Mexican Navy Ship Hits Brooklyn Bridge, Killing Two and Injuring a Dozen Onboard

What Happened?

A Mexican Navy ship on a goodwill tour in New York lost control and struck the bottom portion of the Brooklyn bridge, killing two crewmembers and injuring a dozen. There were no reported injuries on the bridge itself, and damage to the bottom section of the bridge appeared to be minor. 

According to Mexican authorities, the ship had mechanical problems before losing power, and according to New York officials the ship was moving in the wrong direction just before it hit the Brooklyn bridge. 

Why it Matters

The ship in question, the Cuauhtémoc, is a Mexican Navy training vessel that was built roughly forty years ago in Spain. Goodwill tours such as this one give the Mexican Navy the opportunity to train new cadets while building and strengthening relationships with foreign countries, especially its northern neighbor the United States.

According to the office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the Brooklyn bridge was spared any major damage. Both Mexican and U.S. officials are conducting separate investigations to determine the exact cause and sequence of events that led to the incident. The ship’s height was 158 feet, but the Brooklyn bridge has a 135-foot clearance in its center span. 

The Cuauhtémoc, which belongs to Mexico’s Heroic Naval Military School, sets out at the end of naval military school to finish cadets’ training each year. The planned itinerary included more than 200 days away visiting 22 ports in 15 countries including Jamaica, Cuba, Scotland, Spain, Barbados, Iceland and London but the trip was unexpectedly cut short in New York.

While the ship and its mission were intended to convey a positive image of Mexico to the rest of the world, the incident is instead an embarrassment for the country. Though mechanical failures at sea are not uncommon, ships colliding with bridges are a relatively rare occurrence. This is not the first time the Brooklyn bridge has been struck by a passing ship. The iconic bridge has been hit twice before, once in 1921 and again in 1986. Neither of those incidents caused serious damage to the bridge.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on X yesterday, ‘We are deeply saddened by the loss of two crew members of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident in New York Harbor.’

How it Affects You

Despite the widespread adoption of modern navigation technology and significant advances in shipbuilding, accidents at sea still happen. Rarely do ships pose any danger to those on land, but bridges spanning highly trafficked waterways are potentially vulnerable to collisions. The cargo ship that struck a bridge in Baltimore last year is a reminder of how much damage and destruction large maritime vessels are capable of causing.