baltimore that saw 37.4 million tons come in that year.
Ships access the Conley Container Terminal and Flynn Cruisport – Boston’s main port locations – without having to pass under a bridge, but some tankers go underneath the Tobin on route to smaller facilities in East Boston, Revere, Everett and Chelsea, Massport spokeswoman Jennifer Mehigan said.
The Port of Boston received a nearly $850 million investment in 2022, allowing it to expand through increased global connectivity.
Major improvements included a $350 million dredging of the Boston Harbor, spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which deepened the main ship channel; and the addition of a 50-foot-deep berth to accommodate the new cranes and larger cargo ships.
Gov. Maura Healey, appearing on WGBH’s ‘Boston Public Radio’ Tuesday morning, said she had plans earlier Tuesday to meet with Maryland’s governor who had been slated to receive the Kennedy Institute’s Award for Inspired Leadership in Boston in the evening.
“He had to fly back in the middle of the night to attend to this,” Healey said. “I have been in touch with him, I have offered him our support as a state to Maryland and to Baltimore. My thoughts are with all of the victims and survivors, all those affected by this tragedy.”
Bridges across Massachusetts are regularly inspected and “up to date,” Healey said. The feds, however, found 450, or 8.5%, of the state’s 5,281 structures structurally deficient last year, meaning a crucial element is in poor or worse condition. The Tobin Bridge received an assessment a “couple of months ago,” the governor added.
Baltimore’s early morning disaster, Healey said, further underscores the importance of recent funding developments for the structurally deficient Sagamore and Bourne bridges which are in need of replacement, according to inspection reports done by their owner, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The full cost of building them new is estimated north of $4.5 billion
Over the last four months the state’s congressional delegation has managed to get the feds to cough up $722 million toward replacement, $350 million of which was signed into law earlier this month by President Biden.
The state has committed at least $700 million toward rebuilding the aging spans. Replacing the Sagamore — a Healey priority — however, is estimated at $2.14 billion alone.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg last week, the lawmakers urged approval of an outstanding Bridge Investment Program grant application for $1.072 billion.
