The container ship Hanjin Seattle was caught by rough seas near the Strait of Juan de Fuca and lost 35 empty containers. The container fell overboard near the south end of Vancouver Island, posing shipping hazard for the traffic in vicinity. The accident was reported to the local authorities, who started investigation. The container carrier did not suffered any damages during the incident and resumed voyage, successfully docking at the Port Angeles in Washington, USA. The local authorities and Coast Guard earned mariners to be lookout for floating container debris and proceed through the region of Vancouver Island with increase consciousness.

“Some containers likely sank, but others could still be floating in the waters off Vancouver Island, posing threat to shipping”, said US Coast Guard inspector, Marc McElney. “It’s hard to say how long before all of the containers sink.If the weather becomes bad or the seas become rougher, that could flood the containers more quickly. They may not be visible, or they could be just under the surface, which would cause damage to a vessel if they were to collide”, added he.

The Canadian Coast Guard warned mariners to be on the lookout for container debris around the south end of Vancouver Island after some debris was reported near Vargas Island just north of Tofino.

The container ship Hanjin Seattle (IMO: 9461477) has overall length of 179.00 m, moulded beam of 32.00 m and maximum draft of 9.00 m. The deadweight of the container carrier is 102,529 DWt and the gross tonnage is 91,621 GRT. The vessel was built in 2011 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in their shipyard in South Korea.