Why are we still losing containers at sea

In the last reminder of the vulnerability that continues in container transportation, Lunar 50 containers in the Callao Bay on August 1, 2025, just a few days later Always masterpieceAnother evergreen ship lost about 30 to 40 containers on the South American coast between Brazil and Uruguay.

Despite larger ships, smarter software and decades of operational experience, the industry still faces an old problem: the dishes passing through there ..

Another question is, how “is it”. This is “why”. Why are we still optimized and monitored in a period of digital transportation?

Size doesn’t matter when the sea is rough ..

There are two intellectual trains 1) that larger ships are more stable, and therefore less likely to lose containers 2) that larger ships are vulnerable to the collapse of the stack. Both thoughts can be wrong or depending on the weather conditions that the ship passed at that time, as well as the board of directors.

None Lunar No. Always masterpiece Were caught in the storm of cyclone or rogue. These damages occurred under conditions that were considered an average time and challenged the assumption that the loss of container is severely the result of the intense air or the small shiplessness of the ship.

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The seas are not just harder, they are less predictable.

Scientific data confirms that ocean conditions have become more unstable in recent decades, especially in the Southern Hemisphere:

• Since the 1980s, in areas such as the South Pacific, the South Ocean and along the West Coast of South America, wave heights have increased by 0.5 to 3 cm per year.

• The height of the “100 -year” wave used in the design of the ship in some areas has increased to 8 % ..

• More energetic swelling than the South Ocean now affects coastal lines such as Peru and Chile, unstable and port operation areas.

Sources: nature.com, MDPI ..

Container loss data

According to the World Transport Council report 2025:

• On average, 661 annual containers disappeared between 2020 and 2023.
• Although Figure 2024 increases from 576 containers from 2023 (221 lost), it is still lower than the 10 -year average of 1,274.
• Noteworthy, 35 % of the losses of 2024, nearly 200 dishes, following mass change due to the Red Sea clash, came around good hope.
• The South African Maritime Safety Department (SAMSA) links these to four high -profile accidents in mid -2024:
  • CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin (18,000 TEU): 44 Lost Dishes
  • CMA CGM Belem (13,000 TEU): 99 Lost Dishes
  • MSC Antonia (7000 TEU): 46 Lost Dishes
  • MSC Taranto (14000 TEU): 5 Empty Lost Container
  • The additional losses were recorded on Mirsk Stepnika Vat Rio Grand ExpressWith more than 350 containers in the whole damaged ..

Even non -container ships have suffered. MVULTRA GalaxyA public cargo ship changed its load, the list, land and eventually separated from the South African coast.

Where are the containers miss .. ??

While the North Pacific Ocean remains the top area for container casualties due to the long routes and winter storms, there is a clear geographical expansion:

• The North Sea is still dangerous in the winter (eg, MSC Zoe) .. ..
• South American corridors like the ones they can boil Always masterpiece Vat Lunar The container events are more likely to be unstable inflation.
• The coastline of South Africa, once considered a secondary transit area, has been changed due to altered traffic and convergent wave systems.

The trend is clear .. Losing container is no longer limited to traditional important points. Climate fluctuations are creating new risk hallways.

The problem may be in the chain, not the ship ..

Both Lunar Vat Always masterpiece Lost dishes in non -country conditions.

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The main topics of the flagship in recent research include:

• Flogging inspections before visiting contradictory
• Manual checks instead of smart whip systems
• Answer delayed or weak crew to rolling or listing in the anchor
• Package of weak cargo, abuse of weight or integrity of the destructive container

While every accident is not due to non -compliance with VGM, even small errors throughout the chain can be pressured. The real threat is not individual failure, but the widespread friction of the system in dynamic marine conditions.

Comparison of the past disaster – the safety size is not equal

Common causes are not the size, age or length of the path, but a combination of sensitivity to movements, poor cargo immunization, and reactive planning.

Final Thoughts: “Why” We have to answer ..

As the ships grow and the technologies evolve, the expectation of container casualties would be reduced. However, hundreds of containers still pass there every year.

It creates hard questions:

• Do we still rely on adaptation instead of foresight ??
• Are the decisions anchored by live inflation data or obsolete norms.
• Do we invest in forecast safety tools, or just tick boxes ??

The cost of the container’s loss is beyond insurance demands. It damages trust, contaminates the oceans and reveals the vulnerabilities of the system.

It is time for carriers, ports, regulators, and transport to work together on clever and preventive solutions, because the loss of containers should not be the price of world trade in 2025.

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