It might've been an Antillean Line container ship nearly hitting the Brickell Avenue Bridge.
Around noon today, the shipping vessel struck a barrier underneath the downtown Miami bridge, Miami Police Department spokesperson Orlando Rodriguez tells New Times. He says that while no structural damage or injuries were immediately reported, and car traffic will continue to flow normally, boaters won't have access to the area until further notice.
Video posted on Instagram by Only In Dade shows the large ship slowly collide with the barrier in the Miami River.
"Woah, shit!" a person in the background on the video can be heard saying.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo wrote that the city is "actively investigating the incident to assess the extent of the damage to the barricade."
He added that the bridge remains open at this time.
"The barricades that were hit are in place so that ships that drift off course hit the barricade, not the bridge itself," Pardo wrote. "The barricade is functioning as intended and prevented a worse accident."
Instagram users were quick to poke fun at the, shall we say, big whoopsie.The Brickell Avenue Bridge remains intact and we are actively investigating the incident to assess the extent of the damage to the barricade. If you have any further concerns, contact us at (305)-250-5333 or email [email protected] pic.twitter.com/tCBqkCdWep
— Damian John Pardo (@Damianpardo8) July 16, 2024
"My Temu order is in there," one user jokingly commented on the video.
"Lmaoo can't drive boats in Miami...can't attend a soccer match in Miami...what's next," another wrote.
"Looks like the barrier did its job," a third wrote.
Humor aside, the incident served as a stark reminder of the recent Baltimore bridge disaster. In May, a cargo ship lost power, veered off course, and crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six construction workers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating the crash.
