Containers lost overboard
The loss overboard of containers stowed on deck, a casualty whose frequency depends on a few extreme events and engages three covers at once.
On November 30, 2020, in the North Pacific, the container ship ONE Apus lost 1,816 containers, one of the heaviest events on record. Containers lost overboard means boxes stowed on deck falling into the sea through parametric rolling, lashing failure, excessive list or fire. The phenomenon changed scale with ship size. A modern container ship stacks up to eleven tiers above deck, where accelerations are greatest and inspection hardest. Three causes recur in investigations: weight under-declaration by the shipper, which corrupts the stability calculation, speed maintained in a beam sea, and fatigue in lashing gear. For insurance, a single event triggers three covers. The cargo policy pays for the goods, the hull policy for damage to the ship, and liability cover for the locating and recovery costs that coastal authorities impose. A general average declaration comes on top if the ship jettisoned deliberately. The industry has focused on under-declaration; since 2016, mandatory verified gross mass before loading has been a partial answer.
The container ship ONE Apus lost 1,816 containers in the North Pacific on November 30, 2020, one of the heaviest events on record. The World Shipping Council counted 3,924 containers lost in 2020 against 221 in 2023. In a distribution where two or three casualties make the statistic, the annual average says almost nothing.
- World Shipping Council, "Containers Lost at Sea, 2025 Update", submission to the IMO (CCC 11/10/1), 2025
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