Cargo Ship Loses Power Near Verrazzano Bridge in NYC

By FrumNews.com

Just twelve days after the Baltimore Bridge collapsed due to a ship losing power after leaving port, a large cargo container ship lost power just north of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge—one of the longest suspension bridges in the US and used daily by our FrumNews.com readers, traveling between Brooklyn and Staten Island in New York City.

The Ship lost propulsion just north of the Bridge in the Kill Van Kull waterway — the primary shipping lane between Staten Island and the port in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Three tug boats were needed to bring the Qingdao ship under control, after losing power.

B’chasdei Hashem, the Bridge wasn’t hit and the ship regained control.

The story resembles the Baltimore Bridge collapse, which collapsed just under two weeks ago, killing 6 construction workers, after a Singapore-flagged cargo ship struck a pilar of Baltimore’s Key Bridge.

Since the Baltimore Bridge collapse, And the Earthquake on Friday the MTA Bridges and Tunnels, together with the DOT which control NYC’s bridges, has been inspecting the structure of New York City bridges (The Verrazzano’s pillars are closer to land than Baltimore’s Key Bridge was, and they have rock walls surrounding its piers).

According to CBS News New York, federal records show that some local bridges operated by the city over the East River, including the Brooklyn Bridge, lack pier protection. However, the DOT says its piers have larger concrete pedestals than the Key Bridge, and the ships on the East River are much smaller than the ships in Baltimore.

The Verrazzano Bridge also serves as a major thoroughfare, not just for Staten Island but also for Brooklyn, Queens, and the rest of Long Island, serving as the primary link for cargo between Long Island and the Ports in New Jersey. (The other routes would be through the already-congested George Washington Bridge and the Bronx.) Had it been placed out of service, it would have been catastrophic for Staten Island and Long Island.