The Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management Rijkswaterstaat and Geneva-based shipping giant MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) have located a total of 238 out of the 281 containers that were lost overboard the mega container ship ‘MSC Zoe’ last week.
The 19,224 TEU container ship MSC Zoe lost 281 containers during the night from January 1 to January 2 in North sea due to heavy weather, north of Borkum, Germany. The ship was heading from Sines, Portugal, to Bremerhaven, Germany, at the time.
Meanwhile, reports mention that several containers have been washed ashore in Dutch islands. Containers have been so far found over a length of 23 miles above Terschelling, Schiermonnikoog and east of this line.
According to reports by the Fryslân Safety Region, two of the lost containers contain hazardous substances: A container with 280 bags of each 25 kg of dibenzoyl peroxide (a substance used in the pharmaceutical industry) and a container with 1400 kg of lithium batteries.
Several bags of dibenzoyl peroxide have been found, which makes it clear that this container has been opened,
…Rijkswaterstaat reported.
In the latest update, MSC informed that it would pay the full costs of the clean-up operations and noted that it will continue searching the sea for the containers which fell overboard, ‘until the last one is found‘. It also ensured that the beaches of the Dutch and German coastlines are surveyed until all debris related to this incident has been cleared.
The ship remains docked at Bremerhaven where investigation is to determine the exact causes of the incident.
