Maersk Essen Loses 750 Boxes Overboard in North Pacific

In what is developing into a record winter for containers lost over the side, the Maersk Essen lost 750 containers overboard during a storm on January 16.  An unknown number of boxes were damaged but still onboard. The loss occurred … Continue reading

Container Ship ONE Apus Sets Record for Boxes Lost Over the Side at Over 1,900

The one-year-old, 14,000 TEU capacity container ship, ONE Apus, has set a dubious new record. It encountered severe weather about 1,600 nautical miles northwest of Hawaii while sailing from Yantian in China to Long Beach, California. In the violent storm, … Continue reading

Surgical Masks Wash Ashore In Australia After APL Europe Loses At Least 40 Boxes

It would appear to be a sign of times. Surgical masks have been washing ashore on the beaches of New South Wales, Australia. Not pandemic aid from King Neptune, but the result of containers of medical supplies among the at … Continue reading

Waves of Rubbish Wash Up on Australian Beaches After 83 Containers Lost Overboard

Last week, the YM Efficiency, a 4250 TEU container ship bound from Taiwan to Sydney, Australia lost 83 containers in heavy seas while 30km off the coast of Port Stephens. In addition to the containers lost overboard, 30 other containers were … Continue reading

Update: How Great a Threat to Mariners are Overboard Shipping Containers?

As if the waters off North Carolina’s Outer Banks aren’t dangerous enough, this morning the US Coast Guard released an announcement that “70 stray cargo containers pose a threat to mariners off North Carolina.” The Maersk Shanghai lost approximately 70 to 73 cargo containers due … Continue reading

Buffet on the Beach — Coffee, Noodles, Wine and the 25 Missing Containers

This week, the beach in Melbourne, Florida was suddenly covered with thousands of yellow and red cans and freeze-dried bricks of Cafe Bustelo brand espresso coffee. Yesterday, packages of Ramen noodles started washing ashore at nearby Port St.Lucie. In Fort … Continue reading

Container Loaded with One Million Cigarettes Washes Ashore On Devon Coast

Last Wednesday, we posted about Svendborg Maersk, which last an estimated 520 containers  in a storm in the Bay of Biscay.  What happened to all the containers that fell overboard?  One of them, loaded with a million cigarettes, may have just washed … Continue reading

Arms & Drug Trafficking – Container Ships and Rust Buckets

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has recently released a study of arms and drug trafficking by ship. The headline is “Most ships involved in arms and drugs trafficking are based in world’s richest countries.”  The larger part of the picture, however, is not … Continue reading