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1972 Sidney Lanier Bridge collapse

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Coordinates:31°6′59″N81°29′10″W/ 31.11639°N 81.48611°W/31.11639; -81.48611
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1972 Sidney Lanier Bridge collapse
View of the collapsed sections, facing north
Map
DateNovember 7, 1972(1972-11-07)
Time9:50 p.m. (EST)
LocationSidney Lanier Bridge,Brunswick, Georgia,United States
Coordinates31°6′59″N81°29′10″W/ 31.11639°N 81.48611°W/31.11639; -81.48611
TypeBridge collapse due to abridge strike
CauseShip collision
Deaths10
Non-fatal injuries11
Property damageRepairs to the bridge took six months and cost $1,300,000 (equivalent to $9,500,000 in 2023)

On November 7, 1972, at 9:50 p.m.EST,three sections of theSidney Lanier Bridgeacross theBrunswick RiverinBrunswick, Georgia,United States, collapsed after acargo ship,the SSAfrican Neptune,struck the bridge. The collapse affected roughly 450 feet (140 m) of bridge and caused 24 people and ten motor vehicles to fall into the river. Ten people died and eleven others sustained injuries.

The Sidney Lanier Bridge was a vertical-lift bridge which was notorious among seamen for being difficult to navigate, due in part to the small opening. On the night of November 7, 1972, as theAfrican Neptunewas leaving thePort of Brunswick,it failed to properly align with the opening and impacted the bridge roughly 250 ft (76 m) south of the vertical-lift section. Later investigations by theUnited States Coast Guardand theNational Transportation Safety Boardconcluded that the misalignment had been caused by thehelmsman,who had incorrectly entered inrudderdirections given by thepilot.The helmsman's mistakes were noticed by amateaboard the ship, but not before the vessel had reached a point on the river where a full stop was impossible. Following the impact, the ship's crew deployedlifebuoysand rescue ships, andemergency respondersfrom around the area began search and rescue efforts that continued into the next day.

In total, the bridge was closed for repairs for six months, at a cost of $1,300,000 (equivalent to $9,500,000 in 2023). Following the incident, safety measures were put in place to prevent automobiles from being present on the bridge any time the vertical-lift span was open. In 1987, another cargo ship struck the bridge, resulting in several million dollars of damages, but no injuries or fatalities. Following this second incident, the Coast Guard declared the bridge a navigational hazard. In 2003, it was replaced by acable-stayed bridgethat features improvedbridge protection systems.

Background

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Sidney Lanier Bridge

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Main article:Sidney Lanier Bridge
TheSidney Lanier Bridgewas avertical-lift bridgethat spanned theBrunswick RiverinGeorgia.[1][2]

The Sidney Lanier Bridge was a 1-mile (1.6 km) long,[3][4]four-lane automobile bridge that spanned theBrunswick River,[1]atidal river,inBrunswick, Georgia.[5][6]Construction on the bridge was completed in 1956.[7][3]Situated roughly 1.5 mi (2.4 km) south ofdowntown Brunswick,[5]it carriedU.S. Route 17,[7][3]a major north–south thoroughfare for both the eastern portion ofGlynn Countyand theEast Coast of the United Statesat large.[4][8]While the main portion of the bridge stood only about 50 feet (15 m) to 80 ft (24 m) above the surface of the river,[7][8]it featured avertical-lift sectionto allow for larger oceangoing ships to access thePort of Brunswick.[1][2]The bridge had a reputation among seamen for being difficult to traverse,[2]as its 250-foot (76 m) opening meant that large ships with wideturning radiihad to begin aligning themselves with the passageway well in advance of reaching the bridge.[6]A 2012 article inThe Brunswick Newsdescribed the bridge's passageway as being "small" and "dangerous" for large ships to pass through.[7]

SSAfrican Neptune

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The SSAfrican Neptunewas acargo shipowned by theFarrell Linescompany ofNew York City.[9]The ship measured approximately 350 ft (110 m) long[5]and weighed roughly 11,000short tons.[3][4][9]At around 11 p.m.ESTon November 6, 1972, the ship arrived at the opening of thechannelleading to theport,but because of the bridge's reputation, Frank Stanejko, thesea captainof the African Neptune, decided to wait until the next morning to begin the 15 mi (24 km) journey from theAtlantic Oceanto thedocks.[2]The ship collected its cargo, resin bound forKenya,[2]at the State Docks on Oglethorpe Bay, a small tidal river that combined with theTurtle Riverto form the Brunswick River approximately 400 yards (370 m) upstream of the bridge.[6]

Collapse

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Illustration prepared by theNational Transportation Safety Boardshowing the approximate path of the ship[10]

