Saturday’s tragic incident where a Mexican navy tall ship collided with the Brooklyn Bridge has brought renewed focus on a longstanding maritime hazard that has plagued seafarers since the bridge’s inception almost 150 years ago. Past encounters between ships and this iconic New York City landmark have all ended without the loss of life, making this recent collision a first of its kind. Sadly, two Mexican naval cadets lost their lives, and several others were injured when the Cuauhtémoc’s masts crashed into the bridge during a public demonstration. Historians believe this marks the first fatal accident involving a ship colliding with the bridge.
The Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, stands as a monumental connector over the East River, linking Brooklyn to Manhattan. Built with an underside height averaging 135 feet above water, variable with tides, this structural marvel nevertheless posed clearance challenges from its inception. Legal battles ensued as ship owners argued that their vessels’ topmasts exceeded the permissible height. Nonetheless, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately decided that the bridge did not significantly impede navigation.
Despite legal assurances, an incident involving the USS Minnesota while the bridge was still under construction is chronicled. In 1878, the topmast of this U.S. Navy steam training ship caught on the bridge’s wires due to a last-minute navigational adjustment, although no injuries were reported. With the completion of the bridge, steamboats began to dominate, reducing the prevalence of high-masted ships, explains Professor Richard Haw, an authority on the Brooklyn Bridge. The transition from sails to steam rendered the necessity for significant clearance less critical.
Yet, encounters persisted. The 1920s saw multiple incidents, including one involving the USS Seattle. Its mast was marginally too tall, resulting in a collision. A dramatic moment occurred in 1941 when the SS Nyassa’s captain misjudged the tide, altering the mast’s angle after a collision with the bridge understructure. Notably, onboard was Hedwig Ehrlich, widow of Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich, amid her journey to join family in San Francisco.
Over the years, the evolution of ship design, influenced by World War II advancements, increased the challenge posed by the bridge. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was integral to this shift, producing ever-larger vessels, including aircraft carriers that required innovative designs to navigate beneath the bridge. An illustrative photograph from 1961 captures the USS Constellation’s careful exit, its mast ingeniously engineered to fit under the bridge.
In recent history, minor incidents have continued. In 2012, a barge-borne crane struck temporary scaffolding under the bridge, while a similar mishap occurred with maintenance equipment in July of this year. Thankfully, these modern-day incidents reported no severe injuries, serving more as a testament to the bridge’s storied past than indicators of danger.
Off the water, the Brooklyn Bridge has been fraught with peril. Its construction saw the loss of over 20 lives to various hazards, including decompression sickness from working in pressurized underwater environments known as caissons. Shortly after opening, the bridge also witnessed a deadly stampede that claimed twelve lives. Saturday’s unfortunate collision, therefore, adds a somber chapter to the bridge’s long narrative.