LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The voyage of a cargo boat that carries space rocket components to Florida‘s coast for NASA and the Air Force has stalled in a western Kentucky river after it slammed into an aging traffic bridge.
The bow of the Delta Mariner was covered in twisted steel and chunks of asphalt from the two-lane bridge. The boat hit the bridge Thursday night on the Tennessee River on its way to Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has promised speedy work to begin replacing the structure, formerly known as Eggner’s Ferry Bridge. The five-story high Delta Mariner was too tall to pass through the portion of the bridge that it struck, and the resulting collision left a 300-foot wide gap.
“We were very fortunate that no one was on the span at that time,” Beshear said Friday.
No injuries were reported on the bridge or boat, which was carrying space rocket parts from Decatur, Ala., to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The ship was traveling on its typical route to Florida’s Atlantic coast when it hit the aging steel bridge, which was built in the 1930s and handles about 2,800 vehicles a day.
U.S. Coast Guard officials investigating the collision declined to comment Friday evening on a possible cause. Lt. Ron Easley in the Louisville office said a report would be issued but the investigation was not finished.
Sam Sacco, a spokesman for the ship’s owner and operator, Foss Maritime of Seattle, said the Coast Guard inspected the vessel and interviewed crew members. Sacco said the boat was not severely damaged, and some of the crew remained on board Friday to ensure the cargo is safe.
Meanwhile, officials on land will perform an immediate review of options to restore the bridge, Beshear said.
Robert Parker was on the Kentucky bridge