A big bulker has struck a help pillar for a key highway bridge connecting Buenos Aires with Argentina’s northern Entre Rios province, shutting down the Parana River waterway.  

AIS information offered by Pole Star means that En May allided with the southwestern pylon (on the Zarate facet of the river) at about 2100 hours on Sunday evening. She was making about 10 knots as she lined as much as go beneath the bridge. 

Chart courtesy Pole Star (Note: AIS place doesn’t characterize place of the bow)

Bystander movies present that the bulker suffered intensive harm on the port facet, with a gaping gap extending above and beneath the waterline on the port bow. 

Un barco carguero de liberia se estampó contra el puente de zarate brazo largo
Me parece que se le rayo la pintura pic.twitter.com/MJMAmrV6gg

— ElBuni (@therealbuni) January 29, 2024

The bridge pylons are protected by defensive buttresses on the upstream facet. En May approached from the downstream facet, the place the bridge has no defenses. 

The reason for the allision remains to be beneath investigation, however native maritime media outlet Paraguay Fluvial has reported it as a rudder failure. The ship is alleged to be secure and flooding is proscribed to a single maintain ahead. 

Maritime visitors via the waterway has been shut down for security. Vehicles are nonetheless allowed to go over the bridge deck, however visitors is restricted for vehicles over 50 tonnes in whole weight. The pace over the bridge has been restricted to about 40 miles per hour. 

As of Monday afternoon, En May nonetheless held place subsequent to the bridge pylons, in accordance with AIS. 

En May is an 85,000 dwt bulker inbuilt 2017 and operated by Foremost, a transport firm in New York. In an announcement, the agency stated early native experiences of a rudder failure had been inaccurate. 

“We are working with the local authorities around the clock to remove the vessel as safely as possible after it allided with a pillar while under the control of two local pilots,” a Foremost spokesperson said. “Thankfully, no one was injured and there was no pollution.”