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Long Beach Port latest news: Salvage of sunken containers begins! The accident investigation has "excluded the operation error of the terminal workers"

Long Beach Port latest news: Salvage of sunken containers begins! The accident investigation has "excluded the operation error of the terminal workers"

Logistics News
12-Sep-2025
Source: JCtrans

The container ship Mississippi was unloading at Port of Long Beach when a container fell into the sea, the salvage work has now begun. The Coast Guard said they will be investigating many factors, including the possibility of human or mechanical error. According to the latest information, these containers during the unloading process and contained general cargo. The statement did not mention lithium-ion batteries in these containers.



While the cause of the container pile collapse on theim-chartered Mississippi at Port of Long Beach on Tuesday is still unknown, the union has ruled out the possibility of an operational error on the part of the terminal workers.


At a press conference held at the port, Gary Herrera, President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13, said:With regard to the accident that occurred recently, I can tell you now that there was no human error on the part of our ILWU workers in the operation."


At 8:48 a.m. on September 9th, when the Mississippi container ship was carrying 2,412 containers, the containers began to fall the ship. Posts on social media show that terminal workers had begun to evacuate the ship when the containers started falling, which explains why there were no casualties among the port workers. one worker on a barge connected to the ship was slightly injured when the barge was hit by the falling containers.



At least two pile collapses occurred on the ship, with a total of 75 containers falling from the ship, 25 to 30 of which sank to the bottom of the port. The salvage for these sunken containers has now begun, and two containers have been salvaged from the bottom of the harbor basin as of Wednesday.



The salvage operation is being by a unified command post, which includes the U.S. Coast Guard, the Long Beach Fire Department, the Long Beach Police Department, the Port of Long Beach, the Army of Engineers, and other commercial representatives.



The emergency response team also controlled a fuel leak from a tank on the emission control barge that contained 2,00 gallons of renewable diesel.



"The container ship and the emission control barge have initiated salvage and oil spill contingency organizations, and the U.S. Guard will work with them to develop a safe plan to salvage the containers and to get the ship and barge off the area," said Captain Stacy Crecy, Command Officer of the Los Angeles-Long Beach Sector of the U.S. Coast Guard, at a media briefing.



The port stated in an update that terminal workers continue to unload containers from another vessel docked at Terminal G, and truck drivers are transporting containers back and forth between the terminals. No other terminals or port operations were affected. Port of Beach has 22 cargo terminals, six of which handle containers.



Meanwhile, an investigation led by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety is ongoing to determine the cause of the accident.



The incident occurred hours after the Mississippi container ship, which had sailed across the Pacific from Yantian, China arrived at Port of Long Beach and docked.



【Related News】



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Emergency! Over 60 Containers Fall into the Sea, ZIM Ship Accident in Long Beach,