The Mexican Navy ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two sailors and injuring about two dozen others aboard last month, was being moved Friday across the East River so it could be repaired.
New York City officials said the damaged vessel’s relocation from Pier 36 on the Lower East Side to the Brooklyn Navy Yard would close a southern stretch of the river to traffic from about 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., disrupting NYC Ferry service and other maritime activity.
The U.S. Coast Guard was enforcing a safety zone between the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges to support the operation, which city emergency management officials said was also being coordinated with the NYPD, mayor’s office and Mexican government. About 70 of the ship’s crew members were being transported to the shipyard from the pier on MTA buses.
The Cuauhtémoc training ship made international headlines when it rammed into the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge around 8:30 p.m. on May 17, causing the top of its tall masts to snap and fall into the river as dozens of Mexican sailors stood harnessed on its rigging in a traditional ceremonial formation. The bridge was briefly closed to traffic but officials said it did not sustain significant damage. Mexican officials said the vessel was carrying 277 people, most of whom returned home after recovering from the incident in the days after the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the incident, and said a preliminary review found that the Cuauhtémoc departed from Pier 17 in Downtown Manhattan less than five minutes before it struck the Brooklyn Bridge to the north. The ship was supposed to head south and out to sea but somehow moved in the opposite direction, even as a tugboat had helped it initially disembark, according to investigators. The NTSB is expected to release an early report on the crash in the coming weeks.
The ship launched in 1982 and serves as a diplomatic vessel that has completed several worldwide tours, according to the Mexican Navy. Its name means “Descending Eagle,” a reference to the last emperor of the Aztec empire.
