A U.S. Coast Guard report details a preventable error where a tugboat-pushed barge’s crane struck the Talmadge Memorial Bridge over the Savannah River on August 1, 2025, closing the vital Savannah-Jasper County link for three hours.
Incident Overview
The tug Lona Myrick, operated by Myrick Marine Contracting Corp., was pushing a construction barge with a track crane toward the U.S. Sugar Savannah Refinery. Around 1:15 p.m., the crane’s raised arm—intended to secure a spud—hit the bridge’s center span, collapsing onto the barge and partially into the river, causing an estimated $450,000 in damage with no injuries or pollution.
Key Miscalculation
The crane operator mistakenly reported the arm as 160 feet long (actual: 180 feet), leading the tug captain to calculate a total height of 177 feet—below the bridge’s 184.5-foot clearance at average tide. The true height reached 197 feet, ensuring the strike amid midday traffic carrying nearly 20,000 daily vehicles.
Causal Factors
- No formal crew procedures for crane transport.
- Failure to log required navigation data like tide height.
- Reliance on a single, erroneous measurement without verification.
No penalties against the company were noted, and crew drug/alcohol tests were negative.
