Mexican Tall Ship Strikes Brooklyn Bridge - 2 Dead Many Injured

NYPo, Mexican navy tall ship smashes into Brooklyn Bridge, shears off masts after losing power, 2 dead, 17 hurt 

A massive Mexican navy tall ship on a goodwill visit to New York slammed into the Brooklyn Bridge late Saturday — toppling its huge masts in a horrifying scene that left two dead and 17 injured, including two critically, according to fire officials and sources.

The majestic Cuauhtémoc — which has a crew of 277, mostly cadets — apparently lost power as it was sailing out of New York on its way to Iceland and the current carried it into the road deck of the bridge around 8:30 p.m., according to Mayor Eric Adams and footage of the crash.

The collision sheared off the ship’s 147-foot masts – with alarming footage capturing numerous crew members dangling for their lives from the sails and booms after the boat hit the bridge, which has a max clearance of 135 feet.

In an absolutely stunning modern metaphor a ship blaring Mexican music and flying a massive Mexican flag just got destroyed by the Brooklyn bridge.

Can’t make it uppic.twitter.com/AUJy0q3oFB

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 18, 2025

It might just be a little too early for this headline from Driscoll at Insty, KAMIKAZE MEXICAN NAVY SHIP ATTACKS BROOKLYN BRIDGE! 23 injured after Mexican navy tall ship slams into Brooklyn Bridge in horrifying scene. Have a little respect for the sailors. Notice the death and injury toll is different, as might be expected early on. 

Unlike the devastating strike on the Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor by the container ship Dali, the Brooklyn Bridge sees to have suffered only minor damage. Still, the cause of the accident appears to be the same, loss of engine power while navigating close spaces in a harbor while leaving port. Ships should be in top operating condition when leaving port, and big ones should be accompanied, if not towed by tug boats until safely away.

The ship clearly hits the bridge stern first, which I assume means it was driven into the bridge by strong tidal currents in the East River after it lost power. Why no tug boats?

Forget It Jake, It's Baltimore

From the Balmer Sun, Concrete falls from railroad bridge, striking car in East Baltimore

One person was injured when concrete came loose from a railroad bridge in East Baltimore and struck a car below on Sunday, according to the Baltimore City Fire Department.

The concrete fell onto the westbound side of Northpoint Road around 11:30 a.m., hitting the car’s door and breaking the windshield. The driver suffered minor injuries and was hospitalized, fire officials said. She walked out of the car on her own and was the only person in the vehicle.

Fire department spokesperson John Marsh initially referred to the accident as a “partial collapse” but later emphasized that the concrete was only debris. Twelve fire units responded.

The roadway was temporarily closed Sunday with traffic being rerouted at Quad Avenue and Northpoint Road. Sunday afternoon, there was still debris in the road under the bridge.
. . .
Amtrak said around 3 p.m. Sunday that its crews had completed a safety analysis of the bridge and that train traffic was set to commence pending approval of the City’s Department of Transportation. The department did not respond to a request for comment.

I'm sure the bridge is fine, just fine. 

Anchor Stops Chesapeake Bay Project

A close-up of the anchor dug up during tunnel construction

Chesapeake Bay Mag, Bay Bridge Tunnel Project Halted By Antique Anchor Discovery

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel’s (CBBT) Thimble Shoal Tunnel project literally dug up a delay this month. The massive tunneling machine, known as Chessie, ran into a large antique ship’s anchor at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay. This has put a stop to the tunneling entirely.

According to Michael Crist, Deputy Executive Director of Infrastructure at the CBBT, construction crews conduct surveys of an area before they start digging and boring tunnels. However, they can’t always find everything. “Any time you dig in the ground you will find something,” said Crist. The anchor, which Crist estimated at about 10-feet long with flukes are 3 or-4-feet long each, was not found in the preliminary survey. “It was buried under large rocks. We missed it,” he said.

Mighty Mo stuck in the Bay

That anchor looks seriously chewed up by the tunnel borer.

The anchor has marking of “W.L. Byers Company.” According to Jeanne Willoz-Egnor, Curator of Maritime History and Culture at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, “It is difficult to provide more information about the anchor without better photographs and more details. But, based upon the limited available info, the anchor is likely from the 20th century, possibly 1920’s.” Willoz-Egnor noted that the battleship Missouri ran aground in the Thimble Shoal channel in 1950. A large number of anchors were deployed in the area in the efforts to re float the battleship.

Byers Stockless Anchor

The W. L. Byers Company was famous for their “stockless” anchor. The stock of an anchor is a bar that sticks out from the main anchor shaft at a different angle from the flukes. It functions to roll the anchor on its side on the seabed, which causes one of the flukes to dig into the sea bottom. Of course the other fluke sticks up, creating a hazard in shallow water. They were difficult to store. Stockless anchors worked and were much easier to stow.

The tunnel boring project is on hold until the anchor can be removed. “We don’t know if there is any damage to the cutters,” said Crist. “We won’t know until we get crews down to clear the area and assess the situation.” He said it will likely be December before they will have more answers. Crist noted that even though the tunneling is paused, there is still plenty of work to do.

So I guess the guy who grounded the Ever Forward was in good company. 

From Bridge to Reef

Bridge debris being dumped

Slower Maryland News, First of Several Artificial Reefs Deployed In Lower Potomac to Boost Ecology

The first of several deployments of artificial reefs are underway on the Hog Island and Kitts Point artificial reefs.

These reefs are in the lower Potomac, off the Mouth of the St. Mary’s River and Hog Island, VA.

Side scan image showing bridge debris

 

These deployments are the result of compensatory mitigation agreements, and the commodity value of each load is ~$100,000 using conservative rates that other states pay for clean concrete.

The Nice Bridge project has been good for transportation, oysters and reef building. A Special thanks to MDTA, and SCM contractors for all their help and stewardship. The reefs will provide both ecological and economic benefits.

A good use for the old bridge, but I question the cost of $100,000 a barge. Seems high to me.

I probably won't get around to fishing these, but I know some people who might.