Turbulent waters may have contributed to the crash of Mexican Tall Ship into the Brooklyn Bridge

When a Mexican marine high ships fell into the Brooklyn BridgeIt was maneuvered in turbulent waters. The flood had just turned, and a quick current drove up the East River when a 10 mile -wind went in.

While such dangers can be easily treated by an experienced captain, mistakes in the highly transported New York port can be expensive, where narrow, curvy channels from the jagged skyline of Manhattan and the whirlpool-like vertebra, which can result in a difficult run, can cry.

In the case of the 90-meter-cuauhtemoc (90 meters), two seafarers were killed and 19 injured on Saturday evening when the training ship hit the legendary bridge. Broadcast the three masts of the ship like Domino When it went to a crowded pier. It is not known what the collision has caused, and an examination of the national transportation Safety board probably takes months.

But the film material of the collision intake of horrified viewers shows that the ship races into the bridge at full speed in the back, indicating that the captain has lost control of the engine. There are also questions whether a tractor -escort was pulled away too early and manipulated on the ship or remained on the sea path to the sea. Similar tractor concerns were created as a large cargo ship fell into a bridge in Baltimore last year.

Sal Mercliano, a former merchant marine who has operated several ships through the New York port, said all of these “worst scenarios”-the ship's size, a strong stream, heavy wind and the lack of a controlled tract escort all the tragedy.

“The cautious thing would have been to leave two hours earlier when the flood went out. That would have been the ideal time,” said Mercliano, who writes a widespread mail order. “But I don't think you've ever imagined that your engine would have driven her into the bridge.”

Nevertheless, he said that an even more deadly disaster was avoided by the ship's steel stick, which prevented the masts from falling into the water, and the fact that the crew had remained in position instead of taking the risk that some members could overthrow from a 12-storey height when they fell down the rat lines.

“They could have strapped boys in drowning in the river,” he said. “That could have been much worse.”

The Mexican authorities told the family of América Yamilet Sánchez that the 20-year-old Seemann died after she had fallen from one of the masts of Cuauhtemoc, her aunt María del Rosario Hernández Jacome said in the family in Xalapa in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

Sánchez, who studied technology in the Mexican Naval Academy, spoke to her mother and excitedly told her that the next stop of the ship would be Island. Her parents traveled to Mexico city on Sunday to arrange for her daughter's return, said Hernández.

Relatives and friends arrived with flowers in the family's house. A small altar with a photo of Sánchez and candles was set up on the terrace.

The ship was on a goodwill tour

The Cuauhtemoc visited New York as part of a 15-nation tour for global goodwill tour and left when it hit the bridge around 8:20 p.m. and briefly stopped traffic on the span.

Mayor Eric Adams said that the 142-year-old bridge escaped great damage, but at least 19 of the 277 seafarers on board the ship needed medical treatment. Two of the four people who suffered serious injuries later died.

The Cuauhtemoc sailed for the first time in 1982. It is almost 300 feet long and its main mast has a height of 50 meters, about 30 feet (9 meters) higher than the span of the Brooklyn bridge.

The ship, which arrived in New York on May 13th, resigned from the tourist South Street Seaport, where it had been docked for several days. It is not known whether the Mexican captain asked a Dock pilot to help with the determination, but a harbor pilot was on board to sail through the harbor as needed.

The persecution of data from marine traffic and eyewitness videos show that a tractor of 1,800 hp, the Charles D. McAllister, gently nudged the ship when asters left the channel, but fell off in front of the ship. Seconds later, when the ship continued to go in the wrong direction, the towboat tried to overtake the ship, but came too late to wedge between the fast moving ship and the Brooklyn Riverbank.

McAllister Towing, the company that would have operated the tractor and was responsible for every docking pilot on board, rejected an opinion.

After the crash of last year in Baltimore, said Mercliano, the port authorities set the rules there to demand a tractor and slower speeds for ships that sailed through the port of the port after the partially collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. The ship in this crash, the MV Dali, was a 95,000-ton container ship about 50 times heavier than the Cuauhtemoc.

Some ships avoid port due to low bridges

Accidents in the New York port are rare because large cargo ships and modern warships in general avoid the area due to the small amount of the bridges. In July 2026, the port is expected to compete with the largest flotilla of high ships from all over the world to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Mercliano said that the investigators will evaluate whether the Mexican crew carried out the recommended security tests before they left. As a rule, the propellers, the rudder and drive of the engine have to be tested six to 12 hours in advance to ensure that everything works properly and nothing is left to chance.

“It's not like your car where you just throw your gear lever,” he said.

The damaged ship at Pier 35 in Lower Manhattan was moored on Sunday. A stream of people, including those who seemed to be the investigators and crew, could see that one and out of the ship got in and out.

The coast guard said damage to the Cuauhtémoc was assessed. The coast guard founded a 46-meter security zone around the ship because the investigation of the United States and the Mexican governments is underway.

Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat and the Chairman of the Senate Minister, said that every investigation should investigate whether the hiring of the Federal Setting of the Trump government has had the personnel procedures, the security procedures and the random reaction to the US Coast guard.

“After the complete overview of the Brooklyn Bridge accident at night, it is mainly clear: there are more questions than answers, since it occurred exactly how this accident occurred,” said Schumer.

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Associated Press Writer Alba Alemán in Xalapa, Mexico, contributed to this report.