NTSB: Vessel crane contact with shore-side crane
- Safety Flash
- Published on 18 June 2025
- Generated on 17 September 2025
- IMCA SF 11/25
- 2 minute read
What happened?
The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States (NTSB) has published Report MIR-25-09 and Investigation DCA24FM014 into an incident in which a crane on a crane barge came into unplanned contact with a shore-side crane, causing $4.5 million worth of damage.
A towing vessel was pushing crane barge Stevens 1471 in the Cooper River at North Charleston, SC, when the barge crane contacted a dockside crane at the North Charleston Terminal. There were no injuries, and no pollution was reported. Damage to the terminal’s crane was estimated to be over $4.5 million.
What went wrong?
Investigation determined that the probable cause of the contact of the crane barge with the dockside crane was a failure to properly identify that the ship-to-shore crane was an overhead hazard.
The lessons
Understand that dockside cranes, overbridges and other structures such as offshore platforms and offshore wind turbine installations may be a significant overhead hazard. Dockside cranes in particular, when conducting cargo operations on a vessel and in the lowered position, may extend considerably beyond the side of the vessel and become a hazard to tall vessels (with high air drafts) transiting nearby. Ensure bridge crew know the dimensions of the vessel they are in control of.
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