On March 3, nearly 70 containers were lost at Sea after they fell from a container ship due to strong winds and rough seas.
What happened?
The cargo ship ‘Maersk Shanghai’ had reported to the Coast Guard that rough seas of up to 30 feet and winds up to 65 mph knocked overboard about 70 of its 3,000 containers. They fell about 17 miles off the coast of Oregon Inlet.
The Coast Guard issued a warning to the ships travelling in the vicinity to lookout for stray containers. The Coast Guard found four of the containers floating 10 to 14 miles offshore and approximately 50 miles south of where they were lost. About half of each container can be seen floating above the surface – a height of four to five feet. An aircraft crew is on the lookout to locate the other containers.
Sulphuric acid
Information from sources say that, around 3 tons of sulphuric acid are present in one of the 70 missing containers which fell into the Sea near the Outer banks. The missing container held 5,913 pounds of the acid in sealed drums and it was likely to be utilized as a chemical to produce fertilizer.
Coast Guard spokesman Ronald Hodges said, “Sulphuric acid is a colourless, oily liquid that burns the skin on contact and corrodes most metals. But the environmental danger is minimal because the solution dissolves in saltwater”. This information was issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Damage assessed
Authorities are not certain what is in the other containers, Hodges said. The ship’s crew reported the missing acid container, after taking inventory and is believed to be the only lost container marked hazardous.
Hodges conveyed that it is not yet known whether the sulphuric acid is in one of the four found containers. The ship is currently anchored in Charleston, S.C., where company officials and the Coast Guard are assessing the damage.
The company spokeswoman Katherine Mosquera said, “We will be in contact with all customers with direct impact to find the best solution for the handling of their cargo”.
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Source: Virginian-Pilot
