A large cargo ship lost power in New York City waters near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge just weeks after the Dali ship lost power before crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
The 89,000-ton Qingdao containership lost all its power around 8:30 pm on Saturday between Bayonne, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York.
A New York tugboat captain told news site gCaptain that the “Container ship APL QINGDAO lost power while transiting New York harbor.”
“They had three escort tugs, but three more were needed to bring her under control.”
“They regained power & were brought to anchor near the Verrazano bridge.” added the tugboat captain.
BREAKING: A NY tugboat captain has reported to @gCaptain “container ship APL QINGDAO lost power while transiting New York harbor. They had 3 escort tugs but 3 more were needed to bring her under control. They regained power & were brought to anchor near the verrazano bridge” pic.twitter.com/Z2IP04xmLs
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) April 7, 2024
CBS News reported:
Less than two weeks after the Baltimore bridge collapse, CBS New York has learned a cargo ship lost some of its control near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Friday night.
The Coast Guard received a report from a large ship at around 8:30 pm. The vessel later regained propulsion and was assisted by three towing vessels to safely anchor just north of the bridge.
Repairs were made, and the ship’s system was fully operational before it safely departed New York Harbor on Sunday morning.
CBS New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas recently did a deep dive into safety conditions at New York City-area spans.
Last week, investigative journalist Lara Logan said the collision at Francis Scott Key Bridge was “not an accident.”
Logan said the collapse was a “strategic attack.”
Logan said:
“For those people who think this is just a river, this is in Baltimore, what does this matter? You don’t know anything about what you’re talking about. The I-94 corridor on the Eastern Seaboard is literally what connects the North and South. And when I talk about hazardous materials, this is a brilliant, well-planned strategic attack on one of the most important supply chains in the United States of America. The only other one is in the Western side in California. That’s the only one that’s busier. And what you have done, you now have shut it down.”
“And When I talk about hazardous materials, what are we talking about here? This is refined fuels, right? This is propane gas. This is diesel. This is fuel. This is flammable materials. This is oversized loads, nitrogen, chemicals. Everything that you need for your economy to move has literally just been shut down for 4-5 years.”
“How did they do it? They knew that they had to target one of two main anchor points on that bridge. There are two load-bearing pylons that any structural engineer can identify that are on the end of each side of the bridge. These are the ones that are thicker and stronger than anything else on that bridge. When you hit one of those pylons, when you take that out, the reason you see so much of that bridge collapse instantly is you just brought 50% of the span of that bridge coming crumbling down. And what you don’t see beneath the surface of the water steep is absolutely catastrophic. It is a structural nightmare and a logistical nightmare because you have the entire bottom part, the concrete part of that bridge, and you don’t know the extent of the structural damage to that, and you won’t know it until you pull all of that infrastructure out of there and you get to look at it.”
However, the cause of the collision is still unclear.
According to an unclassified Department of Homeland Security report:
“The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel” and a collision with the bridge “was possible. “The vessel struck the bridge, causing a complete collapse.”
NEW: At least 7 people are missing after cargo ship appears to lose power & slam into the support beam of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 26, 2024
The ship was being piloted by a local pilot who specializes in moving in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
Two people… pic.twitter.com/fxdyEWSmUw
READ: Ron Paul Tells Tucker ‘Public Must Prepare for Black Swan Event’
