NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 When a Mexican navy tall ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, it was maneuvering in turbulent waters. The tide had just turned, and a fast current was heading up the East River as a 10 mph wind set in.
While such hazards are easily handled by an experienced captain, mistakes can be costly in the heavily transited New York harbor, where narrow, curvy channels, winds howling off the jagged Manhattan skyline and whirlpool-like eddies can combine to make for difficult passage.
In the case of the 300-foot (90-meter) Cuauhtemoc, two sailors were killed and 19 were injured Saturday when the ship struck the iconic bridge, as it drifted toward a crowded pier. It鈥檚 unknown what caused the collision, and an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board is likely to take months.
But footage of the collision shot by horrified onlookers show the ship hurtling into the bridge in reverse at full speed, suggesting the captain lost control of the engine. There are also questions about whether a tugboat escort peeled away too soon and should have been rigged to the ship or stayed with it until it headed out to sea. Similar tugboat concerns emerged when a large cargo vessel last year.
Sal Mercogliano, a former merchant mariner who has powered multiple ships through the New York harbor, said all those 鈥渨orst-case scenarios鈥 鈥 the ship鈥檚 height, a strong current, heavy wind and the absence of a more controlled tugboat escort 鈥 all contributed to the tragedy.
鈥淭he prudent thing would鈥檝e been to leave two hours earlier, when the tide was going out. That would鈥檝e been the ideal time,” said Mercogliano, who writes a widely followed shipping blog. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think they ever envisioned that their engine would鈥檝e propelled them into the bridge.鈥
Still, he said an even deadlier catastrophe was avoided by the ship鈥檚 steel rigging, which prevented the masts from falling into the water, as well as the fact that the crew stayed harnessed in position rather than taking the risk that some members could tumble from a 12-story height as they scrambled down the rat lines.
鈥淵ou could have had guys strapped in drowning in the river,” he said. 鈥淭his could have been a lot worse.鈥
The Cuauhtemoc visited New York as part of a 15-nation global goodwill tour and was departing for Iceland when it struck the bridge at around 8:20 p.m., briefly halting traffic atop the span.
Mayor Eric Adams said the 142-year-old bridge escaped major damage, but at least 19 of the 277 sailors aboard the ship needed medical treatment. Two of the four people who suffered serious injuries later died.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum lamented the loss. 鈥淥ur solidarity and support go out to their families,鈥 Sheinbaum said on X.
The Cuauhtemoc sailed for the first time in 1982. It is almost 300 feet long and its main mast has a height of 160 feet (50 meters), about 30 feet (9 meters) higher than the span of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The vessel, which arrived in New York on May 13, backed out from the tourist-heavy South Street Seaport, where it had been docked for several days welcoming visitors. It’s unknown if the Mexican captain requested a dock pilot to assist with the unmooring, but a harbor pilot was on board to sail it through the harbor, as required.
Tracking data from Marine Traffic and eyewitness videos show that an 1,800-horsepower tugboat, the Charles D. McAllister, gently nudged the vessel as it backed astern into the channel but dropped off before the vessel turned. Seconds later, as the ship continued drifting in the wrong direction, the tugboat tried to overtake the vessel but arrived too late to wedge itself between the fast-moving ship and the Brooklyn riverbank.
McAllister Towing, the company that would have operated the tug and been responsible for any docking pilot aboard, declined to comment.
Following last year’s crash in Baltimore, Mercogliano said, port authorities there tightened rules to require a tug escort and slower speeds for vessels sailing through the harbor entrance past the partially collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. The ship in that crash, the MV Dali, was a 95,000-ton container ship about 50 times heavier than the Cuauhtemoc.
Incidents in New York harbor are rare because large cargo ships and modern warships generally avoid the area due to the low height of the bridges. But in July 2026, the harbor is expected to play host to the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships from around the world to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Mercogliano said investigators will evaluate whether the Mexican crew performed the recommended safety checks prior to their departure. Typically that involves testing the engine’s propellers, rudder and propulsion six to 12 hours in advance to make sure everything is working properly and nothing is left to chance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like your car where you鈥檙e just throwing your shifter,鈥 he said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat and the Senate minority leader, said any investigation should look into whether the Trump administration鈥檚 federal hiring freeze affected the U.S. Coast Guard鈥檚 staffing levels, safety procedures and accident-response readiness.
鈥淎fter being fully briefed on last night鈥檚 Brooklyn Bridge accident, one thing is predominantly clear: There are more questions than answers as it relates to exactly how this accident occurred,鈥 Schumer said.
Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz told The Associated Press they were sitting outside to watch the sunset when they saw the vessel strike the bridge.
鈥淲e saw someone dangling, and I couldn鈥檛 tell if it was just blurry or my eyes. And we were able to zoom in on our phone, and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for like at least like 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,鈥 Katz said.
Just before the collision, Nick Corso took his phone out to capture the backdrop of the ship and the bridge against a sunset, Instead, he heard what sounded like the loud snapping of a 鈥渂ig twig.” Several more snaps followed.
People in his vicinity began running, and 鈥減andemonium鈥 erupted aboard the ship, he said. He later saw a handful of people dangling from a mast.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what to think. I was like, is this a movie?鈥 he said.
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Goodman reported from Miami. Associated Press writers Ruth Brown, Kyle Marian Viterbo, Michael R. Sisak and Jennifer Peltz in New York, Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix, Arizona, and Gene Johnson in Seattle, Washington, contributed to this report.
