Ship hits brooklyn bridge

[mabar]

What an unfortunate accident.

Mexican Navy ship collides with Brooklyn Bridge

The ARM Cuauhtemoc sail vessel was visiting New York in preparation for the 250th anniversary of America’s independence in 2026.

A sail training vessel of the Mexican Navy collided with the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday evening.

Video from the scene shows the ARM Cuauhtemoc’s three tall masts, decorated with lights, toppling after they struck the underside of the bridge’s road deck.

The New York Post cited fire officials and its own sources as saying that multiple members of the ship’s 277-person crew had been injured. The newspaper also reported that rescuers were pulling people from the water. Multiple sailors were stationed on the masts when the vessel struck the bridge.

New York Mayor Eric Adams later told reporters that at least 19 people were injured, including four in critical condition.

“The status of the personnel and material is under review by naval and local authorities, who are providing support,” the Mexican Navy said on X.

According to the Latin Times, the barque’s crew likely misjudged the height of its 171-foot masts in relation to the bridge’s 127-foot clearance at high tide.
(which is somewhat inconceivable, how can they get it so wrong, it is a training ship and has sailed for years, reaching different ports all over the world.)

Fabien Levy, a spokesman for the mayor, said there appeared to be “no signs of structural damage” to the bridge.

The vessel was on a goodwill visit in preparation for an international parade of sailing ships in New York Harbor marking the 250th anniversary of America’s independence next year.

More information here:

The crash, which happened just before 8:30 p.m., occurred when the Mexican navy ship Cuauhtémoc hit the bridge during a sailing maneuver on a training cruise, according to a social media post from the Mexican navy. The ship apparently lost steering power and was pulled into the bridge by the river's current, according to an NYPD official.

Adams said at a news conference Saturday night that the tall ship with 277 people on board suffered a mechanical mishap that caused it to veer into the bridge as it had set sail from Pier 17 en route to sea.

“The pilot lost power of the ship,” he said, adding that two crew members were on a mast and were injured in the collision.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1923904063134969976

https://twitter.com/x/status/1923914563180724647

https://twitter.com/x/status/1923915723811823705

 

[GAIA]

The ship apperantly lost power before hitting the bridge

 

[GAIA]

Reminds me of that container ship that crashed into the Baltimore bridge after losing power twice.

 

[Beorn]

Unfortunately they like to stand on the masts when it leaves port.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1923976708941807791

 

[GAIA]

Unfortunately they like to stand on the masts when it leaves port.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1923976708941807791

O my I hadn't seen all the people on the masts, that's horrible.

 

[Joe]

The loss of power has echos of the event last year in Boston.

 

[Beau]

The loss of power has echos of the event last year in Boston.

You mean the Key Bridge crash in Baltimore?

 

[Joe]

You mean the Key Bridge crash in Baltimore?

Exactly. Boston, Baltimore, they're all the same!

 

[Yupo]

Isn't it such a simple thing to know one's measurements?
I'm not a sailor, so correct me if I'm wrong. My understanding has been that a plan is in place much like a flight plan before getting underway, with concerns accounted for and navigations mapped out. And such submitted to harbor master for clearance.
Serious credentials for all of this.
It's hard for me to believe that such important information such as static bridge clearance isn't posted in navigation charts somewhere. Yes, there'd be some variable for water level and load, but still something to go on.
Extremely detailed information on seabed depth is available on navigation charts.
Landwise, everywhere I go I see clearances prominently posted on viaducts, bridges, drive-throughs, etc.

 

[mabar]

Unfortunately they like to stand on the masts when it leaves port.

It is a celebration, their farewell performance.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1923934944134345179

 

[Renaissance]

This is pretty strange. From the looks of the ship, it appears like it is a pretty professional operation and would know what it is doing. From Wikipedia:

Cuauhtémoc is a sailing ambassador for her home country and a frequent visitor to world ports, having sailed over 400,000 nautical miles (700,000 km) in her 38 years of service

A NY official is saying that the current brought the ship through the bridge after it lost power:

The ship apparently lost steering power and was pulled into the bridge by the river's current, according to an NYPD official.

and

The most critically injured sailors were up on the mast of the ship at the time it crashed into the bridge, officials said. No one fell into the water, but divers went into the water as a precaution, according to three police officials briefed.

In the sceond video mabar posted above, it looks like there are a couple of bodies that fell in the water, but it's not real clear.

Not knowing many details, it still seems strange that if the ship just lost power and was drifting through the bridge, why didn't they bring the sailors down from the masts?

Just for reference, here is the thread about the ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore:

Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses after ship struck it, sending vehicles into water

 

[Alejo]

Not knowing many details, it still seems strange that if the ship just lost power and was drifting through the bridge, why didn't they bring the sailors down from the masts?

That was my first thought, current isn't that fast on the river, I suppose that inertia from their engines was still making them travel faster than the current, but still... no alarms went off?

 

[Avala]

And now we know why sailing ships are called "tall" ships. On a serious note, how is this possible? They didn't know what are the heights of the masts and the bridge?

 

[Beorn]

The Cuauhtémoc went backwards under the bridge and was then stopped before going under the Manhattan bridge. You can see a graphic of it here (11:09). The graphic shows the ship moving forwards but that only indicates direction. Sal from What's Going on With Shipping thinks it never had forward propulsion.

 

[mabar]

That was my first thought, current isn't that fast on the river, I suppose that inertia from their engines was still making them travel faster than the current, but still... no alarms went off?

I guess the only alarm was "brace for impact" due the short notice. Sailors once go up need to hook themselves, they cannot unhook to go down in a drifting ship. It would not be convenient

And now we know why sailing ships are called "tall" ships. On a serious note, how is this possible? They didn't know what are the heights of the masts and the bridge?

Cuauhtémoc sailing ship was not intended to go under the bridge.

Sal from What's Going on With Shipping thinks it never had forward propulsion.

He posted this:

This is from an experienced marine engineer regarding Cuauhtémoc:
I found a bit of nerdy data. She's powered by a CAT D399 SASC Engine. Those were built between the 60's and 80's and were known for a few issues, one of which is oil pressure reliability.
Those engines came with 3 types of transmissions. The 7251, 7261, and the 7271, all of which are hydraulicly operated, require between 255-285 psi of oil pressure to function properly.
I bet she lost oil pressure, couldn't go from full astern to ahead, and had no time or room to do anything about it by the time they noticed it.
All the footage I found shows her throwing a stern wake. She had no loss of power. On the contrary. They couldn't take the power of the prop or reverse it.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1924235911463669931

I read about it also here, was stuck in reverse. Why the tugboat was not tied off? an important question that will come out in the investigation.