Gale force winds blew a 950-foot military cargo ship off its moorings in South Baltimore on Monday afternoon.

Bystander photos show the big ship blown off the shore with its ramp collapsed into the water.

Tugboats were dispatched around 3 p.m. after the 62,000-ton USNS Charlton became unmoored in Locust Point, said Mike Reagoso of McAllister Towing. He said the ship is under control and tugs are standing by to help.

The USNS Charlton and another ship, the USNS Pomeroy, were berthed at a pier leased by the Maritime Administration while the ships were being transferred to the agency. The Pomeroy was moved in September to a berth at Norfolk Naval Station in southeastern Virginia.

The ships had previously been part of the Military Sealift Command’s prepositioned fleet, berthed in the Indian Ocean and loaded with Army equipment to be delivered on a moment’s notice.

Locust Point neighbors have complained for months about loud noise and fumes coming from the ships’ diesel generators. The ships arrived at a pier near the Silo Point condominium and the former Under Armour headquarters last spring.

The National Weather Service issued a gale warning for the area through Monday night, meaning winds from 34 knots to 47 knots. Meteorologists are warning of a chance for wind damage and power outage.

Heavy winds battered the neighborhood Monday evening. Residents bundled in hats and coats took their evening walk with pets and kids in strollers in spite of it.

Word quickly spread of the ships’ unmooring earlier in the day among neighbors who’ve found its noise to be a nuisance.

Timothy Doran, an eight-year Silo Point resident who’s chairing a committee to get the ships out of the neighborhood, hopes this incident helps their cause. “It shows that this is not the right place for a ship,” Doran said.

All crew members aboard the Cornelius H. Charlton are accounted for, a spokesperson for the Maritime Administration said in an email. Additionally, personnel are working to recover the portable vehicle ramp attached to the ship’s side port that fell into the water.

“We are grateful to our partners in Baltimore for their swift response in securing the ship,” the spokesperson said.