A CSX Corp. coal pier in Baltimore is out of service for the foreseeable
future as the railroad assesses the "substantial" damage caused by a
ship that hit the structure.
The Bayside Coal Pier, on Benhill Avenue in Curtis Bay, was struck
Saturday by a tanker headed for a dock up the channel - an unusual
accident that could cause ripple effects for coal shipping.
CSX said an employee was injured in the incident, hospitalized and later
released.
The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company estimates in a federal lawsuit that
the Wawasan Ruby, owned by Panama-based Trio Happiness S.A., caused more
than $5 million in damage, both to the property and in revenue loss.
CSX said the other pier at its Curtis Bay coal facility, intended for
smaller vessels, was not damaged.
"CSX is currently evaluating repair requirements at the Bayside pier and
is working with customers on interim delivery alternatives," the company
said in a statement.
It did not specify how long repairs might take.
Inchcape Shipping Services, an international maritime service provider,
warned customers this week not to expect a quick reopening. "It is
rumoured that the Chesapeake Bay Piers (Bayside) will be out of
commission for 3-4 months," it wrote on a notice on its website.
CSX, fearing the ship would leave before it could pursue a claim, won a
court order that temporarily detained the vessel. The U.S. District
Court in Baltimore allowed the Wawasan Ruby to continue on to Antwerp,
Belgium, on Monday only after its owner provided a "letter of
undertaking" guaranteeing payment if CSX wins a judgment.
"So far as the investigation has found to date, there was no defect with
the vessel and no problem or mistake by the vessel's officers and crew,"
said Geoffrey S. Tobias, an Ober Kaler attorney representing the ship
and its owner. "The vessel was under the control of a member of the
Association of Maryland Pilots."
Docking pilots bring ships into port, directing their speed and
maneuvers, and coordinate with tugs. David W. Skeen, a Baltimore
attorney who specializes in maritime law, said that - generally speaking
- a docking pilot will work under a contract specifying that he has "no
liability for negligence, or whatever liability he has is considered the
liability of the ship."
Skeen, noting that he was not familiar with details of the accident,
said, "You just wonder how that happened.
"The issues are always going to be speed and engine orders and
communications and whether they were properly understood between the
pilot and the crew," said Skeen, a partner at Wright, Constable & Skeen.
"And sometimes there are issues of whether there were enough tugs."
Tobias, the ship's attorney, said the Coast Guard inspected the vessel
immediately after the accident and found no problems. The Coast Guard
could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Ships coming from the Chesapeake Bay to the Bitumar Asphalt Dock, where
CSX said the Wawasan Ruby was headed, must turn to avoid the CSX pier.
Inchcape Shipping Services told its customers that the ship "missed the
channel on the turn."
The accident occurred about 12:40 p.m. Saturday. CSX's complaint, filed
the next day in federal court, said the damage by Trio Happiness' tanker
rendered "the coal pier and all equipment associated with loading
vessels inoperable."
"Trio failed in its responsibilities," CSX's attorneys said in the
complaint.
CSX also said in court documents that the surveyor it appointed to
investigate tried to board the ship to get information but was not
allowed on.
Richard Scher, a spokesman for the Maryland Port Administration, said
the agency had no comment about the accident because it happened at a
privately owned marine terminal. But speaking just about the agency's
terminals, he said such mishaps are unusual.
"It is certainly not a common occurrence for piers to be damaged in that
context," he said.
