Dozens of shipping containers fell overboard from a containership docked at the Port of Long Beach on Tuesday morning.
Shortly after 9 a.m., approximately 67 containers toppled from the Portuguese-flagged Mississippi at Pier G, prompting an immediate response from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Long Beach Fire and Police Departments, the Port of Long Beach, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and commercial partners, the port said in a statement. No injuries were reported.
The 837' vessel arrived at Long Beach from China sometime within the 24 hours before the incident.
At the time, a STAX Engineering emissions capture barge was connected to the Mississippi and sustained damage after being struck by several of the fallen containers.
Cargo operations at Pier G have been temporarily suspended, but other terminals and port operations remain unaffected, according to the port.
Multiple vessels and aircraft have been deployed to assess the situation and support recovery efforts.
The Coast Guard has established a 1,500' safety zone around the Mississippi and is issuing hourly marine safety broadcasts to alert nearby vessels to navigational and safety hazards. Officials have asked all non-response personnel to avoid the area surrounding the fallen containers.
Officials have not yet confirmed the contents of the fallen containers
The Coast Guard said it is leading an investigation into the cause of the incident.
An average of over 1,000 containers are lost at sea each year, according to the World Shipping Council, though it is rare for containers to be lost in port.
