AsiaContainersOperations

Madrid Bridge to head to Charleston to discharge damaged containers

Ocean Network Express (ONE) has provided an update on the box loss accident onboard chartered vessel Madrid Bridge a week ago in the Atlantic.

The ship is now diverting to Charleston instead of New York with ONE suggesting approximately 60 containers were lost overboard, and a further 80 units were damaged.

At Charleston, ONE will carry out a detailed assessment of the vessel condition and discharge the affected containers.

On November 30 2020, a stack collapse onboard another ONE-operated ship, the ONE Apus, resulted in a massive series of insurance claims.

Container shipping has been battling a series of container stack collapses over the past couple of winters.

Insurer Allianz stated in a report last year that the spike in lost containers at sea experienced in 2020 and 2021 was down to the prevalence of ever larger vessels, more extreme weather, a surge in freight rates and misdeclared cargo weights.

“There are growing questions about how containers are secured on board ships,” Allianz warned.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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