Due to heavy rain,[2]the ship was not cleared to leave the port until 9:36 p.m. on November 7,[6]a Tuesday night,[3]during a period ofhigh tide.[5]In thewheelhousewere twopilotsand theshipmaster,with the more senior of the two pilots handling the maneuvering of the ship from the time of undocking until after the ship had passed through the bridge.[6]Atugboatassisted theAfrican Neptuneout of the dock,[4]after which it maneuvered under its own power out of the port area and around severalbargesthat weremooredin the river.[6]At around 9:43 p.m., thehelmsmanreceived orders to turn the ship'srudderto be turned "LEFT, 10°" in order to begin aligning the ship with the bridge opening.[6]Shortly after these orders were given,[6]Captain Stanejko relieved the ship'shelmsmanof duty and replaced him with anotherable seaman.[2]According to a later report issued by theNational Transportation Safety Board(NTSB) and theUnited States Coast Guard,Captain Stanejko relieved the initial helmsman of duty because he felt that the way the helmsman was responding to orders from the pilot was unsatisfactory.[2]Henry Billitz, a crewmember who was aboard theAfrican Neptunethat night, later stated that the initial helmsman wasdrunkwhile on duty.[2]At around 9:44 p.m., the pilot again ordered the rudder to be turned "LEFT, 10°".[10]

At about 9:46 p.m., the ship had reached apoint of no returnwhere it was now completely committed to passing through the bridge opening.[10]At this point, the pilot ordered the engines to be "FULL AHEAD" and ordered the rudder to be turned "LEFT, 20°".[10][2]Shortly after the orders for "LEFT, 20°" were given, amateanalyzed the rudder angle indicator and saw that the rudder was actually positioned at 10° to the right and was drifting further towards theright bankof the Brunswick River.[10]The mate notified the helmsman, who began to turn the wheel to the left.[10]At about 9:47 p.m., the senior pilot noticed that the rudder angle indicator was now showing a reading of 20° to the right, prompting him to order the helmsman to turn the rudder "HARD LEFT" and change the engines to "FULLASTERN".[10]After these new orders were relayed to the helmsman, the indicator began to increase to the right, towards about 25°.[10]Around this time, orders were given to drop thestarboardanchor,though about 105 fathoms (192 m) ofline lengthwent out before the anchor caught.[10]At 9:48 p.m., the pilot ordered "HARD RIGHT", by which time the ship had slowed to about 1 to 2 knots (0.51 to 1.03 m/s).[10]

Aerial view of the collapsed bridge

At the time that the vertical lift span had been lifted, there were 24 people on the bridge.[11]As these people began to notice the ship approach the bridge, several began to flee,[3]with at least three making it off the bridge.[11]At about 9:50 p.m.,[5]roughly 13 minutes after leaving the dock,[3][10]theAfrican Neptunestruck the southern portion of the bridge.[2][7]The impact occurred roughly 250 feet (76 m) south of the nearest lift span tower.[note 1]Following theallision,[note 2]three sections of the bridge, totaling roughly 450 feet (140 m) in total, fell into the river.[note 3]Ten motor vehicles, consisting of 8 cars and twosemi-trailer trucks,[14]and 24 people fell into the river,[2][7][13]which at that point had a depth of about 30 feet (9.1 m).[11]

Response

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Immediately following the collapse, crewmembers on theAfrican Neptunebegan to throwlifebuoysinto the river and deployedlifeboatsin order to rescue individuals who had fallen from the bridge.[2][4]Meanwhile, the bridge operator called the Brunswick Police Department and adistress signalwas sent out.[11]Several harbor craft, including the tugboat that had assisted theAfrican Neptune,responded to the call, and emergency responders from many nearby jurisdictions and organizations, including police fromJekyll Island,[5]theGeorgia State Patrol,andCivil Defenseunits, also arrived.[11]However, rescue efforts were hindered by the darkness and uncooperative weather.[5]Several people were rescued from the water, while some people who had been on the bridge during the impact had managed to stay on the damaged structure.[11]Survivors were taken to the Glynn-Brunswick Memorial Hospital for treatment.[13]While initial reporting from theAssociated Presslisted only one person dead and eight missing,[5]the death toll increased by the following day.[4]In total, ten people were reported dead, while eleven others suffered injuries from the collapse.[13][note 4]

Aftermath

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TheAfrican Neptunesuffered some minor damage to itsbow.[5]

Immediately following the collapse, the port was closed overnight and theAfrican Neptunewas led by two tugboats to a dock for temporary repairs.[11]While the ship was not in immediate danger of sinking, it had suffered some damage to itsbow.[5]The next day, the ship traveled to thePort of Savannah,where it unloaded its cargo and had permanent repairs made.[2][11]Prior to leaving,Georgia GovernorJimmy Cartercame to Brunswick to inspect the damage and talk to some of the ship's crewmates.[13][2]Search and rescueoperations continued into the next morning, though no additional survivors were found,[11]and crews began to collect debris out of the river that same day.[7]The last body was recovered from the wreckage by November 12.[11]Initial reporting fromUnited Press International(UPI) estimated that the bridge would be out of service for at least six months and would cost over $1,000,000 (equivalent to $7,000,000 in 2023) to repair.[4]AsInterstate 95 in Georgiahad not yet been constructed through Glynn County at the time, the only nearby detour option was throughGeorgia State Route 303throughBlythe Island.[3]Shortly after the incident, thegovernment of Georgiafiled a lawsuit against the shipowners in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York,seeking $2,000,000 (equivalent to $15,000,000 in 2023) in damages and requesting that the ship be condemned and sold to satisfy this amount.[9]

