Maersk Container Ship Loses Around 750 Containers In The Pacific
Maersk Essen, a 13100 TEU container ship, lost about 750 containers in the Pacific on 16th January 2021.
The ship was sailing from Xiamen, China to Los Angeles, California, when the containers have been reported to have fallen because of rough weather.
According to a statement by Maersk, all crew members are safe and a detailed cargo assessment is ongoing while the vessel continues on her journey. The US Coast Guard, flag state and relevant authorities have been notified as well.
Several containers have also been collapsed and damaged on board which will be needed to be removed or repositioned.
There have been several incidents lately involving containers lost overboard. In November 2020, ONE Apus lost above 1800 containers at sea because of bad weather.
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The incidents of such loss of cargo loss or collapse of stow will continue to increase and this trend has been before us – progressively worsening for years.
The height of the stow makes the stresses intolerable, and when this is coupled with the entire block moving, even a very slight amount, the strain on lashings will inevitably cause failure.
add to that two critical factors
– the weather continues to worsen globally with greater storm intensity. That causes deeper rolling and as a corollary, much greater strain on the restraints
– the time in port is extremely short, and as lasting the stow is a people process, there will be human failures. The enormity of the task of lashing a ULCC in the dark with cargo being worked in all bays, high above the deck is just primed for failure.
Watch this space. We just had a ONE ship loose ober 1400 boxed – and here is another wqith 750.