Pictures circulating on social media have revealed the extent of the carnage aboard the Ocean Network Express (ONE) containership ONE Apus.
The 2019-built, 14,000-teu vessel lost 1,900 containers overboard in rough seas in the Pacific Ocean earlier this week while sailing from China to the US.
The pictures, reportedly taken by a member of the ship’s crew, show that at least seven rows of containers have been affected by the incident.
NYK Shipmanagement, meanwhile, have confirmed the ONE Apus is proceeding to the port of Kobe, Japan, with an estimated time of arrival of 8 December 2020.
“ The priority remains on getting the vessel and crew safely to port,” the company said in a statement late on Thursday.
“Once berthed, it’s expected to take some time to offload the dislodged containers that remain on board. Then a thorough assessment will be made on the exact number and type of containers that have been lost or damaged.”
ONE said that whilst it remains unsafe for the crew to conduct close-quarter inspections of the impacted container bays at sea, it is estimated that the number of lost or damaged units could exceed 1,900, of which some 40 are believed to be dangerous goods containers.
“Once the ONE Apus is in port and deemed safe, a full investigation will be conducted into this incident in conjunction with the flag state and the relevant maritime authorities,” it said.
The vessel was on passage from Yantian, China, to Long Beach in the US around 1,600 nautical miles (2,963 km) north-west of Hawaii, when it encountered what was described as a “violent storm cell producing gale-force winds and large swells”.
ONE said the weather conditions caused the Japanese-flagged ONE Apus to “roll heavily resulting in the dislodging of the lost containers”.
