NTSB: Ineffective Voyage Planning Caused Towed Crane to Hit Mackinac Bridge

The NTSB report on a 2023 bridge strike says the captain of a tow vessel and barge company managers’ ineffective voyage planning and failure to conduct required checks caused a towed crane to strike the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. They failed to confirm the air draft and bridge clearance, and the result was $665,000 in damages to the crane as well as $145,000 in damage to the underside of the bridge.

The towing vessel Nickelena (103 feet) was regularly employed to move barges transporting construction equipment to sites around the Great Lakes. In May 2023, they were hired to tow a barge transporting a 160-foot-long boom crane and 5-foot “rooster” sheave on a deck barge from Escanaba to a construction project at Sault Ste. Marine, Michigan. It was a standard assignment, including the fact they would have to transit under the Mackinac …