A number of containers, possible as many as 25, fell overboard from a barge on the Florida coast, according to multiple sources.
The barge was en route to Puerto Rico when it shed the containers – some believed to be carrying cargo that included batteries – between Port Canaveral and West Palm Beach.
The boxes fell from the 340-foot barge Columbia Elizabeth which was being pulled by the 136-foot tug Capt Latham (109 dwt, built 1982).
At least one of the containers had washed ashore at Port Canaveral. The Capt Latham is moored at the port of Palm Beach pending further developments.
It was not known as of midday on Monday what caused the containers to fall. The US Coast Guard is investigating the incident and searching for the lost containers and their cargo which could pose a pollution threat.
