190 Containers Lost and Damaged in Collapse on Maersk Chartered Ship

Another containership has reportedly fallen victim to storms in the Northern Pacific. Maersk is confirming reports that a chartered containership it operates suffered “a very serious incident,” with a collapse of container stacks and the loss of approximately 90 boxes overboard.

The 50,680 dwt containership Dyros, owned by Costamare and operated by Maersk under a charter till January 2024, was approximately 1,200 nautical miles east of Japan near the Fox Islands in the Aleutian chain. Maersk is reporting that the vessel experienced rough weather leading to the collapse and loss on March 21.

Maersk said that the Dyros, which has a capacity of 4,578 TEU, “lost around 90 containers in the North Pacific Ocean. Nine of these containers are labeled dangerous cargo and contain lithium-ion batteries packed with equipment. Approximately another 100 containers were damaged while no crew members were injured.”

The Liberian-registered vessel was built 14 years ago in 2008 and has operated on charter to several of the major container carriers. Maersk reports it sails on a route between China, South Korea, Japan, and Seattle, having departed Yantian on March 17.

“The ship is able to continue its voyage and is heading for a safe port,” according to Maersk. The vessel’s AIS system now shows it going to Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico where it is due to arrive on April 3. Last year, Maersk also diverted another one of its containerships, the Maersk Essen, to Mexico after suffering a container collapse in the Pacific. Maersk operates a terminal in the port.

Claims consultant WK Webster is advising clients saying in its first update, “The full extent of the loss of cargo overboard and of any accompanying physical damage to containers remaining onboard the vessel may not become clear until the vessel arrives,” and that they would be making arrangements with surveyors to inspect the cargo and damage.

“We view this as a very serious incident which will be investigated thoroughly with the aim of minimizing the risk of similar incidents in the future,” Maersk said in its prepared statement to the media.

Losses of containers made frequent headlines a year ago when two ships operating for Ocean Network Express (ONE) experienced losses, including one considered to be the largest container loss for a surviving vessel. Maersk also had several incidents in the Pacific, including the Maersk Essen which lost approximately 750 boxes in January 2021, and less than a month later the Maersk Eindhoven lost approximately 260 containers when the vessel briefly blacked out.