The risks associated with ships or tankers traveling through Head Harbour Passage were hotly debated during the days of the Pittston oil refinery plan for Eastport and the LNG proposals for Passamaquoddy Bay. With the March 26 collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge after being hit by a container ship, the safety precautions taken to avoid a similar disaster in the Quoddy region are being reexamined. Those measures include the use of licensed harbor pilots, tugboat escort requirements and the setting of parameters for when it is safe to bring a ship through the strong currents and some narrow sections of Head Harbour Passage and Western Passage.
      With the Key bridge disaster, the two tugs that were helping to guide the 985-foot-long container ship through the channel had left the ship just minutes before the ship lost power. According to published reports, the two harbor pilots on the ship called the tugs back, ordered an anchor to be dropped to try to pivot the ship away from the bridge, gave rudder orders and notified the Maryland Transport Authority, which had traffic stopped on the bridge. But it was too late to prevent the ship, then traveling at about 7 knots, from hitting part of the bridge structure, which caused the 1.6-mile bridge to collapse.
      In the Passamaquoddy and Cobscook bay region, cargo ships regularly call at the ports of Eastport and Bayside, and while they do not transit that close to a bridge, precautions are taken to prevent them from running aground or hitting any infrastructure.

Four power loss incidents
      Since 1976, there have been 2,772 trips by cargo, U.S. Navy and passenger ships through Head Harbour Passage to and from Eastport. During that period, there have been four times when cargo ships have lost power.
      In January 2008, the Alexandergracht lost engine power while en route through the passage off Wilson's Beach, Campobello. The harbor pilot, Gerald Morrison of Perry, was able to maintain control of the vessel, even though the tide was ebbing at three and a half knots, since he had a bow thruster and the rudder. He called a tug to come out and assist and alerted maritime authorities, and he was able to safely anchor in almost 300 feet of water by carefully using two anchors. Repairs were then made, and the ship was able to proceed on the next high tide.
      Morrison was also the pilot in April 2019 when the 652-foot Quetzal Arrow lost power as it was leaving the Port of Eastport's Estes Head terminal. Although the two tugs had released their lines, he called them back to resecure lines, and steering was restored in 16 minutes. The vessel anchored in Friar Roads off Campobello until the full scope of the failures could be resolved.
      The other Eastport harbor pilot, Bob Peacock, also has dealt with two power loss incidents, once this past February, when the Star Istind was leaving the Estes Head pier on an ebb tide. One of the generators went out, so a tug was put on the stern of the ship to help with steering the vessel until an emergency generator came on. Quite a few years ago another Star ship lost engine power also when leaving the pier, and a tug on the stern was able to push the ship, which still could be steered. That vessel was anchored in Friar Roads until the engine problem was repaired. "Having a tug really made the difference," Peacock notes.
      Causes for losing power can range from contaminated fuel to a broken fuel line or lube oil pump failure. If a ship loses engine power an emergency generator can provide power for steering, and on some ships the rudder can still be manually turned with a power loss. "You rarely lose steering," Peacock notes. However, with the incident in Baltimore the ship lost all power and apparently the ability to be steered.

Options for harbor pilots
      With a power loss, a harbor pilot's options depend in part on how fast the ship is going, the depth of water and whether the ship is loaded or not. One can drop anchors even without power, but Peacock notes that if a ship is going 15 knots that won't work. Ships coming to Eastport never go over 10 knots, and he says one can stop a ship within its own length if it's going 3 or 4 knots by using two anchors.
      A tugboat aft can push a ship to help steer it or can act "like a giant brake" to stop a ship by pulling on it. A second tug on the bow can push the bow one way or the other. In this area, the worst scenario would be a ship running aground, and Peacock notes that one also has to watch the undersea cable areas if one drops anchor.
      Most all ships now have bow and stern thrusters, which might be able to be used with an emergency generator if power is lost. But Morrison observes, "If you lose power, you usually lose steering and probably the bow thrusters."
      Communication also is essential, and Peacock notes that pilots can now talk with Fundy Traffic anywhere along the passage to and from the port.
      Both Morrison and Peacock have trained for emergency ship handling. Peacock has attended at least 10 emergency ship handling schools in the U.S. and Europe, which use either simulators, large models or actual tugboats. Morrison notes that, with the LNG proposals for Passamaquoddy Bay, the training exercises used ship simulators, and the pilots had to demonstrate that a loaded tanker could be brought to safety if it lost steering. With the LNG proposals, another precaution that was planned was for transiting only to occur during daylight hours. Morrison also notes that ships head in or out during tidal windows around high- and low-water slack tides, "so there's minimal current for docking."
      "Weather is also an issue," says Morrison, noting that recently he decided not to bring a ship in to the port because the wind was blowing 50 knots. "I told the vessel to wait a day and go to anchorage." The following day the wind had dropped to 30 knots and was safely docked.
      If a ship does hit bottom, Morrison notes that there would likely be more damage to the bow than to the ship's bottom and that collision bulkheads would limit the damage to other compartments. In addition, he notes, "We have very deep water, so we're one of the safest ports around." Farther down the coast, most ports have to be dredged. "We don't have to worry about shallow water here."

