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Massive container ship loses power near NYC’s Verrazzano Bridge days after Baltimore Key Bridge disaster
An image shared on X shows the 1,100-foot Qingdao floating uncomfortably close to the span that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island.
nypost.com
Massive container ship loses power near NYC’s Verrazzano Bridge days after Baltimore Key Bridge disaster
ByPublished April 7, 2024
Updated April 7, 2024, 4:41 p.m. ET
A massive container ship lost power in the waters around New York City and was brought to a rest near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Friday night — less than two weeks after failure on another massive cargo vessel caused it to smash into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The US Coast Guard confirmed that its Vessel Traffic Service received a report that the 89,000-ton M/V Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed Kill Van Kull waterway — the shipping lane between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey.
An image shared on X by John Konrad, CEO of maritime-focused news outlet gCaptain, shows the 1,100-foot Qingdao floating uncomfortably close to the span that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island.
In response to the power failure, three tug boats were dispatched to bring the Qingdao under control.
The vessel was reportedly positioned “just north” of the bridge.
“Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service New York received a report from the M/V Qingdao around 8:30pm, Saturday, that the vessel had experienced a loss of propulsion in the Kill Van Kull waterway,” a Coast Guard spokesperson told The Post in a statement Sunday.
“The vessel regained propulsion and was assisted to Stapleton Anchorage by tugs.”
A container ship lost power near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on April 6, 2024. Gregory P. Mango
The Kill Van Kull waterway is a narrow 3-mile long tidal strait separating Newark Bay — home to the Port Newark Container Terminal — and Upper New York Bay. It is one of the Port of New York and New Jersey’s busiest waterways.
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The Coast Guard required the vessel’s propulsion system to be certified that it had been repaired and was fully operational.
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Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.The crew was also required to provide a detailed casualty report documenting precisely what contributed to the loss of propulsion.
After meeting those requirements, the vessel was allowed to resume its voyage to Charleston, South Carolina.
The M/V Qingdao lost propulsion as it traveled through the Kill Van Kull waterway between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey. Future Publishing via Getty Images
Despite the unsettling optical illusion, the image instantly brings to mind last month’s deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Baltimore, in which six construction workers were killed when cargo ship Dali rammed one of the 1.9-mile bridge’s supports, sending it tumbling into the Patapsco River.
The collapse ground maritime transit to a halt in the vital Port of Baltimore. Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said it was “realistic” that normal operations would resume on the waterway as early as May.
“It is an aggressive timeline, but we are going to work around the clock to make sure we hit this timeline,” Moore said.
Alarmingly, the Dali also suffered loss of propulsion leading up to the Baltimore crash.
The 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.
CMA CGM could not be reached Sunday. Konrad did not respond to messages from The Post seeking comment.
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