Marine safety experts say an investigation into the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could inform port safety throughout the U.S., including Maine. The bridge collapsed early Tuesday after being struck by a large cargo container ship that had lost power.
He says the commission will consider implementing any changes that might be warranted based on findings by the National Transportation Safety Board.
"We’ll be talking about this [at our next meeting] even if it’s before any recommendations [made in the investigation report] come out," said Brian Downey, administrator for the Marine Pilotage Commission which issues pilot licenses for Searsport and Eastport. "When accidents happen in other ports, we certainly are looking at that. [We ask,] 'Are there any correlations to, to our program that we should be looking at, and should we be making any changes to improve our safety program?'"
Cargo ships that enter Portland, Searsport and Eastport are brought into harbor by local marine pilots who are familiar with the waters in their area. The Port of Portland has its own separate pilotage commission which handles licenses for its pilots.
The incident is also making waves amongst educators teaching the next generation of mariners. Captain Daniel Parrott is the department head for the Thompson School of Marine Transportation at the Maine Maritime Academy. He says he’s had classroom discussions about the accident with his students – some of whom may go on to work in the shipping industry.
"It’s a regulatory requirement to do these pre-underway, or pre-arrival checks and tests, so I asked the students to think about that," said Captain Parrott. "[These students] will all be faced repeatedly throughout their careers — in fact, constantly — with the 'time is money' equation. There’ll be many opportunities to cut corners, and you just don’t want to be on the wrong side of that cut corner when something goes wrong."
Parrott says he looks forward to reading the full investigative report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
