The vessel's last voyage was between Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada, headed for the River Clyde with a cargo of iron ore and oil.

On 20 November 1986, she anchored in Bantry Bay, Republic of Ireland, after developing deck cracking in one of her frames during her Atlantic crossing.

Royal Air Force helicopters rescued the crew and the Kowloon Bridge was effectively abandoned with her engine running astern, heading away from the Irish coast.

The wind turned her around and she headed back towards the coast, nearly entering Baltimore Bay when her propeller hit the rocks, stalling the engine.

Within hours, Kowloon Bridge drifted east and ran aground on a submerged reef near The Stags rocks off West Cork in the Republic of Ireland.