Where Did All The Containers Go?

Millennium Cargo Services Ltd

Last year I wrote a blog post about the number of containers lost each year.

A shocking estimated 10,000 containers go missing each year! But where do they go?

Well, it’s hard to say because many of them are never found again. But we do know that a large proportion of them end up on the ocean floor.

In June this year 81 containers were lost overboard from the Liberian-flagged YM Efficiency, and a further 62 damaged in the incident caused by severe weather conditions.

It was thought they were lost for good, until related debris was spotted off the coast near Newcastle, New South Wales. A full search was launched and 37 of the containers located!

The search, funded by the YM Efficiency’s insurer, Aus Ship and owner Yang Ming, took place over 6 days, by the Port of Newcastle surveying vessel JT Gowland.

The search will continue for the remaining 44 containers and once they are all located they will assess the possibility of trawling operations to recover them.

Whilst it’s hard to estimate the losses for the companies involved, it’s likely that the time, money and delays to delivery of goods will all have a heavy impact on those involved.

This just reaffirms for me why here at Millennium we place such a high importance on the safety of your cargo. Our top priority here at Millennium is to ensure the safety of your container every step of its journey.

Whilst I understand that sometimes losses cannot be avoided, storms happen and there are no guarantees where mother nature is involved, I am proud to confirm that in 22 years of business we’ve never lost a shipping container.

And we’ll continue to do everything we can to keep that track record!