Every month, ships that transport containers may report the loss of a container. Shipping containers get lost in the sea as a result of stormy weather that may lead to the ship rocking violently. Containers that were not well secured will dislodge from the ship and be lost at sea. Others are lost when catastrophes such as tsunamis occur and disrupt the wind patterns. Human errors in navigating the ship may cause accidents with natural elements such as a coral reef. Other ships may be grounded due to negligence and wrong handling of the vessels thus leading to additional container loss (World Shipping Council, 2017).
The number of containers lost each month is not readily ascertained. This is because not every loss is reported or documented in time to add up to the statistics. Additionally, not all ships keep good records of the shipping containers aboard their vessels. The World Shipping Company (WSC) has released a report that provided estimates that were thought to be reasonably accurate. The report was made up of a composition of records from their members reported annual container losses. The WSC estimates that between 185-261 shipping containers are lost at sea each month (Saenz, 2011).
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The Monterray Bay Aquarium Research Institute ( MBARI ) has also developed an interest in the number of containers that are still in the sea. The use of specialized equipment such as robotic subs is expected to provide a concrete figure that the WSC can use to dispute or confirm their figures. Information on this phenomenon can help shipping companies to avoid further losses by avoiding routes that record excess losses. It will also provide a basis to investigate the effect of the ships on aquatic life forms. A resolution to this problem will avoid conflicts such as the ones between marine sanctuaries and shipping companies.
References
Saenz A. (2011) 10,000 Shipping Containers Lost At Sea Each Year…Here’s a Look At One Retrieved from https://singularityhub.com/2011/04/05/10000-shipping-containers-lost-at-sea-each-year-heres-a-look-at-one-2/#sm.0001qc6osc6j4etwwhp28yyn25w2l
World Shipping Council.(2017) Containers Lost at Sea 2017 Update. Retrieved from http://www.worldshipping.org/industry-issues/safety/containers
