Ship loses power, bumps into St. Augustine’s Bridge of Lions

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The engine of a ship lost power Monday morning causing it to bump into the Bridge of Lions. The Nao Trinidad, a 16th-century Spanish-built tall ship that’s a replica of the vessel captained by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan returned to St. Augustine and as it made its return it bumped into the bridge, according to Melissa Wissel of the City of St. Augustine. The bridge sustained cosmetic damage, Wissel said.

The Trinidad is a 150-ton, 93-foot replica of the flagship of the Magellan-Elcano Expedition that led to the first circumnavigation of the Earth, confirming for the first time that the Earth is round. The ship boasts three masts and a bowsprit and is built of African hardwood and pinewood.

Public tours of the ship are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday.