Mexico training ship that hit Brooklyn Bridge returns home

A Mexican navy ship sits in the water after it hit the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Kyle Viterbo)

The Mexican naval training ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in May, leaving two crew members dead, returned home on Sunday to official fanfare in the port of Veracruz.

Numerous sailors were positioned in the 150-foot-tall Cuauhtemoc’s rigging when it smashed into the iconic bridge linking New York’s Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs. In addition to the two killed, about 20 sailors were injured.

The ship, which is used to teach cadets about traditional navigation techniques, visits foreign ports on goodwill voyages. New York was one of 22 ports visited in 15 countries on its earlier ill-fated trip.

At the ceremony in Veracruz, which featured a flyover, President Claudia Sheinbaum paid tribute to the two sailors killed, who were both in their early 20s.

Both U.S. and Mexican investigators have launched probes into the crash.