Mass. Maritime officials on Cape discuss training, safety after Baltimore bridge collapse

Cape Cod Times
·2 min read

BUZZARDS BAY — Officials from Massachusetts Maritime Academy gathered midday Tuesday to discuss with media representatives the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

The presentation was intended to be informative, to generally give a sense of what it would look like from the bridge for a ship coming in or out of the port of a large city.

The school's executive director of the Maritime Center for Responsible Energy, Capt. Mike Burns, spoke to the media inside the school's bridge. The backdrop of the simulator was the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City.

The discussion was also, generally, about training involved to become a master marine, and international safety standards, said Elizabeth Simmons, who is vice president of external affairs at the state university.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy staff member Capt. Mike Burns speaks to media representatives Tuesday inside the school's bridge, talking about the cargo ship striking a column of a bridge earlier on Tuesday in Baltimore, Maryland. The backdrop of the simulator is the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy staff member Capt. Mike Burns speaks to media representatives Tuesday inside the school's bridge, talking about the cargo ship striking a column of a bridge earlier on Tuesday in Baltimore, Maryland. The backdrop of the simulator is the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City.

Baltimore bridge collapse: What do we know about the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?

A cargo ship struck a column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, which carried the major highway Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River, around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The bridge collapsed within seconds of the strike.

The ship sent out a "mayday" before the collision, giving officials time to stop cars from driving onto the bridge, according to USA TODAY. As of Tuesday afternoon, crews were still searching for construction workers believed to be on the bridge when it collapsed.

Live coverage from USA TODAY: Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses after ship strike; construction crew missing: Live updates

Has a ship ever hit a Cape Cod bridge?

Yes. In October 2016, a cruise ship clipped the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge, but the collision was not of the same magnitude as the Baltimore bridge strike early Tuesday. The Cape Cod bridge, which stands 135 feet above the water, was scraped by an antenna atop the Viking Star, a 131-foot-tall Norwegian cruise ship.

Some paint was lost, but all three Cape Cod bridges were inspected after the incident and found undamaged, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the time.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Has a ship hit a Cape Cod bridge? Yes. Here's what happened.