Investigation and Countermeasures of Ship-Bridge Collision Accidents in China in Recent Years

China is undergoing rapid economic growth and urbanization. On the one hand, in the critical period of the rapid development, the rapid expansion of high-speed railway lines makes more and more various bridges go across the river channel. On the other hand, in our country the traffic density of each river channel is ever increasing, and ships are in large-scale and rapid development stage. The conflict of shipping transport with old bridges or new bridges becomes very prominent. The causes leading to the conflict are due to the factors, such as the geological change in hydrology, bridge design defects, the deficiency of anti-collision measures, shipping mismanagement, bad weather conditions, shipping equipment failure, ship-owner's misjudgments, and so on. By investigating the ship-bridge collision accidents occurring in the bridge construction and operation in China since 2007, this paper analyzes the natural and human factors, studying large or small influence of various factors and their solutions through typical cases. It may be helpful for the bridge design and management across the river channel in the future.