Admittedly, I know nothing about ships, a little about river barges, quite a bit about inland fishing boats, But,I still have trouble understanding why the tow boats are not required all of the way to the ocean, with a ship that size. miles
And this my friends is the key to the whole mess...the shipowners have fought this forever, it's all about the money...within seconds the pilots could have had 12,000 hp guiding the disabled hulk through the bridge footings.
Many are going to learn that it's the companies with cargo on the ship that crashed into the bridge that will pay the damages, not the ship owner or ship operator. That's because of ancient maritime law (older than the US constitution) called "General Average" designed to prevent sailors from fighting over which cargo to toss overboard, and instead to focus on saving the ship. Per Ryan Peterson.
Actually - speaking with more people - to clarify, damages to the vessel and cargo are covered under “general average”—paid by the cargo owners and their insurance companies. The bridge and other external damages will be covered by the property insurance of the ship operator.
If it is an accident, does any blame or penalties fall on the captain?