Investigation

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On November 8, theUnited States Coast Guardbegan an investigation into the incident,[4]and theNational Transportation Safety Board(NTSB) also initiated an investigation.[15]Initial reporting from UPI attributed the accident to either a mechanical issue with the steering gear or a piloting error.[4]However, in their final reports issued in May 1974,[3]the investigations revealed that theallisionhad been the result of the helmsman incorrectly entering the pilot's orders.[2]As the ship approached the bridge opening, instead of properly applying the pilot's "LEFT" orders, the helmsman had ordered "RIGHT" directions.[2][16]In their investigation, the NTSB found that the design of the wheelhouse may have played a factor in the allision, as the steering wheel was small and partially obscured from the helmsman's view, and other people in the wheelhouse were unable to see which way the wheel was being turned.[15]Additionally, the rudder order indicator was a small instrument in a recessed area that required the viewer to be very close to read.[15]Furthermore, the mate was not continuously monitoring the helmsman at the time because of other duties he had aboard the bridge.[15]Thus, according to the NTSB, at the time that the helmsman was incorrectly applying orders, neither the shipmaster, the pilots, nor the mate, were monitoring the input with enough frequency to identify the error prior to the "point of no return".[15]The Coast Guard also identified issues with the bridge configuration as contributing to the incident, as the ship, and other similarly designed ships, were required to be in a state of turning past the "point of no return" for making the bridge opening.[11]

Later history

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In 2003, thevertical-lift bridgewas replaced by acable-stayed bridge(pictured under construction, 2001).[1]

In total, repairs to the bridge took six months to complete and cost approximately $1,300,000 (equivalent to $9,500,000 in 2023).[3]Following the repairs, barricades were set up to keep cars completely off of the main span of the bridge whenever the vertical-lift span was open in order to reduce the risk of casualties in any future bridge collapse.[8]

While the 1972 allision was the first time a ship had struck the Sidney Lanier Bridge,[2]it would not be the last, as in 1987, aPolishcargo ship struck the bridge.[1]This allision occurred as the ship, theZiema Bialostocka,was leaving the port and passing through the bridge opening.[8]During that time, an anchor on the ship'sstarboardside made contact with a support tower on the bridge's southern side, causing approximately $3,000,000 in damages (equivalent to $8,000,000 in 2023) and prompting the bridge to be closed for roughly five months.[8]However, unlike the 1972 event, this incident did not cause any injuries or fatalities.[8][3]Following this second allision, the Coast Guard declared the bridge a navigational hazard.[7]

In 2003, the original vertical-lift bridge was replaced with a newcable-stayed bridgethat featured improvedbridge protection systems,such as several acres ofartificial islandssurrounding each of the new bridge's pylons.[1]According to Billitz, theAfrican Neptuneimpact was cited by several government officials as a reason for replacing the existing bridge.[2]The new bridge, which kept the Sidney Lanier name, is the longest and tallest bridge in the state and features a large open area underneath its main span for cargo ships to pass through, eliminating the need for adrawbridgeor vertical lift-span.[7][3]Following the new bridge's completion, the old bridge was demolished, with only a small portion saved and modified into afishing pier.[7][3]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^This value comes from a 1974 report on the incident created by theUnited States Coast Guard.[11]However, in a 1972 report from theAssociated Press,thedrawbridgeoperator at the time of the event estimated that the ship missed the bridge opening by about 300 to 400 ft (91 to 122 m).[5]
  2. ^In nautical terminology, acollisionrefers to a crash between two vessels, while anallisionrefers to a vessel colliding with a stationary object, such as a bridge.[12]
  3. ^Multiple sources, including a report from the Coast Guard, state that three sections of the bridge fell into the river.[11][13][4][2][3]However, a contemporary report from the Associated Press states that the impact caused four sections to fall.[5]Additionally, while most sources state that approximately 450 feet (140 m) fell,[4][3][7]a 2018 article inThe Brunswick Newsstates that 350 feet (110 m) fell.[3]
  4. ^Most sources agree that the bridge collapse killed ten people.[1][8][7][2][13]However, one contemporary report fromUnited Press Internationalstates that at least 11 people died as result of the incident.[9]

References

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  1. ^abcdefgCondon 2024.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuHorton 2014.
  3. ^abcdefghijklmnopHobbs 2018.
  4. ^abcdefghijkUnited Press International 1972a,p. 93.
  5. ^abcdefghijklAssociated Press 1972,p. 49.
  6. ^abcdefghSczcurek 1974,p. 187.
  7. ^abcdefghijklPittman 2012.
  8. ^abcdefgDavis 2024.
  9. ^abcdUnited Press International 1972b,p. 66.
  10. ^abcdefghijkSczcurek 1974,p. 188.
  11. ^abcdefghijklmSczcurek 1974,p. 189.
  12. ^Office of Response and Restoration 2024.
  13. ^abcdefAssociated Press 2024.
  14. ^Jackson 1989,p. 332.
  15. ^abcdeSczcurek 1974,p. 190.
  16. ^Sczcurek 1974,pp. 189–190.

Sources

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Further reading

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