Credit: City of Burlington Police
It was the afternoon of April 1, 2015 when the 623-foot-long freighter Agia Irini lost propulsion and ended up sailing straight into the shore of the City of Burlington, New Jersey, across from Bristol.
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The area avoided a catastrophic event as the large ship halted just yards from the city’s riverfront park and north of the Burlington-Bristol Bridge – leaving the structure undamaged – but it underlined the dangers posed to maritime and urban infrastructure by failures in ship propulsion systems.
The Agia Irini incident in 2015 resulted in no injuries on board or on land, and there was no pollution released, according to New Jersey State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Agia Irini was quickly abled to be removed and ship traffic resumed on the river.
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The 2015 event draws a parallel to the more recent disaster involving the cargo ship Dali. According to reports, the Dali lost propulsion and power, striking and causing the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
It should be noted that large ship groundings are more common than bridge strikes, especially ones that cause collapses.
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The collapse has not only has obstructed an important portion of the harbor but it claimed the lives of six construction workers who were on the bridge.
The Dali, a 984-foot cargo vessel chartered by Danish shipping titan Maersk for a voyage from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, sent out a distress signal early Tuesday. It indicated a total loss of power and control over its steering system.
Shortly thereafter, it struck one of the bridge’s columns, bringing the entire structure down within seconds.
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Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, federal and Maryland officials have labeled the crash as an accident.
While the size and specific characteristics of the Agia Irini and Dali differ, the core issue – a loss of propulsion and power – highlights a threat to infrastructure.
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The event has caused nationwide concern over the reliability of propulsion systems and the safety protocols in place for the navigation of large vessels near critical infrastructure.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said this week that it is too early to determine the timeframe required to reopen the Port of Baltimore or to reconstruct the collapsed bridge.
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