On Tuesday, at the Port of Los Angeles, three shipping containers fell off a ship and into the water. This led to authorities setting up a safety zone while teams worked to secure the area and locate two containers that are still underwater.
The incident occurred near Berth 302 during container loading operations, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard was notified at around 11:20 a.m. and quickly sent a boat crew to the site. The response also involved the Los Angeles City Fire Department and the Los Angeles Port Police.
A safety zone of 400 yards was established around the area of the incident.
Out of the three 40-foot containers that fell into the water, one has been recovered while the other two are still underwater. Their positions have been located and marked.
According to the Coast Guard, the cargo in the containers is classified as non-hazardous.
The ship involved seems to be the containership APL Dublin, based on available images. The Coast Guard has not yet officially confirmed the ship’s identity or the reason why the containers fell during operations.
This incident is reminiscent of a larger event that took place almost exactly a year ago at the nearby Port of Long Beach, where 95 containers fell from the containership Mississippi at Pier G in September 2022.
That earlier accident led to a major recovery effort, using divers, sonar equipment, and remote-operated vehicles to locate containers that were submerged or trapped. The last container was retrieved more than two weeks after the incident.
While Tuesday's event is not as large in scale, submerged containers can still pose navigation hazards until they are found and taken out of the water.
The Coast Guard stated that they will provide more information as the situation develops.