It is suspected that some 64 of those damaged or missing containers contain dangerous cargo.

When it encountered gale-force winds and wide swells about 1,600 nautical miles northwest of Hawaii, the 14,052 TEU container ship, built in 2019, was en route from Yantian, China to Long Beach, USA.

The master diverted the ship towards Japan for safety reasons.

“Once the vessel and cargo are declared safe, surveyors from the various stakeholders will make their initial assessments whilst stowage planners and stevedores formulate and implement a plan to ensure the safe removal of the remaining units,” ONE announced.

The company reported that with the assistance of local emergency services, the vessel and its remaining cargo will now undergo a complete safety review to ensure that there is no danger to people or the environment posed by the dislodged and damaged containers remaining on deck.

In coordination with the Flag State and the relevant maritime authorities, a thorough investigation of the incident is scheduled to be taken out.

Initial market estimates indicate that the insurance bill could reach about $50 million for the missing containers.

Maritime Business World