Could tugboats have helped avert the bridge collapse tragedy in Baltimore?

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I’m a big fan of tug escorts,” said Joseph Ahlstrom, a member of the Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of New York, which regulates the state's harbor pilots. “But if you’re going to go to sea, if you’re going to put yourself at risk, do whatever it takes to minimize risk.” 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. Baltimore's port, operated by the state of Maryland, ordinarily uses tugboats to help maneuver big ships out of their docks and doesn't require extended tugboat escorts into the port's 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. "And if Baltimore starts mandating it, you’re going to see ships go to Norfolk, Philadelphia, New York — wherever is cheapest.” McAllister Towing, which operates the tugboats that guided the Dali, can charge $15,000 or more for one or more of its ships to lead a large cargo vessel out of its berth, according to a recent rate sheet, with more charges for extended escorts.