ONE Apus as it arrived into view in Kobe, Japan, December 8, 2020. Photo: Twitter @mrnkA4srnrA
gCaptain reports on the largest container loss ever experienced by a Box Ship, 1816 containers. Obviously a pollution potential and, while they float, a hazard to navigation.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
I find inconceivable that Maritime Shipping doesn’t employ that same stacking system that warehouses or brick layers to distribute weight for then a century (i.e. Cross Stacking, Step Stacking or Block Stacking)…
That must have been one hell of a storm! According to the article, the seas conditions were 5-6m swells (16-20′) and 16m waves (52′). There is quite a bit that goes into making those containers secure during transit and I can only imagine what that crew was feeling. I’ve seen other containers lost overboard before but those are typically only a handful and they are usually located at the bow or stern. What is most telling to me is the number of containers missing from the mid section or the ship. I’m curious to hear more as we learn the full details of what happened.
Offloading those containers would be a dangerous task as one has to climb on the slanted and lopsided containers to attach the crane’s chains. The footing would really be something unless they use an electromagnet to plunk the containers off one by one.
I can’t imagine the insurance loss if some of those containers contain something valuable and precious, such as an expensive sports car that totally got banged up inside the shipping container.