With the 95,000-ton cargo ship Dali powerless and hurtling helplessly toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the harbor pilot commanding the vessel had just minutes to make his last, desperate attempts to avoid disaster. He declared distress, dropped anchor and, notably, called for help from nearby tugboats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two 5,000-horsepower tugs, which only minutes earlier had helped guide the ship out of its berth at the Port of Baltimore and peeled off, quickly turned back and raced toward the Dali. But it was too late. The massive ship stacked with cargo slammed into the bridge<\/a> in the predawn darkness Tuesday, toppling the span<\/a> and killing six construction workers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether those tugs could have averted the disaster with the Dali already out of control is debatable. But maritime experts interviewed by The Associated Press say they could have made a difference if the tugs had stuck by the ship longer, escorting it on its 18-minute trip through the port\u2019s deep-water channel, in a position to see it drifting off course and potentially nudge or tow it back in line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such extended tugboat escorts aren\u2019t required or even customary in Baltimore or at many other U.S. ports, mostly because of the costs they would add for shippers. But with the increasing size of cargo ships and the threat they pose to bridges and other critical infrastructure, some are questioning whether they should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of tug escorts,\u201d said Joseph Ahlstrom, a member of the Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of New York, which regulates the state\u2019s harbor pilots. \u201cIf applied early enough and effectively, yes, a tug escort could prevent a collision with the bridge or with another ship, or going aground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGoing to sea is danger,\u201d added Ahlstrom, who also teaches at the State University of New York\u2019s Maritime College. \u201cBut if you\u2019re going to go to sea, if you\u2019re going to put yourself at risk, do whatever it takes to minimize risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maritime experts told the AP that the Baltimore disaster highlights how each individual port makes its own tugboat rules, resulting in a patchwork across the nation, and how competition among ports for business from cost-conscious shipping companies has trumped calls for extended tugboat escorts that can add tens of thousands of dollars to every transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Baltimore\u2019s port, operated by the state of Maryland, ordinarily uses tugboats to help maneuver big ships out of their docks and doesn\u2019t require extended tugboat escorts into the port\u2019s channel and broader Chesapeake Bay unless ordered by local harbor pilots or the U.S. Coast Guard over safety concerns tied to weather, traffic, cargo or mechanical issues. Shippers can also request tugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the case of the Dali, two state harbor pilots boarded the Singaporean-flagged ship to take over navigation through the port as the vessel set out on a trip to Sri Lanka. Two tugboats, the Eric McAllister and the Bridget McAllister, guided the massive vessel<\/a> out of the tight spaces of the dock and then released when the ship was safely in the channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But within minutes, according to satellite data that tracks vessel traffic, the 984-foot (300-meter) Dali began to drift out of its lane and veered more sharply before slamming into one of the main pillars of the bridge, which is a critical conduit for Baltimore truckers and commuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, said a review of the ship\u2019s voyage data recorder showed the pilot\u2019s 1:26 a.m. call for help from nearby tugs came about four minutes before impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of the things that was hard for me to believe is that they didn\u2019t require tugs on the vessel as it was traversing towards the bridge,\u201d said David Heindel, president of the Seafarers International Union, which represents U.S. merchant mariners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome ports require tugs, depending on the vessel, usually tankers. You see where tugs have to escort ships in and out of port, especially narrow ports,\u201d Heindel said. \u201cIn the end, I think that that may be exactly what happens in the Port of Baltimore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Maryland Port Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said the service doesn\u2019t direct tug operations in the port and the Dali\u2019s departure \u201cis the typical outbound scenario for these types of cargo ships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dali is owned<\/a> by Grace Ocean Private Ltd.<\/a> and managed<\/a> by the Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group<\/a>. Synergy spokesman Darrell Wilson said the pilots guide the company\u2019s ships in and out and that he didn\u2019t know how tugs are coordinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Eric McAllister and Bridget McAllister are muscular machines. Called tractor tugs, they don\u2019t just nudge ships. The Eric McAllister<\/a>, the bigger of the two, is 98 feet (30 meters) long and equipped with a thick steel cable and winch that, when attached to even a large cargo ship, can potentially pull it away from trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n