After the “Mississippi” lost several containers in the port of Long Beach last week, the salvage work is making progress. The cause of the accident is still unknown.
More than 70 containers had fallen into the harbor basin after collapsing on board the “Mississippi”, endangering shipping traffic. The Coast Guard established a safety zone of 465 meters around the freighter berthed at Pier G.
The Container Recovery Group, in cooperation with salvage teams and members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), has now recovered 54 containers from the pier and out of the water. Salvage operations on land and water are continuing to safely recover the remaining containers.
“Safety continues to be a top priority as the Port of Long Beach works with the U.S. Coast Guard, vessel operators, salvage teams and ILWU personnel in the next phases of the recovery effort,” said Michael Goldschmidt, Port of Long Beach’s director of operations for the container accident response. “Our goal is to safely resolve this incident while ensuring that goods continue to move expeditiously through this important gateway for trans-Pacific trade.”
In addition to recovering overturned containers, unaffected containers on board the cargo ship Mississippi are being unloaded to safely board the stricken emissions control vessel. Once the ship is cleared, salvage crews and dock workers can focus on recovering the damaged containers from the Mississippi. Coast Guard security officers will remain on site to monitor operations and ensure that all movements are conducted safely.
As of Wednesday, the Captain of the Port has authorized the safe passage of 55 commercial vessels through the safety zone. “The progress made reflects excellent coordination between agencies and industry partners,” said Coast Guard Captain Stacey Crecy, Coast Guard Operations Coordinator. “55 safe passages of commercial vessels demonstrate not only the effectiveness of the safety measures in place, but also the seamless coordination between the Coast Guard, port partners and industry to maintain commerce during the salvage operations.”
The safety zone established by the Coast Guard remains in effect to protect shipping and is being monitored by Coast Guard small boat crews, the Port of Long Beach Harbor Patrol and law enforcement. The US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board continue to lead the investigation into the cause of the accident.
The Portuguese-flagged “Mississippi” (255 m long, 37 m wide) belongs to an Ocean Yield company and has been chartered by the Israeli shipping company Zim; the technical manager is Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management.
