Such a critical bridge should have had protection cells around the supports.
Without them, there should have been pilot boats (tugs) to steer every ship beyond the bridge.
This vessel was traveling too fast in the proximity of an unprotected structure.
Somebody’s heads should roll over poor procedures resulting in this incident. There, of course, will be no accountability.
Exactly. I cannot imagine why there were not abutments/revetments to protect the supports. Makes no sense at all. Because sooner or later, a ship is going to strike them.
Re the speed. The ALS track shows that this sea jalopy was making a little over 6 knots at the time of impact. A 5kt “no wake” speed would not have made a difference. Modern container ships are mind bogglingly huge.
You hit the nail on the head with the observation about the lack of dolphins though. Maryland didn’t want to pay for them, and things were fine for 47 years, right up until they weren’t. You can bet any replacement bridge will sport dolphins or other features, plus a more robust (and expensive) span design.