According to Mexico’s Navy chief, the incident involving a Mexican Navy tall ship colliding with the Brooklyn Bridge occurred without any distress calls being made beforehand. Instead, the ship requested assistance.
Raymundo Morales, the Navy chief, stated that the port pilot handling the Cuauhtémoc ship had limited time to prevent the collision due to the ship’s close proximity to the bridge.
“It is too early for us to determine if the port pilot made full use of all available safety measures,” Morales mentioned during a press briefing alongside Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The Mexican Navy training ship that hit the Brooklyn Bridge sits moored in Manhattan on May 18, 2025, in New York City. (ANA FERNANDEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
The Cuauhtémoc was built in Bilbao, Spain, in 1981 and has won the Tall Ships’ Races twice, according to Sail Training International. The ship was in New York City as part of a promotion for an event next year that celebrates America’s 250th birthday.
Reuters contributed to this report.
