In a near-miss incident that could have mirrored the tragic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, the massive container ship APL Qingdao experienced a temporary loss of propulsion power while navigating the waters near New York City’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the incident occurred on Friday night. It would have likely gone unnoticed by mainstream news networks, yet Baltimore’s bridge collapse set the stage for it to become a national narrative.
The APL Qingdao, a colossal vessel weighing 89,000 tons and stretching 1,100 feet in length, was maneuvered to safety by three tugboats, standard procedure that in this case helped avert a potential disaster near one of New York’s landmarks. “Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service New York received a report from the M/V APL Qingdao around 8:30 p.m., Friday, that the vessel had experienced a loss of propulsion in the Kill Van Kull waterway. The ship regained propulsion and was assisted to safely anchor in Stapleton Anchorage, outside of the channel just north of the Verrazano Bridge, by three towing vessels,” reported the Coast Guard.
This incident of course came on the heels of the catastrophic collapse in Baltimore, where a Singapore-flagged cargo ship lost propulsion and collided with a bridge’s support beam, leading to its total collapse the death of six construction workers.
The maritime regulatory bodies are on high alert and highly aware that they are under the microscope of national media attention; the visual memory of Baltimore ensures the public will have a new perception of bridges they may have crossed countless times in the past. “Now is the time to go out and rethink what you have and make sure that all the inspections and all the studies have been made for the individual bridges themselves,” retired bridge engineer Andy Herrmann advised.
The APL Qingdao was repaired and soon continued on its route.
