INCLEMENT weather caused container boxes to fall overboard from Singapore-flagged vessel ONE Continuity (IMO: 9388352) during its voyage from France to Singapore.
A Lloyd’s List Intelligence casualty report said 45 empty containers fell overboard as the vessel was transiting the Bay of Biscay at about 0830 hrs on December 6, during rough sea conditions.
The vessel was forced to change course and eventually called at the port of La Luz in Las Palmas.
Some 100 containers were destabilised in addition to the 45 lost into the ocean. Reports indicate other containers on board the ship were crushed. Heavy seas during the voyage caused multiple stacks to shift, resulting in falling containers.
Local officials confirmed the containers were empty, with the president of the dockworkers’ union saying this was a contributing factor to the incident.
Cargo recovery and relashing operations are underway as specialists work on the vessel docked at the Boluda terminal in Las Palmas port. These include eight specialised personnel, crane operators, welders and lashing experts.
Authorities carried out an aerial drone inspection at the request of the shipowner Seaspan, with which ONE has close ties, including a joint venture ship management business.
The assessment revealed that around 10 container rows at the stern had collapsed.
LLI’s Seasearcher shows that Atlas Corporation is registered as the beneficial owner, while ONE is listed as the vessel’s third-party operator.
A video posted on X by the Las Palmas port police showed the extent of the damage, with some boxes crushed on the starboard area of the vessel’s stern.
This is the second major incident faced by a ONE-chartered vessel in less than three weeks. On November 21, a fire broke out on ONE Henry Hudson (IMO: 9302176) at the port of Los Angeles, California.
ONE, on December 3, released an update stating that the fire had been fully extinguished with resumption of cargo operations subject to the permission of the US coastguards.
ONE was contacted for comment.
