About 0734 e.d.t. on May 9, 1980, the Liberian bulk carrier M/V SUMMIT VENTURE rammed a support pier of the western span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida. As a result of the ramming, the support pier was destroyed and about 1,297 feet of bridge deck and superstructure fell from a height of about 150 feet into the bay. A Greyhound bus, a small pickup truck, and six automobiles fell into the bay and 35 persons died. Repair costs were estimated at about $30 million for the bridge and about $1 million for the SUMMIT VENTURE. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the SUMMIT VENTURE's unexpected encounter with severe weather involving high winds and heavy rain associated with a line of intense thunderstorms which overtook the vessel as it approached the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the failure of the National Weather Service to issue a severe weather warning for mariners, and the failure of the pilot to abandon the transit when visual and radar navigational references for the channel and the bridge were lost in the heavy rain. Contributing to the loss of life and to the extensive damage was the lack of a structural pier protection system which could have absorbed some of the impact force or redirected the vessel. Contributing to the loss of life was the lack of a motorist warning system which could have warned the highway vehicle drivers of the danger ahead.


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    Title :

    Marine Accident Report--Ramming of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge by the Liberian Bulk Carrier SUMMIT VENTURE, Tampa Bay, Florida, May 9, 1980


    Publication date :

    1981


    Size :

    58 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English