Who Pays for the $2.5 Million in Bridge Repairs?

Now that New Hampshire Department of Transportation officials have determined a tanker that crashed into the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge caused $2.5 million of damage, the next issue is who will pay for the repairs?

"...we (New Hampshire and Maine departments of transportation) fully intend to seek reimbursement for damages from the shipping company involved," wrote William Boynton, the New Hampshire DOT's public information officer, in an e-mail Friday afternoon.

On Thursday afternoon, New Hampshire DOT officials completed their assessment of the damage caused by the Harbour Feature of Madeira, Portugal and announced the tanker caused $2.5 million of damage to four steel bridge members on the Portsmouth side of the span.

The tanker slammed into the bridge around 1:30 p.m. Monday after a mooring line snapped at the New Hampshire State Pier. The bridge is closed to motor vehicle traffic, but its lift span remains operational to allow vessel traffic on the Piscataqua River throughout the repair period.

On Friday afternoon, the Harbour Feature was securely docked at Granite State Minerals where the vessel continues to be surveyed by engineers, insurance agents and others, according to Geno Marconi, director of the New Hampshire Ports and Harbors Division of the Pease Development Authority.

Marconi said he will also file a claim with the shipping company to get reimbursed for the overtime he had to pay Market Street terminal workers and security personnel while the tanker was docked at the New Hampshire State Pier following the accident. To his knowledge, shipping companies typically carry insurance to cover accidents like the one that happened on Monday.

U.S. Coast Guard officials continue to investigate the exact cause of the accident.

"Nothing at the Market Street terminal failed that would have caused that vessel to crash into the bridge," Marconi said. He said the physical plant of the Market Street terminal is also sound.

Earlier this week, Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for Nordic Tankers, the commercial manager of product tanker Harbour Feature, issued a statement that acknowledged the tanker did make contact with the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge on Monday.

"The Company was immediately notified of the incident by the vessels technical manager TB Marine Shipmanagement GmbH & Co. KG and has since been working closely with them to ensure a full and swift response. All relevant authorities were immediately notified of the incident and all the vessels managing parties have been cooperating fully with the US Coast Guard and local responders," reads the statement issued by Wilson.

He noted the vessel is currently stable and undergoing assessment and that a  full investigation is underway determine the cause of the incident. "As the ship’s Commercial Manager, Nordic Tankers will remain in close and on-going communication with TB Marine Shipmanagement GmbH & Co. KG to offer them any assistance they may need in bringing the situation to a satisfactory conclusion," the statement reads.