Review on the protective technologies of bridge against vessel collision.

• Statistics of ship and bridge collision accident. • Active collision avoidance technologies of bridge against ship. • Passive anti-collision protective technologies of bridge against ship. • Typical applications of bridge anti-collision against ship. The collisions between bridges and ships might cause severe damage to both of them, which is impossible to avoid completely, although several specifications or requirements need to be followed in the design of bridges and during the navigation of ships passing bridge. Many researches on protective technology had been conducted to reduce the potentially disastrous consequences. These technologies can be broadly categorized into two main types: the technologies of collision avoidance, which try to reduce the collision possibility by warning the passing ship that might impact the bridge; and passive collision protections, which use protective structures to minimize the damage of bridge and ship due to impact. The purpose of the present paper is to systematically summarize both classifications and then provide insights into their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and suitable conditions for application. Additionally, the related approaches originally designed for other applications but with potential relevance are also discussed, such as ship-ship collision avoidance. This review can serve as meaningful guidance and reference for future research and realistic engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]