A Netflix drama has refocused attention on one of the most notorious crimes in recent US criminal history
Indeed, most of the world's goods and materials travel far and wide stacked in metal boxes on ships. But not everything arrives at shore. It's reported that just over the last 15 years well over 20,000 containers have been reported lost. Their contents have contributed to accumulating garbage in our oceans, sometimes drifting to shores, other times polluting animal habitats. But how can a shipping container, typically weighing between 3,970-4,850 lbs (1.8-2.2 metric tonnes), ever lose some of its contents at sea? And how can this issue be addressed to prevent waste and pollution? Click on to find out more.
Over 90% of goods and materials are transported at sea. This includes dry bulk items, animals, vehicles, food, materials, chemicals, and hazardous materials. Nearly all of the items that we purchase that come from abroad arrive on ships.
Dry bulk items refers to unpackaged commodities that are typically used in manufacturing and the production of goods. This includes items such as grains, cement, sand, sugar, and salt.
Livestock are also transported by sea. Four Paws International reports that, annually, 4.5 million animals, namely cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats, leave the EU by ship to other countries.
Animals face difficult conditions in often overcrowded spaces, where illness and injury frequently occur. And when conditions don’t allow for the unloading of animals, tragedy can strike.
For example, in March 2021, 20 ships carrying livestock were stuck with the blocking of the Suez Canal. Animal welfare organizations expressed concern about the conditions that animals were being held under and for an undetermined amount of time.
When ships capsize, animals often fall victim to conditions. In 2019, close to the Port of Midia (Romania), a vessel called Queen Hind capsized. It was carrying crew members and over 14,000 sheep. The crew was rescued, but only 32 sheep were able to be saved.
The automotive industry greatly relies on shipping to get vehicles from factories to dealerships. One of the big challenges that the industry faces is the transportation of electrical cars via ship. There have been a number of instances of fires breaking out due to the lithium batteries, and even separate incidents of sinking ships.
In 2023, a cargo ship carrying around 4,000 luxury vehicles sunk close to the Azores islands after a fire occurred due to the electric batteries. What makes this issue more complicated is that traditional water extinguishers can’t stop a fire caused by lithium batteries.
Therefore, the issue of electrical cars poses a serious risk for crew members, who may have to intervene at any time to put out a fire without the resources to do so.
Nearly 60% of the global food trade is transported by sea. There are several challenges related to the transportation of food, particularly perishable items. Three key issues are temperature control, cross-contamination, and the handling of items.
Approximately 30% of the world’s food supply goes to waste, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization, because it doesn’t arrive in an edible form.
Toxic chemicals and hazardous substances are one of the riskiest materials that are transported via sea. When containers tumble from ships, coastal areas can become contaminated, exposing local populations to dangerous materials, with little recourse once the incident occurs.
Over 20,000 containers have tumbled overboard in the last 15 years or so. Contents have washed onto shores, polluted animal and human life, and contributed to the accumulation of waste in the ocean.
According to an article published on CBS News, a man in Washington state has encountered many strange items on the coast throughout the years. From toys to shoes and apparel, what he's found are contents of dumped containers.
Conditions at sea can make the loss of containers more probable. But it’s difficult to give precise data, as there are no consequences for failing to report losses.
On average, 1,500 containers have been lost yearly over the last 15 years or so. But the number is likely much higher.
Scientists and activists point to the devastating environmental impacts of container spills. Every spill leaves its trace and causes some sort of damage and disturbance.
In 2021, in Sri Lanka, a fire that broke out on a ship left more than 1,400 damaged containers carrying plastic in the sea, extremely toxic to human and sea life.
Thousands of dead fish and other sea life, including dolphins and whales, died gruesome deaths, with plastic found in their mouths and gills.
Fishermen lost their income for months, as the sea was too toxic to sail. The shore was completely closed off for months as a massive, costly cleanup effort took place.
The cause of the incident was likely poor stacking of the containers onboard. One small accident in loading the ship provoked major environmental damages that will likely be felt for years to come.
Containers that aren’t transporting toxic material also leave their mark. An incident in early 2024, which resulted in the tumbling of cotton near the Monterey Bay coast (by California) was very disruptive to sea life and required the intervention of several agencies to mitigate the harm it caused to a wide array of organisms.
Yet the majority of the thousands of containers lost at sea are never found or retrieved. Usually, they sink into the deep sea. The impact to our oceans, already facing grave crises due to climate change and environmental damage, is only made worse with these preventable accidents.
The micro-ecosystem surrounding the lost containers are impacted in ways that scientists are still trying to fully understand, as deep sea studies have their own challenges.
About 50 years ago, when the shipping industry started becoming more prevalent, ships were only able to hold 10% of the capacity that they do today.
The greater the size of the ship, the greater the risk. Difficult conditions at sea make a larger ship more prone to container loss, as they are more difficult to control. The numbers reflect this.
A study measuring container loss over the last six years or so notes that while 9% of large ships experienced container loss, smaller ships only experienced incidents at a 1% rate.
With the mass underreporting that occurs and the likelihood of these numbers being much higher than expected, it’s clear that policy changes are needed to ensure accurate reporting and consequences for accidents at sea.
Our dependency on shipping as a primary method of transportation for our goods should help bring more attention to the ways in which greater measures must be taken to protect our seas.
Sources: (AP News) (CBS News) (MSC) (Four Paws) (BBC) (PSA International) (Our World in Data) (Al Jazeera) (NGO Shipbreaking Platform)
See also: Incredible images of abandoned transportation from around the world
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The environmental, economic, and logistical implications of container loss
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