Marine Accident Report - Ramming of the Sidney Lanier Bridge by the Polish Bulk Carrier ZIEMIA BIALOSTOCKA, Brunswick, Georgia, May 3, 1987

摘要

About 0112 on May 3, 1987, the 607-foot-long Polish Bulk Carrier ZIEMIA BIALOSTOCKA rammed the Sidney Lanier highway bridge in Brunswick, Georgia. At the time of the accident, the outbound vessel was under the control of a Georgia State pilot; the vessel master was in the wheelhouse. There were no injuries or deaths as a result of this accident. The ZIEMIA BIALOSTOCKA sustained minor damage. The damage to the Sidney Lanier Bridge has been estimated at $1.4 million. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the ZIEMIA BIALOSTOCKA's ramming of the Sidney Lanier Bridge was the failure of the pilot to maneuver the vessel properly because he did not make himself aware of and use all available maneuvering information and his failure to stop the vessel when he first realized that it was not responding as he expected.