Navigation Warning After Ship Loses 46 Containers in Philippine Waters
The Philippine Coast Guard issued a navigational warning for one of its busy shipping lanes after a containership lost 46 boxes overboard in the Batangas region. Surveys were underway to find the containers, while pictures showed that at least one has washed ashore.
The interisland containership Span Asia 39 (8,300 dwt) reported the container loss around 11:00 a.m. local time on September 3 while it was approximately 1.5 nautical miles offshore near Hamilo Point. Built in 2006, the 115-meter (377-foot) ship, which has a capacity of 564 TEU, was acquired by Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. The company called the ship a "game changer" with a speed of 15 knots for the Manila-Cebu-CDO-Cebu-Manila route.
At least one container washed ashore while the Coast Guard is searching for others in the shipping lane (PCG)
The ship reported that it encountered rough sea conditions accompanied by heavy and continuous rolling on Thursday morning. As a result, the container lashings loosened. It said that 30 of its 20-foot containers, 11 of its 40-foot containers, and five open containers went overboard. The ship said the containers were empty. It had departed from Davao International Container Terminal on August 31 with 332 containers onboard.
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The ship proceeded into the North Manila Anchorage, but while maneuvering there Thursday afternoon, it reported another container fell overboard. This one was reported to have sunk.
The Coast Guard dispatched CGS Cavite to the area where the containers were lost, and it deployed a drone. BRP Malapascua, the multi-purpose response vessel, was also proceeding to the area. It will be aiding in the search and drift-tracking as they look for any other boxes that might still be afloat.
