A barge carrying 192 shipping containers that ran aground in the Bahamas and was quickly looted has returned to J
acksonville, ending a stormy journey that will likely result in millions of dollars in insurance claims.
The barge, known as the Brooklyn Bridge, was being towed Nov. 11 to Puerto Rico when high winds kicked up a
nd a tow wire snapped, FirstCoast News, FreightWaves and other news sites reported. The barge, carrying fo
od, household goods, medical equipment and electronics, ended up on a reef off the Bahamas.
Looters soon descended, using bolt cutters and prybars to rip open the containers. All but 11 of the steel boxes w
ere opened, authorities said. What looters didn’t take, they dumped into the water and sand around the reef. The U.S. C
oast Guard and the U.S. Navy stepped in after Bahama police were slow to take action due to safety concerns, the news sites noted.
The barge is believed to be owned by Trailer Bridge. Each container carried $50,000 to $200,000 worth of cargo, and at least some insurance claim
s have been filed, FirstCoast News reported. People in Puerto Rico are likely to endure shortages of some goods.
Crews were hired to clean up the discarded appliances and other items near the string of Bahama islands off Florida’s east coast. Trailer Bridge CEO Mi
rities for helping to secure the area and remaining undamaged cargo, FreightWaves noted.
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One attorney said that while maritime theft is common in some parts of the world, it’s seen as highly unusual in
the Jacksonville-to-Puerto Rico Jones Act trade route.
Many gave the deal lukewarm praise as the best that could be achieved in trying times, while others complaine
d about the package or the process that led to its approval.
“Given the circumstances of geopolitics today, we’re actually quite pleased with the bounds of the package that ca
me out,” said Palau Ambassador Ilana Seid, who chaired the coalition of s
mall island nations. “The alternative is that we don’t get a decision and that would have been a worse alternative.”
“This deal isn’t perfect and is far from what science requires,” said former Ireland President Mary Robinson, a f
ierce climate advocate for the ex-leaders group The Elders. “But at a time when multilateralism is
being tested, it is significant that countries continue to move forward together.”