The pilots aboard the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore have nothing to blame, according to experts who instead point the finger at the state of the ship.
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“In 18 years of career, I have never [un accident comme] that,” laments Captain Simon Doré, president of the Corporation of Bas-Saint-Laurent Pilots.
On some American waterways, the captain leaves the controls to a maritime pilot. This is a designated person who knows the area well and will act as a guide to ensure the boat gets to its destination.
“It’s the same thing in Canada. When a captain arrives in the St. Lawrence River, we take control as far as Quebec. Then, a pilot from Quebec takes control to Montreal and so on,” explains Mr. Doré.
It was Patapsco River experts who were at the controls of the container ship Dali which hit the Francis Scott Key bridge, leading to its collapse.
Engine problem
However, their abilities would not be at issue in this affair. The ship lost use of its engines just before reaching the road bridge. Witnesses also saw the container ship’s lights go off and on a few times before the impact, indicating a loss of power.
“A loss of machines is probably the worst scenario for a pilot because there is little control,” underlines Captain Pascal Desrochers, president of the Corporation of Saint-Laurent Central Pilots, in an interview with Mario Dumont at LCN.
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The few actions that could be taken in such a situation, including using the anchor to slow the vessel and making a distress call, were all carried out.
This gave authorities time to close traffic on the bridge in the moments preceding the impact.
“They seem to have done everything in their power to minimize the consequences,” says Mr. Desrochers.
Getty Images via AFP
Are there any questions
Simon Doré believes for his part that there would be questions to ask about the state of the boat involved.
If the accident-free pilotage efficiency rate is 99.8% in the St. Lawrence River, it is not only due to the training of pilots and the configuration of our bridges (see other text) , he indicates.
“Here, the condition of the ships is scrutinized before their arrival in Canadian waters,” he says.
Since 2015, no less than 27 inspections of the Dali have been carried out, according to CNN. An issue was notably raised regarding the propulsion machinery in June 2023 and another regarding its “structural conditions” in November 2016. Please note, however, that the most recent inspection of the ship carried out by the Coast Guard in September 2023, in New York , had not revealed any shortcomings.
– With information from TVA, CNN and AFP