VIDEO — Close Call: 89K-Ton Ship Loses Propulsion Near NYC Bridge Weeks After Baltimore Tragedy

Amy Furr

An 89,000-ton container ship lost propulsion Friday evening near a bridge in the waters around New York City, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The ship, identified as the M/V APL Qingdao, stopped near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the New York Post reported Sunday. The outlet noted the vessel was moving along a shipping lane between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey, at the time.

News of the incident comes just weeks after a cargo ship hit Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March, causing a deadly collapse, per Breitbart News.

Meanwhile, a photo shows the APL Qingdao as it sat near the bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island:

The Coast Guard detailed the incident and how the ship regained propulsion:

Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service New York received a report from the M/V APL Qingdao around 8:30pm, Friday, that the vessel had experienced a loss of propulsion in the Kill Van Kull waterway. The vessel regained propulsion and was assisted to safely anchor in Stapleton Anchorage, outside of the navigable channel just north of the Verrazano Bridge, by three towing vessels.

It is standard procedure for tugboats to accompany such large vessels on their way to the Atlantic, ABC 7 reported Monday.

A reporter for the outlet explained:

Authorities note even if the ship had come close to the bridge, the design of the bridge — with protective rock islands built around its posts — would have likely prevented the kind of March 26 catastrophe in Baltimore when a container ship lost power, hitting the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse and kill six construction workers who fell with the span.

Coast Guard officials required the APL Qingdao to have its propulsion system certified regarding repairs and the crew had to give a casualty report about what happened leading up to the incident. Once those requirements were fulfilled, the ship continued its journey to Charleston, South Carolina, according to the Post.

“The APL Qingdao is registered in Malta and owned by French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM. It was bound for Norfolk, Virginia, at the time it lost power,” the outlet said.

Reports say efforts to construct a bridge where the Francis Scott Key Bridge stood in Baltimore are estimated to cost from $400 million to several billion dollars, Breitbart News reported on March 29.

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