You’re using the term “minutes” because you know the exact time when the ship hit the bridge. When the pilot called for a tug it was due to some kind of mechanical failure that compromised the ship. He didn’t necessarily know in advance exactly what was going to happen in the minutes ahead. He almost certainly would have called for the tug even if there was no bridge ahead over the channel.
Exactly. Whining about not calling for a tug earlier is just stupid