Containership Loses Power Near New York’s Bayonne Bridge

A containership lost propulsion in a busy New York City waterway just as it was about to pass under the Bayonne Bridge on Friday night—less than two weeks after a presumed power failure caused similarly sized vessel to allide with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a report that the Malta-registered APL Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed the Kill Van Kull, a shipping late between New York's Staten Island and Bayonne, N.J.

Three tugboats escorted the 1,100-foot APL Qingdao until it regained propulsion shortly after the incident.

“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 vessel regained propulsion and was assisted to safely anchor in Stapleton Anchorage, outside of the navigable channel just north of the Verrazano Bridge, by three towing vessels,” the Coast Guard said.

“These towing vessels were escorting the vessel as a routine safety measure, which is a common practice for large vessels departing their berth.”

The stricken vessel anchored just north of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and was later cleared to resume its voyage to Charleston, S.C. after it was determined that the propulsion system was repaired and fully operational. The 10,000 TEU APL Qingdao is operated by CMA CGM.

The incident is drawing comparisons to last month’s Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Baltimore, which saw six construction workers killed when the Singapore-registered containership Dali struck one of the bridge’s supports, sending the structure tumbling into the Patapsco River and halting vessel traffic in the Port of Baltimore.