How Many Shipping Containers Are Lost At Sea? (2024)

FAQs

How Many Shipping Containers Are Lost At Sea? ›

Reasons for containers getting lost at sea

The average number of containers lost for the last three years (2020-2022) now stands at 2,301 containers per year, a significant rise from the 779 lost on average each year during the previous three years (2017-2019).

Who bears responsibility and what do the laws say? Essentially it is the shipping company that was hired to transport the goods that is responsible for them, and the companies are insured for precisely these cases. However the shipping company´s liability is usually limited by a certain amount per kg/packing unit.

International shipping makes up around 90% of the global trade in goods, transporting a vast variety of items around the world from port to port. The International Chamber of Shipping claims there are more than 50,000 container ships currently operating on the high seas.

Statistically, it's estimated that around 10,000 shipping containers are lost at sea each year, indicating that while they may float temporarily, they are not designed to remain buoyant indefinitely. The design of a shipping container is carefully engineered to ensure stability and safety during transportation.

“every year, on average, more than two dozen large ships sink, or otherwise go missing, taking their crews along with them.” In a prescient comment, she says, “imagine the headlines if even a single 747 slipped off the map with all its passengers and was never heard from again”.

Failing to secure containers correctly is one of the most common causes of container collapse. Containers are secured using twist locks and a series of lashing rods between the stack and bridges or hatch covers. Incorrect or inadequate securing can significantly reduce the stability of a container stack.

It is difficult to determine how long a shipping container will float after being lost overboard. The time will depend on the container's size and weight, the weather conditions, and the water currents in the area. However, it is estimated that a container can float for anywhere from two days to two weeks.

But most of them aren't as renowned, as large, or as deeply buried as the Titanic. There's an estimated three million shipwrecks scattered across the ocean floor, from sunken World War II destroyers to colonial Spanish galleons to small abandoned dinghies.

Enter the early 2000s and the arrival of the Ultra-Large Container Vessels (ULCVs). These behemoths, capable of carrying over 10,000 TEUs, revolutionized shipping. Today, the title of “world's largest container ship” belongs to the MSC Irina, a staggering feat of engineering that can haul a whopping 24,346 TEUs!

How many decommissioned shipping containers currently exist? ›

Looking at all of these rough estimates, we can give some 'How Many' numbers here for the amount of TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) containers: 23 to 38.5 million TEU 'in-service' containers. 14 to 23.3 million TEU 'ex-service' containers. 6 to 10 million TEU brand new containers.

On average, roughly one-third of containers are transported empty so they can be repositioned.

Failing to secure containers correctly is one of the most common causes of container collapse. Containers are secured using twist locks and a series of lashing rods between the stack and bridges or hatch covers.