Cargo container incident at Port of Long Beach leaves dozens of shipping containers in ocean
By Austin Turner, Dean Fioresi
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LONG BEACH, California (KCAL, KCBS) — An apparent accident involving a cargo ship at the Port of Long Beach left a mess in the ocean on Tuesday morning.
Aerial footage captured around 10:30 a.m. showed dozens of shipping containers in the ocean water along the coast at the port near Pier G. The vessel, identified as the “Mississippi,” arrived at Long Beach from southern China sometime within the 24 hours before the incident.
Port of Long Beach spokesperson Art Marroquin said in a statement that the incident occurred just before 9 a.m. as the containers were unloaded. No major injuries have been reported, and the exact cause of the incident is under investigation.
Approximately 67 containers spilled into the ocean, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Stunning images from the scene showed several containers toppled over on the rear of the Mississippi, as well as some that spilled over onto a smaller vessel, a clean air barge that was connected to the cargo ship.
It’s not yet clear exactly what cargo the containers held, but port workers said that some of the items were clothing, shoes, electronics and furniture. Operations have been temporarily suspended at the Pier G container terminal as responders work to secure the containers, according to Marroquin. They are expected to remain closed at least through Wednesday.
“Unified Command agencies have dispatched numerous vessels and aircraft to assess the situation and provide assistance,” said a news release shared by the Port of Long Beach. “The Coast Guard established a safety zone 500 yards around the Mississippi and is issuing marine safety broadcasts every hour to alert other vessels of the navigation and safety hazards. The Coast Guard is also leading the effort to determine the cause of the incident.”
Late Tuesday night, a boom was placed around the containers that remained in the water. A crane will be necessary to remove the containers that sunk to the bottom of the water.
Authorities with the Coast Guard, Long Beach Fire Department, Long Beach Police Department, Port of Long Beach and the Army Corps of Engineers were called to help with the ongoing investigation and assessment.
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