Lost containers
Shipping containers lost overboard, reported floating or semi-submerged, often in groups after a single incident.
Containers are lost overboard mostly in heavy weather, when stacks collapse or ships roll heavily; a single incident can put dozens or hundreds into the sea. Many sink quickly, but some float for weeks, low in the water and nearly invisible, especially refrigerated containers and those carrying light cargo.
Warnings give the number lost, the ship and the position, and later individual sightings. The number in a warning is what the ship reported at the time; later messages sometimes revise it.
What the archive shows
1,315 messages in this archive use “Lost containers”, the earliest issued 1984-11-26 and the latest 2026-08-28. None of them is in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2000, with 79 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Containers accounts for 1,042 of 1,315 recorded messages (79%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 54 sea areas; the most frequent are North Atlantic Ocean (324), North Pacific Ocean (149) and Celtic Sea (111).
Messages that use it are issued most often in February (173 across all years) and least often in September (74).
By warning series: HYDROLANT 594, HYDROPAC 418, NOAAORR 156 and NAVAREA IV 93, and 2 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 54 sea areas
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROLANT 1685/26 · Containers · Black Sea2026-08-27
BLACK SEA. ROMANIA. 1. CONTAINERS ADRIFT IN VICINITY 44-37.93N 029-46.92E AT 271455Z AUG. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 302241Z AUG…
Containers adrift in vicinity 44-37.93N 029-46.92E at 271455Z aug → - HYDROPAC 2401/26 · Containers · Arabian Sea2026-08-20
ARABIAN SEA. INDIA. 1. PARTIALLY SUBMERGED CONTAINER ADRIFT IN VICINITY 18-55.16N 071-55.61E AT 200400Z AUG. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 231658Z AUG…
Partially submerged container adrift in vicinity 18-55.16N 071-55.61E at 200400Z aug → - NOAAORR-11164 · Spills · North Pacific Ocean2026-05-22
…District contacted the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) regarding a damaged container of methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer at the GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove,…
12242 western ave, garden grove, ca 92841, USA → - NOAAORR-11142 · Spills · North Pacific Ocean2026-04-03
…by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach regarding a compromised container of sodium hydroxide. The Los Angeles Fire Department deployed on scene and established a…
Sodium hydroxide leak: port of los angeles/long beach, california → - NOAAORR-11131 · Spills · North Pacific Ocean2026-03-09
Container Ship Loses 32 Containers; south of Aleutian Islands, Alaska. 1. On March 9, 2026, the…
Container ship loses 32 containers; south of aleutian islands, alaska → - NOAAORR-11118 · Spills · Gulf of Mexico2026-02-04
Chemical Release from Container Ship Northern Jaguar, APM Terminal; Mobile, Alabama. MX98+7P Mobile, AL, USA. 1. On…
Chemical release from container ship northern jaguar, apm terminal; mobile, alabama → - NOAAORR-11087 · Spills · North Pacific Ocean2025-11-21
…U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach that a fire had broken out on the container ship “ONE Henry Hudson” docked at Birth 218 at the Yusen Terminal at the Port of Los…
Containership fire at port of los angeles; long beach, california → - NOAAORR-11064 · Spills · North Pacific Ocean2025-09-11
Shipping Container Spill, Port of Long Beach; Long Beach, California. PQVX+F9 Long Beach, CA, USA. 1.…
Shipping container spill, port of long beach; long beach, california →
Earliest in the archive
- NOAAORR-8998 · Spills · North Atlantic Ocean1984-11-26
…Patapsco River, Boston Harbor, MD. Patapsco River, Boston Harbor, MD. 1. Russian container ship Warnemunde grounded outside of Baltimore Harbor- near mouth of Patapsco River. has…
Patapsco river, boston harbor, md →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Adrift
- Loose and moving with wind and current — a vessel, container, buoy, log or anything else no longer secured.
- Semi-submerged
- Floating at or just below the surface, so hard to see by eye or radar.
- Wide berth requested
- Keep well clear — or, when a distance is given ("TWO MILE BERTH REQUESTED"), at least that far away.
Warning types that use it
- Containers — Shipping containers lost overboard and reported adrift or semi-submerged.
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.