Containers

Derelict M/V matten and numerous containers adrift in 16-09.5N 113-58.5E at 090900Z dec

South China Sea · HYDROPAC 2322/02

What this record establishes

Archived notice · 2002-12-16 00:00Z

This notice comes from the historical archive. Its archived status does not establish when or how the reported situation ended.

Source and dates
NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · MRCC HONG KONG POR EGC#3004 090917Z DEC 02. Issued 2002-12-09 11:10Z. First collected 2026-08-17 13:38Z; last seen in collection 2026-08-17 15:46Z. Collection dates record ingestion, not a new incident or a fresh field observation.
Location covered
South China Sea. The parsed report position is 16.158, 113.975. It is a position in the source message, not a live location. Check the original wording for limits and qualifications.

Related notices and cancellation links

Current notices and reporting history in the South China Sea →

issued
2002-12-09 11:10Z
status
Archived notice
authority
MRCC HONG KONG POR EGC#3004 090917Z DEC 02
issued by
MRCC HONG KONG POR
sea
South China Sea
position
16.158, 113.975
vessel
M/V MATTEN · 2 messages
source
NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z

Original warning text

1. DERELICT M/V MATTEN AND NUMEROUS CONTAINERS
   ADRIFT IN 16-09.5N 113-58.5E AT 090900Z DEC.
2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 2320/02, PERSONS RESCUED.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 16 DEC.

Reading this warning

Derelict
An abandoned vessel still afloat and drifting, with no one on board.
Lost containers
Shipping containers lost overboard, reported floating or semi-submerged, often in groups after a single incident.
Adrift
Loose and moving with wind and current — a vessel, container, buoy, log or anything else no longer secured.
Position (degrees and minutes)
How warnings write positions: degrees, a hyphen, then minutes, with N/S and E/W — 49-40.8N 003-43.8W.
Date-time group (DTG)
A compact UTC timestamp — day, hour and minute followed by Z — such as 201500Z for the 20th at 15:00 UTC.
Cancellation reference
A line that cancels an earlier warning by its number, such as CANCEL HYDROLANT 1085/12.
HYDROPAC
The U.S. long-range warning series for the Pacific outside NAVAREA XII and for the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and adjoining seas.
CANCEL THIS MSG
The warning's own expiry: a line telling the reader when the message cancels itself.

All warning terms →

Collected reports in this area · drifting containers

7 within 180 nm since 1998 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now

98
00
05
06

Counts include repeat notices about the same situation. NGA archive coverage ends 2024-05; live collection began 2026-08-17. The period between them is incomplete. An empty year is not evidence that no hazards occurred.

Month of issue in the collected archive

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

All available years combined. Uneven collection and repeat bulletins affect these counts; this chart does not measure the seasonality or probability of incidents.

Nearby notices listed in force · within 120 nm

No other collected notice is currently listed in force within this radius. This does not establish safe conditions.

Worldwide in the collected sources

0 drifting containers listed in force · see all

Record snapshot 2026-10-02 08:13Z; source collection times vary.

Containers

Shipping containers lost overboard and reported adrift or semi-submerged. All current drifting containers →

Not for navigation. This is a re-rendering of an official navigational warning for awareness; mariners must use official NAVAREA broadcasts and their national MSI service.