Yang Ming Containership Loses 83 Containers in Heavy Seas Off Australia

M/V YM Efficiency. File Photo: MarineTraffic.com / Joe Becker

Watch out, sailors! A Yang Ming containership has lost more than 80 containers overboard while battling heavy swells off the east coast of Australia.

The Liberian-flagged ship YM Efficiency was sailing from Tawain to Port Botany near Sydney when the stack of containers collapsed at as the ship was underway off New South Wales’ central coast at around 4 a.m. Friday morning.

Officials say 83 containers tumbled overboard approximately 30 kilometers off the coast in Commonwealth waters. Another 30 containers were reportedly damaged but remained on board the vessel.

Some grainy photos from on board show the stack of containers collapsed on deck.

Roads and Maritime Services executive director Angus Mitchell said the authority was notified of the incident on Friday afternoon.

“While the contents of the containers are unknown, we understood they do not contain dangerous goods,” Mitchell said. “A full manifest of the cargo on board the vessel, and the condition of the vessel, is being sought.”

The agency has warned swimmers and boats to keep an eye out for the containers which pose a hazard to navigation.

At least two containers have been spotted 100 meters offshore, reports said.

Here’s a report from 7 News Sydney on the incident:

More than 80 shipping containers have been lost from a cargo vessel battling through wild seas on the NSW coast. YM Efficiency, a Liberian-registered cargo ship, was making its way from Kaohsiung in Taiwan to Sydney’s Port Botany on Thursday night when the incident occurred. pic.twitter.com/vayLvcYNCd

— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) June 1, 2018

The MV YM Efficiency is a 268-meter containership registered in Liberia.

AIS ship tracking data showed the vessel was ‘underway using engine’ as it approached Sydney Harbor as of 0245 local time on Saturday.