SM Line containership loses 115 boxes overboard in high winds

© Andrew Bartlett

115 containers have been lost after South Korean box ship SM Portland sustained major damage while transiting the Bering Sea enroute for Vancouver.

GCaptain reports that the 4,228-teu SM Line vessel was hit by strong winds, resulting in heavy rolling and the “loss, collapse, and damage” of boxes.

This major loss equates to more than half the total number of boxes lost at sea in 2023, 221, recorded by the World Shipping Council as an all-time low, after the industry made what GCaptain described as a “significant improvement” when it came to cargo loss.