Breaking! 85 containers lost at sea! Port emergency suspension, may affect a large amount of Chinese goods
Created on 03.03
On the night of the 25th to the 26th local time, a maritime accident occurred at the entrance of the Port of Casablanca, Morocco, where dozens of containers fell into the sea, temporarily interrupting port traffic.
Image source: Moroccan Television
It is reported that a container ship named "Ionikos", flying the Liberian flag and operated (leased) by Hapag-Lloyd, departed from the Port of Casablanca around 11:45 PM after unloading a large amount of transshipped cargo from China.
While en route to Barcelona, Spain, the ship encountered rough seas, and the shipping company's notice indicated that approximately 85 containers were lost overboard near the port entrance.
According to relevant media reports, the possibility that Chinese goods are still on board the vessel and in the overboard containers cannot be ruled out.
Currently, the container ship is anchored approximately 6 nautical miles offshore from the port.
According to information and voyage inquiries from Veslink, the ship was built in 2009, has a length of 258 meters, and a container capacity of 4,360 TEU.
Its operating route is from Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf of Guinea, calling at ports in Nigeria and other regions of Africa.
After the accident, the Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie and the Royal Navy dispatched 5 vessels and a helicopter at night to search for the fallen containers.
At the same time, the Moroccan National Ports Authority ordered the suspension of operations at the Port of Casablanca at night to deal with the incident of containers falling into the sea near the port entrance, stating that due to this accident, there are safety risks in the navigation channel.
Relevant departments stated that since the accident occurred at night, it was more difficult to locate the containers floating in the navigation channel, and preliminary investigations found no obvious clues.
It was not until the early morning of the next day that the Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie found the scattered containers in the port navigation channel.
Some media reported that these containers were loaded with automotive parts, furniture, and other daily consumer goods.
At least one container was damaged and washed ashore on a local beach. Reports indicate that boxes of Nestlé brand cereal were found on the beach.
The time to resume navigation is currently unclear.
Media reports show that as of February 27th,
port operations are still suspended.
Currently, relevant investigations are ongoing, and the cause of the accident is still being investigated. Rough weather, improper cargo securing, or other technical failures could all be potential causes of this overboard accident.
Article source: Veslink
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