Container ship's engines die outside NYC, comes to stop near Verrazzano bridge

A large container ship lost propulsion in waters near New York Harbor Friday evening before tugboats pulled it to a stop at an anchorage near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

The scene evoked last month's tragedy in Baltimore Harbor when another container vessel slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, knocking it down and killing a half-dozen people who were conducting maintenance work. Police managed to close the bridge to traffic before the impact there.

The 89,000-ton vessel, the APL Qingdao, lost power in the Kill Van Kull waterway, a busy shipping lane between the Big Apple's borough of Staten Island and New Jersey.

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Tugboat and barge in upper New York Bay with Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Staten Island in background, New York City. (Bruce Punger/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

A group of tugboats pulled the stalled vessel out of the way, placing it near the bridge to anchor safely while repairs could be made, the U.S. Coast Guard told Fox News Digital in a statement.

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

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Foggy view on Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, New York Bay, on Oct. 25, 2022. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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

The USCG clarified that the vessel suffered from a "loss of propulsion" impacting movement, and not a "loss of power," which would have shut down all of its systems.

The APL Qingdao suffered a loss of propulsion that was restored a short time later, which temporarily impacted the vessel’s ability to move through the water without the assistance of the towing vessels that were escorting it. This differs from a loss of power, where the ship loses its ability to generate power for all systems onboard, including propulsion.

The New York incident was far from a near miss, however, according to John Konrad, the CEO of gCaptain, a maritime industry publication.

"One major difference between Baltimore and New York is the U.S. Coast Guard operates Vessel Traffic Service in NY VTS is like air traffic control," Konrad wrote on X.

"They monitor all ships and tugs and can respond quickly to emergencies. Baltimore did not have VTS service."

Only 12 ports in the U.S. have a VTS service, the Coast Guard told Fox News Digital. 

Wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on the container ship Dali, as President Biden takes an aerial tour of the area in Baltimore, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Authorities ordered certified repairs and allowed the vessel to leave once it met official requirements, according to the Coast Guard.

New York waters see more than $300 billion in commerce annually, more than 40 million passengers and more than 800,000 commercial vessels, according to the USCG. 

The Qingdao reached Norfolk, Virginia, Monday morning, according to public ship-tracking data compiled at VesselFinder.com.

It was built in 2012 and flies a Malta flag.

The vessel's owner, France-based international shipping and logistics company CMA CGM, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @mikerreports