LOS ANGELES: More than 60 shipping containers tumbled into the water Tuesday morning from the cargo vessel Mississippi at the Port of Long Beach, disrupting terminal operations but causing no injuries, officials said.
The incident occurred shortly before 9 a.m., when about 67 containers fell overboard, according to the US Coast Guard. Some landed on the STAX 2, an anti-pollution vessel docked alongside the Mississippi that helps capture emissions.
“Thankfully, no one was hurt,” Port of Long Beach spokesperson Art Marroquin told AP.
Authorities temporarily suspended loading and unloading at Pier G terminal while crews worked to secure the fallen containers. Depending on size, empty containers can weigh two to four metric tons.
The Mississippi, sailing under the Portuguese flag, had arrived in Long Beach after departing Yantian port in Shenzhen, China, on August 26, according to vessel-tracking data.
Located 20 miles south of Los Angeles, Long Beach is one of America’s busiest seaports, handling nearly 40% of the nation’s container traffic alongside the neighboring Port of Los Angeles.
