Just over a week since a Navy-owned ship was towed in to the Mathews Bridge, we’ve learned the Coast Guard is still investigating exactly what happened.
We circled back with the Coast Guard today, and the agency tells us their investigation in to the crash is still ongoing. There is no timeline for when it will be completed.
Their preliminary investigation showed the ship was being pulled by several tug boats and not under its own power last Thursday. It was being taken to a ship yard so maintenance work could be done on its normal dock. The vessel is civilian operated, although it is Navy-owned.
The impact from the vessel on to the span was so severe it forced the Bridge to immediately shut down to traffic. It remains closed while a contractor hired through the Florida Department of Transportation begins repair work.
The Coast Guard investigation includes drug and alcohol testing the captain and crew of the tug boats, which the Coast Guard tells us is standard. At the heart of their investigation is how the height of the ship was misjudged.
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