A 40-year safety record
      Chris Gardner, executive director of the Eastport Port Authority, points out that all cargo ships coming to or leaving the Port of Eastport are required by the Maine Pilotage Commission to have a harbor pilot and at least one tugboat escorting them. Peacock notes that the port authority board decided about six years ago to make tug escorts from Cherry Island to the Estes Head pier a requirement for all single-screw cargo ships. Previously the decision was left up to the harbor pilots.
      A few years back the port authority sold its tug operations to McAllister Towing, which also operates the tugs that are used in Baltimore. "They bring a tremendous amount of expertise," says Gardner. "Port safety is very important, and we're happy to have a company of the caliber of McAllister in place." The use of tugs as ship escorts "is a cost to the shipping line for us to maintain a certain level of safety."
      Tugs are not required for cruise ships coming to Eastport, as Peacock notes they all have at least twin screws and one or more bow thrusters and stern thrusters. Some also have separate generators for the thrusters. "There's great redundancy," he says, if there's a power loss. "There's much less risk."
      As for the passage to the port, Gardner says, "Unlike other places, there are no restrictions between us and the open ocean." He references the absence of bridges, except the one from Lubec to Campobello, and a ship would ground out before it could come close to it. "We're blessed with the deepest natural seaport in the U.S. with depths all over 100 feet for the approach. It's as good a path to a pier as any port in the nation." But he says that the port observes "an abundance of caution."
      One of Gardner's predecessors, Jonathan Daniels, is now the executive director of the Maryland Port Administration, which manages the public marine terminals at the Port of Baltimore. Eastport was his first job as a port director, and he served from 1995 to 1998 during the construction of the Estes Head pier.
      "The port has enjoyed in its 40 years a very good safety record," says Gardner. "We have a tremendous amount of experience in this bay that lends itself strongly to the safety record we've had."

Bayside safety measures
      In addition to ships coming to Eastport, about 30 cargo ships come through Head Harbour Passage and Western Passage. including the Old Sow whirlpool, to the Port of Bayside, which is across the St. Croix River from Red Beach in Calais. David Anthony of Campobello, one of the harbour pilots for the Port of Bayside along with Merrill Matthews, says that, while Bayside is not a compulsory pilotage area, pilots are always used for any foreign-flagged ships.
      Tugs are used occasionally, on a case-by-case basis. If a vessel has a deep draft and is hard to handle, an escort tug may be called. For vessels that are more than 12 meters in draft or over 200 meters in length, a tug will be used. Anthony points out that the cost of bringing a tug down from Saint John, which is paid for by the shipping line, is considerable, and in general there is not a need for one. He notes that it's not that common among ports to have escort tugs where there is no risk to infrastructure such as bridges or pipelines.
      If there was a power failure and a loss of steering, Anthony says he would try to anchor, but that might not be that effective in the deep water of Head Harbour Passage. With the rudders close to midship most of the time, he says there could be time to wait until power is restored. There also is a backup means for steering, either mechanically or with a backup power source. Most ships going to Bayside do not have bow and stern thrusters, he notes.
      The transit to and from the port is timed for when the currents will not be strong. As for wind speed restrictions, Anthony notes that every vessel is different, with some being loaded or having ballast and others not. "We do have parameters for different vessels," he says concerning wind speeds. As for vessel speed, he says it's about 10 knots.
      If the worst-case scenario occurred and a vessel ran aground, Anthony notes, "With the types of cargoes, the risks are quite low if there's a grounding." The dry bulk cargoes range from aggregate rock and gypsum to frozen fish, while for the Port of Eastport the only cargo currently being shipped out is wood pulp. The risk to the marine environment is "very low," and "there are no installations on the route that are susceptible to damage." He adds, "There's always a risk with shipping, but precautions are taken."
      As for training, the Bayside pilots, like the Eastport pilots, are licensed, and they also have trained for years with the pilots who previously brought ships to and from the port.
      Anthony notes that he has worked aboard ships in and out of the Port of Baltimore many times, but until the investigation is completed he doesn't want to comment on what happened. "Until the Coast Guard and NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] release their findings, one can only speculate."