The top of a crane being ferried down the Gastineau Channel struck and scraped against the Douglas Bridge Wednesday evening, according to the Marine Exchange of Alaska.
The incident, technically known as an allision in maritime terms, was captured on video and posted to social media and reported to the Exchange by the Columbia Layne at 7:41 p.m., according to MEA Deputy Director Matt York.
The Alaska Department of Transportation, which owns the bridge, said in a statement Thursday morning engineers were notified and on site by 8:15 p.m., but determined there was no significant damage to the bridge and that a closure would not be necessary.
A more thorough investigation was conducted Thursday, the statement said. DOT did not immediately respond to a request seeking an updated status of the bridge.
A crane being ferried on a barge briefly struck the underside of the Douglas Bridge Wednesday evening. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the City and Borough of Juneau have said there appears to be no damage, but further investigations will be conducted. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The City and Borough of Juneau Public Works and Engineering Director Katie Koester told the Empire in an email there was no visible damage to water and wastewater infrastructure but a more detailed investigation would take place. She later said staff found no damage on further investigation.
[US and Canadian coast guards work together to rescue stranded vessel]
The Columbia Layne didn’t stop after the incident and appeared to continue out of Juneau, according to York. MEA is able to track all vessels transmitting with automatic identification systems, York said, and Exchange staff reviewed the Columbia Layne’s movements around the time of the allision but didn’t see the vessel immediately stop.
The vessel was in navigable waters controlled by the U.S. Coast Guard and struck a bridge with a charter clearance, according to Lt. Commander John Dale, chief of prevention for Coast Guard Sector Juneau, which he said “should not have happened.”
An investigation will be conducted to determine who’s at fault, Dale said, but the Coast Guard had not yet even had the chance to have a face-to-face sit down with the interested parties.
Typically the Coast Guard considers whoever is designated and licensed to be at fault, in this case, the captain of the Columbia Layne, but given the nature of the incident a more robust investigation will have done before that decision is made, Dale said.
Furthermore, Dale said, the punishments for an incident like this range from nothing to action against the culpable party’s license.
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnoEmpire.
