A Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) boxship has lost 41 containers in the Pacific in the third incident of its kind in recent months.
The 15,000-teu MSC Aries (built 2020) lost the containers on the 29 January as it was sailing from Long Beach in the US to Ningbo China.
The MSC Aries has protection and indemnity cover with Steamship Mutual.
AIS data shows the vessel, which is registered in Portugal, is now at anchor outside Ningbo.
The latest incident follows the loss of around 1,800 containers from Ocean Network Express's 14,026-teu ONE Apus (built 2019) in the North Pacific at the end of November 2020. A further 750 containers were lost in the same area from the AP Moller-Maersk-controlled 13,092-teu Maersk Essen (built 2010) in January this year.
Both the ONE Apus and Maersk Essen incidents were blamed on the weather conditions.
The Maersk Essen is currently undergoing damage assessment and unloading at the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas, while the ONE Apus is undergoing repairs and unloading at the port of Kobe.
The ONE Apus and Maersk Essen incidents happened as the vessels were sailing north of Hawaii from the Far East to the US while the MSC Aries incident was close to the East China Sea as its sailed in the opposite direction from the US to China.
However, the incidents are likely to draw attention to stowage arrangements of vessels on the trade in which ships are sailing at full capacity. With container terminals also busy questions will be raised as to whether ships are sailing through potentially hazardous weather conditions to meet schedules.
Geneva-based MSC has been contacted for comment.
