Deadly tallship incident under Brooklyn Bridge

The Mexican tallship Quauhtémoc crashed under the Brooklyn Bridge while leaving New York due to a mechanical failure, breaking all three masts. Two sailors were killed, several were injured.

The accident made all the news media, partly because it was filmed by many bystanders. The footage showed the ship sailing backwards towards the bridge at a considerable speed. The Cuauhtémoc’s highest mast measures 48.20 metres. The maximum vertical clearance of the Brooklyn Bridge is 41 metres at low tide in the middle. As yet, it is not definitively clear what mechanical defect caused the accident.

2 dead, 22 injured

The Quauhtémoc had 277 people on board. Two crew members lost their lives in the accident. According to President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, both were crew members. One of the dead has been identified as América Yamileth Sánchez Hernández, 21, a cadet at Mexic Naval Academy and from the state of Veracruz. The governor of Vera Cruz reacted deeply saddened by her death. The other victim is sailor Adal Jair Marcos, from the state of Puebla. At least 22 others were injured in the accident, including 11 in critical condition and nine in stable condition, the Mexican navy said in a statement.

‘Set sail’

During the sailing, the ship was ‘fully dressed’, meaning that many sailors were standing on the yards, by way of festive representation. At the time of the collision, videos verified by Reuters show two people who appeared to be on the upper bramra, swinging violently back and forth. According to authorities, they are among the most seriously injured, who are currently still in critical condition. Shortly after the collision, some crew members could be seen hanging from the ruined rigging with lifelines and others moving on their bellies towards the centre of the yards. However, no crew member fell overboard from the rigging.

Laughing bystanders

Videos taken of the accident show that not everyone understands how serious the accident was. Besides startled screaming people, a lot of laughter can be heard as the masts break off. On social media, there was also a busy reaction to the accident. Besides a lot of empathy for the dead and injured, the scathing and sometimes downright stupid comments from obvious laymen in particular stood out. For example, Lincoln Restler, a New York City city councillor, called the incident “exceptionally reckless and negligent” just a few hours after it happened, unhampered by any clue as to the circumstances. However, the Washington Post and the New York Times, both of which reported extensively on the accident, feature several experts, all of whom warn against jumping to premature conclusions.

Participant in SAIL

The 90.5-metre Quauhtémoc, named after the last Aztec leader Cuauhtémoc, is expected to join Sail Amsterdam this summer. This would be for the first time. The ship, launched in 1982, has visited 217 ports in 63 countries over the past 40 years and covered more than 800,000 miles at sea, equivalent to 38 times around the world. Prior to its visit to Amsterdam, the ship would visit, among other places, Iceland; its destination after its visit to New York. The ship is on a global goodwill tour, having previously visited countries such as Japan and South Korea.

Investigation

The accident will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The ship was docked at Pier 17 in Manhattan, just below the Brooklyn Bridge. It was due to leave New York harbour on Saturday evening, with a bunker stop on the Brooklyn waterfront. A tug was present for assistance, tasked with helping push the bow off the side, but without being attached to the Cuauhtémoc. Instead of heading south, the Cuauhtémoc sailed in the wrong direction at around 8.30pm.

There may be a brisk current on the East River. The time of the accident fell two hours after low tide, so there was already a substantial tidal current going in. In addition, the vessel’s engine was probably in reverse, as the vessel’s speed, several videos on social media show, was around 7 knots when hitting the bridge. There was a moderate wind in the same direction as the current, of about 10 knots. Some footage shows propeller water, suggesting that the engine – at least at that time – had not failed.

After the accident, the Cuauhtémoc anchored behind the Brooklyn Bridge. Later, with tug assistance, it was moored behind the Manhattan Bridge. There it now lies for further investigation by authorities. The Mexican Navy has announced additional internal investigations. According to the disaster response commissioner in New York City, the focus for the next few days is to safely move the ship to another location, where it can be repaired, so that it can then continue its journey.

Sources: including the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, NOS and the Schuttevaer.
Many photos can be found on Lohud’s site. Movies can be found on almost all news media.
A particularly instructive analysis of the accident, by nautical expert Sal Mercogliano, can be seen on YouTube.

Editor’s note:

The idea that the ship can be repaired quickly seems illusory for the time being. All three (steel?) masts are badly damaged, from the two forward ones the parts with the gallant and upper gallant yards have come down. The NTSB’s investigation into the circumstances will presumably focus on the mechanical problems that led to the accident, while the Mexican navy’s investigation will probably also want to look into the chain of command, manoeuvring orders and procedural arrangements. This need not prevent a timely repair, but with a complex rigging like that of the Cuauhtémoc, taking into account the necessary inspections by the survey body(s), this may take much longer than the authorities’ investigation. We will therefore have to wait and see whether the Cuauhtémoc will be able to make an appearance in Amsterdam in August.

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