ARM Cuauhtémoc is a Mexican Navy three-masted barque. Launched in 1982, she is used as a sail training vessel.
History Cuauhtémoc is the last of four sister ships built by the naval shipyards of Bilbao, Spain, in 1982, all built to a design similar to the 1930 designs of the German firm Blohm & Voss, like , , and . Built at the Celaya Shipyards in Bilbao, she was designed by naval engineer Juan José Alonso Verástegui. Her keel was laid on 24 July 1981, and she was delivered to the Mexican Navy at Bilbao on 19 July 1982. A crew of cadets from the Mexican Naval Academy received the ship and brought Cuauhtémoc to Mexico.
Like her sister ships, Colombia's , Ecuador's and Venezuela's , Cuauhtémoc is a sailing ambassador for her home country and a frequent visitor to world ports, having sailed over in her 43 years of service, with appearances at the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races, the American Sail Training Association Tall Ships Challenges, Sail Osaka, and others.
Following her collision with the Brooklyn Bridge in May 2025, Cuauhtémoc has since returned to service, visiting Victoria, Canada, in September 2026. On September 23, she arrived in San Francisco. KQED, A Tall Ship Is in San Francisco This Week — and You Can Go Aboard for Free, https://www.kqed.org/news/12101113/tall-ship-san-francisco-mexican-navy-cuauhtemoc-free-public-tours Retrieved September 25, 2026
Incidents Collision with Portugalete suspension bridge In 2007, while transiting the El Abra route down the Bilbao estuary in Spain, the mainmast collided with the suspension bridge in the municipality of Portugalete. There was only minor damage to the top of the mainmast. There were no injuries and the ship was not stopped. The maneuver was a calculated risk by the local authorities since all boats had to clear the bridge. The height of Cuauhtémoc was and normally the maneuvers are done at high tide, so the local pilots coordinated everything to avoid mishaps. A similar collision also happened to the Portuguese training ship NRP Sagres in 2000.
Disappearance of a cadet On 11 June 2017, a cadet fell overboard from the ship during a sail maneuver near Mumbai, India. Despite intensive searches coordinated between Mexico and India, she was not located. In the vessel's 35 years of service up to that point, this was the first fatal incident.
Brooklyn Bridge collision
On the evening of 17 May 2025, during the training cruise that began on 6 April 2025, Cuauhtémocs three masts collided with the Brooklyn Bridge. At least 19 of the people aboard were injured, four critically. A search and rescue operation was launched. Two of the injured subsequently died.
Crest The body of the shield is made up of two concentric circles: the exterior, like a cord of abacá, suggests the ship's rigging, the tool necessary for the crew to raise and lower the sails. The inner circle serves to concentrically divide the total circumference of the body. The internal part of these carries in its center the silhouette of Cuauhtémoc on her port side and with all the rigging, sailing to the west, driven by the wind, represents her first trip to Mexico from Spain. In the ring formed by the two circles there are two inscriptions: reading Armada de México (Mexican Navy) on the top, and Buque Escuela Cuauhtémoc (Cuauhtémoc School Ship), on the bottom.
The same ring offers, at the eastern point, the figure of the wind god Ehécatl, who with his breath propels the ship to the west. At the setting point appears the Sun of the evening twilight; at the north point, interspersed in the inscription, the sidereal stars that make constant knowledge of their position possible. Finally, in the upper part of the body, the eagle of the Mexican Coat of Arms, which recalls the origin of the ship and its strength.
Figurehead
The figurehead depicts Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor and namesake of the vessel. The name of this ship represents the warlike lineage of the Aztec emperor, who was also known for his bravery and his love of poetry. It was sculpted by Juan de Ávalos, considered one of the Spanish sculptors with the greatest passion for the human body.
Cruises
Atlantic Cruise 1982 Oriente Cruise 1983 Tahiti Cruise 1984 North Atlantic Cruise 1985 Liberty Cruise 1986 South Pacific Cruise 1987 Mediterranean Cruise 1988 Eurocaribe Cruise 1989 1990 Circumnavigation Cruise 50th Anniversary Cruise of the Secretary of the Atlantic Navy 1992 Cape Horn Cruise 1992–1993 Cruise Europe 1994 Canada Cruise 1994 Baltic Cruise 1996 Cruiser Osaka 1997 Cruise Australia 1998 Lisbon Cruise 1998 1999 North Sea Cruise Euroamerica 2000 Cruise Europe Cruise 2001 2002 Circumnavigation Cruise Rouen Cruise 2003 Sail Rhode Island 2004 2005 North Pacific Training Cruise Circumnavigation Cruise 2006 Baltic Instructional Cruise 2007 Rouen Cruise 2008 Japan Instructional Cruise 2009 2010 Bicentennial Sailing Instruction Cruise South America Mediterranean Cruise 2011 Atlantic Cruise 2012 Europe Cruise 2013 Sail Latin America 2014 Levante Mediterranean Cruise 2015 Ibero Atlantic Cruise 2016 Centennial Cruise of the 2017 Constitution Sail Latin America 2018 Tricontinental Training Cruise 2024 Consolidation Of Mexico's Independence 2025 Training Cruise
Gallery
References American Sail Training Association; Sail Tall Ships! (American Sail Training Association; 16th edition, 2005 )
External links
Official Website of the Mexican Navy American Sail Training Association Four slideshows with Cuauhtémoc from the Tall Ships' Races 2007 in Aarhus, Denmark by Thorsten Overgaard The Cuauhtémoc at Hanse Sail 2007 in Warnemünde, Germany