From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision, with a total of 342 people killed, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure. Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States.
Below is a list of some of the notable disasters involving ships or barges hitting bridges in the U.S.:
Biloxi, Mississippi: 2009
March 20, 2009: A vessel pushing eight barges rammed into the Popp's Ferry Bridge in Biloxi, Mississippi, resulting in a 150-foot section of the bridge collapsing into the bay.
Webbers Falls, Oklahoma: 2002
May 26, 2002: A barge hit the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, collapsing a 500-foot section of road and plunging vehicles into the water. Fourteen people died and 11 were injured.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of Singapore-flagged Dali container ship after the bridge collapsed.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Dali container vessel after striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed into the Patapsco River next to a tug boat.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sitting on top of the Dali container ship as a helicopter makes a pass overhead. “Unfortunately, we understand that there were up to 20 individuals who may be in the Patapsco River right now as well as multiple vehicles,” Kevin Cartwright of the Baltimore Fire Department told CNN. Ship monitoring website MarineTraffic showed a Singapore-flagged container ship called the Dali stopped under the bridge.
Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
From left, Eileen Liddy, Lisa Davies and Bill Andrews, who recalls watching the Francis Scott Key Bridge get built in the 1970s, look on in disbelief after the bridge crumbled into the Patapsco River following a container ship which collided with the structure overnight, on March 26, 2024.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Dali container vessel after striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Its collapse caused vehicles to plunge into the water and halted shipping traffic at one of the most important ports on the US East Coast.
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
A view of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge after a collision with a cargo ship in Baltimore, Maryland, United States on March 26, 2024. According to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA), all lanes are closed in both directions, and traffic is being diverted.
NBC Washington Chopper4
Chopper4 captured this aerial view of the bridge collapse in the early morning.
Baltimore City Fire Department Rescue Team 1
The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of Singapore-flagged Dali container ship after the bridge collapsed.
Baltimore City Fire Department Rescue Team 1
A strut stands amid the remains of the Key Bridge following its collapse.
Baltimore City Fire Department Rescue Team 1
The remains of the Key Bridge after its collapse into the Patapsco River.
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Emergency and rescue vehicles parked near the site of the bridge collapse.
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Security forces take measures and close the roads leading to the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
A view of the empty road as security forces take measures and close the roads leading to the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge after a collision with a cargo ship in Baltimore, Maryland on March 26, 2024.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace, with Police Commissioner Richard Worley (R) and Mayor Brandon Scott (2nd R), speaks at a press conference on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26, 2024. The bridge collapsed early March 26 after being struck by a container ship, sending multiple vehicles and up to 20 people plunging into the harbor below. “Unfortunately, we understand that there were up to 20 individuals who may be in the Patapsco River right now as well as multiple vehicles,” Kevin Cartwright of the Baltimore Fire Department told CNN.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Francis Scott Key Bridge following a collapse into the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, US, on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Onlookers in Dundalk looking at the Key Bridge which collapsed on March 26, 2024, after a ship hit the bridge.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Boats move near a container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Dundalk, Maryland.
AP Photo/Steve Ruark
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore.
Port Isabel, Texas: 2001
Sept. 15, 2001: A tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a midsection of the bridge to tumble 80 feet into the bay below. Eight people died after motorists drove into the hole.
East St. Louis, Illinois: 1998
April 14, 1998:The Anne Holly tow traveling through the St. Louis Harbor rammed into the center span of the Eads Bridge. Eight barges broke away. Three of them hit a permanently moored gambling vessel below the bridge. Fifty people suffered minor injuries.
Mobile, Alabama: 1993
Sept. 22, 1993: Barges being pushed by a towboat in dense fog hit and displaced the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Minutes later, an Amtrak train with 220 people aboard reached the displaced bridge and derailed, killing 47 people and injuring 103 people.
May 28, 1993: The towboat Chris, pushing the empty hopper barge DM3021, hit a support tier of the Judge William Seeber Bridge in New Orleans. Two spans and the two-column bent collapsed onto the barge. Two cars carrying three people fell with the four-lane bridge deck into a canal. One person died and two people were seriously injured.
Tampa Bay, Florida: 1980
May 9, 1980: The 609-foot freighter Summit Venture was navigating through the narrow, winding shipping channel of Florida’s Tampa Bay when a sudden, blinding squall knocked out the ship’s radar. The ship sheared off a support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dropping a 1,400-foot section of concrete roadway during the morning rush hour. Seven vehicles, including a bus with 26 aboard, fell 150 feet into the water. Thirty-five people died.
George Washington University professor Sameh Badie uses a model bridge to explain why the Key Bridge couldn't withstand the ship crash.
