Cargo Ship Strikes US Bridge Leaving It Unable To Close And Disrupting Philadelphia Traffic

Cargo ship Strategic Alliance hit the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge on the Delaware River on Thursday, November 12, 2026, and the collision left the bridge unable to close.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the collision happened at about 1:15 p.m., when the bridge was open to let ships pass.

The ship involved in the accident is 591 feet long, was built in 2013 and sails under the Singapore flag.

The cargo ship Strategic Alliance was later berthed at a Kinder Morgan facility in Bristol, Pennsylvania, with an inspection team present.

Pennsylvania state Rep. said in a news release that the bridge’s inability to close caused a major backup on the Philadelphia side. He added that no injuries had been reported due to the accident.

The bridge stayed open after the collision because another vessel needed to pass through, and it was lowered once that vessel had gone by.

The lawmaker expects vehicle traffic to resume overnight and return to normal by Friday morning’s commute. The Burlington County Bridge Commission, which operates the bridge, was investigating the extent of any damage to the structure.

The bridge is a steel tied-arch structure with a double-leaf bascule span. It is 3,659 feet long and links Palmyra, New Jersey, with the Tacony neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia along Route 73.

Vessels that need more clearance than the centre span provides a request for an opening, and the two bascule leaves are then raised. The bascule span offers about 54 feet of vertical clearance.

The bridge opened on August 14, 1929, replacing a ferry service on the same route that had run since 1922. The commission was created in 1948 and bought the bridge from a private company.

In October 2013, a roller seized and left the bascule span jammed in the open position, closing the bridge for about eleven hours, according to reports. In April 2018 a southbound ship hit the protective fender of one of the bridge’s stone piers, with the bridge open for that ship.

As many as 76,200 vehicles use the bridge each day, based on 2025 estimates.

References: Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, Wikipedia