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MSC Boxship Partially Sinks off Zhoushan

MSC Silvana
Via Chinese social media

Published Aug 9, 2026 9:26 PM by The Maritime Executive

The boxship MSC Silvana VIII has partially sunk off the coast of Zhoushan, and it took on a precarious position just ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Dolphin.  

The 8,400 TEU boxship MSC Silvana VIII arrived at the west side of the Guojiayou Island shipyard district for repairs in June. AIS data shows that during Typhoon Bavi she departed the dock and ended up at a position on the other side of the channel, just off Daishan. Her AIS transmission ceased thereafter.

Visible scaffolding around the foremast and the bridge suggests that shipyard work was under way when the vessel ran into difficulty. 

Chart data provided by Pole Star suggests that she may have touched bottom twice - once on a marked rock just off Daishan on July 11, and again at another marked outcropping on July 12, just off the west end of Dazhyu Island. The bottom in her current location drops off steeply into a deep channel of up to 40-50 meters of depth, enough water that she might eventually slip completely below the surface.

MSC Silvana VIII (top) and apparent oil slick (vertical) (Copernicus / Sentinel-2)

Satellite imagery shows that the ship was leaking fuel oil as recently as August 7, and a slick stretched off several miles to the south. Heavy wave action and high winds from the typhoon - which made landfall Sunday at a location to the south, in Zhejiang - will likely disperse the slick.