Medical equipment among other commodities can be found washed ashore on the Australian coast after 43 containers fell off from APL England this Sunday shortly after 6:00 am local time.
The Australian Maritime Authorities (AMSA) have determined that heavy seas and a loss of propulsion on the APL England were the main causes for the cargo loss of about 43 containers.
The APL England was en route from Ningbo, China, to Melbourne Australia, turning around and changing course to Brisbane after the incident to be boarded by local authorities and conduct the proper investigations.
“Heavy seas caused a loss of propulsion and power on the ship, which caused it to roll heavily, and container stacks to collapse and fall overboard,” AMSA said.
“While it is still unclear exactly which containers have been lost at sea, early indications point that the affected stacks contained different type of goods like household appliances, building materials, and medical supplies”.
Unfortunately, authorities said this is not the first time the APL England reports container losses off the Australian coasts.
“Previously the APL England lost 37 containers while navigating in the great Australian Bight in August 2016 due to heavy rolling in rough seas, and while at that time the ship was under different management, this is just another example of the need for crews and operators to ensure the cargo is carried, and ships are operated, to prevent this sort of pollution of the marine environment,” the AMSA said.
Everything points that no dangerous goods were present inside the lost containers, but maritime authorities continue working hand in hand with the ship’s cargo agent to confirm exactly which containers content went overboard.
