General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)Just putting this thought out there regarding tugboats and big ships [View all]
Tugboats most usually get a big ship out away from the pier and on its way out under its own steam.
The tragedy in Baltimore shows how this works well . . . . until it doesn't. Two tugs pulled Dali off her berth, turned her 180, cast off and tooted buhbye. Had they continued on for another 15 or 20 minutes, yesterday might have been a slow news day., with the worst case maybe being a very local story about a big ship run aground
How about we require tugs for ships over some certain size (determined by the individual ports) to get the ship out into open water before they cast off.
Given what we now know about the Key Bridge disaster, it is quite likely had the tugs stayed with the Dali they would have prevented all this.
Given the number of containers on the Dali, this added cost would be pennies per imported TV or car, or any other item of freight. Assuming more or less standard rates, a two tug tow for a ship like the Dali could be $60-70,000. A single tug assist for a much smaller ship might be $4-5,000.
https://www.morantug.com/Customer-Content/www/ports-and-operations/Files/Moran_Baltimore_Schedule_of_Rates_Terms_and_Conditions_07_15_23.pdf
Making greater use of tugs and making them mandatory might be a good was to minimize to some degree the danger of these behemoth ships in ports that were never designed for them.