Containers

Container adrift in vicinity of trackline between 10-47.81S 132-30.75E and 10-47.57S 132-55.34E at 191000Z sep

Arafura Sea · HYDROPAC 3233/17

What this record establishes

Archived notice · 2017-09-23 02:40Z

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) · SEA SAFETY 66/17 200146Z SEP 17.. Issued 2017-09-20 02:40Z. 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: Arafura Sea. The map shows the reported line or operation extent; it is not a vessel track. Check the original wording for limits and qualifications.

Current notices and reporting history in the Arafura Sea →

issued: 2017-09-20 02:40Z
status: Archived notice
self-cancels: 2017-09-23 02:40Z
authority: SEA SAFETY 66/17 200146Z SEP 17.
issued by: SEA SAFETY
sea: Arafura Sea
position: -10.795, 132.717
containers: 1
source: NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z

Original warning text

ARAFURA SEA.
AUSTRALIA-NORTH COAST.
DNC 04, DNC 05.
1. CONTAINER ADRIFT IN VICINITY OF TRACKLINE BETWEEN
   10-47.81S 132-30.75E AND 10-47.57S 132-55.34E
   AT 191000Z SEP.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 230240Z SEP 17.

Reading this warning

DNC (Digital Nautical Chart): A reference to one of the regions of NGA's Digital Nautical Chart, used to tell the reader which charts a warning affects.
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.
Track line joining: Introduces a route through a series of positions — a cable route, a tow's track or a survey line.
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.
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

4 within 180 nm since 2014 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now

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.

Container adrift in 10-56.3S 131-28.7E at 212339Z sep2017-09-22
Container adrift in 10-51.32S 131-46.18E at 202351Z sep2017-09-21
Container adrift vicinity 08-42S 130-53E at 250240Z nov2014-11-25

Month of issue in the collected archive

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

Cape hotham light Q3315 in position 12-02.78S 131-17.37E unlitNav aids · 112.7 nm

Worldwide in the collected sources

0 drifting containers listed in force · see all

Record snapshot 2026-09-28 21:28Z; 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.