Who Blew Up At The Bridge?

[Fuzzy1975]

Perhaps not. I’ll let the structural engineers figure it out.

Good plan!

What we do know is that fender systems are not new, and have proven effective elsewhere. The Golden Gate Bridge, constructed in 1937 has one. The SF Bay Bridge withstood a collision at 10 knots in 2007. I read the FSK bridge collision happened at 8 knots.

Speed is not the factor, the mass of the vessel impacting is the most destructive variable.

F = m * (v/t), where "m" is the mass of the object, "v" is the desired velocity and t = Time.

In layman's terms a 16' boat travailing at 150 knots impacting the bridge pillar will cause little to no damage, since the mass of the boat is negligible. So comparing a 10 knot impact to an 8 knot impact is meaningless without knowing the mass of the impacting vessel.

AS to why the original design never had a fender system. I suspect it was a risk assessment decision built into the capital cost of the bridge, not an Engineering oversight.

In the past 20 years, there have been two significant “maritime allisions” — the term used to describe a moving ship hitting a bridge — in the Bay Area. Both occurred at the Bay Bridge. In 2007, a container ship called the Cosco Busan hit the bridge’s fender at the second tower west of Yerba Buena Island.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/could-sf-golden-gate-bridge-collapse-19370020.php