Maersk Line has confirmed that the stricken vessel, the 13,100TEU Maersk Essen, which lost around 750 containers in a Pacific storm on 16 January, has diverted to Mexico, to APM Terminals’ facility at the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, with the Port of Los Angeles suffering from the ongoing congestion.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]Originally expected to arrive in Los Angeles today (22 January), the company has been forced to divert the vessel in order to best handle the discharge of damaged and other cargo, which can be a lengthy process, as seen with the ONE Apus, which lost more than 1,800 containers on the night of the 30 November and remains in Kobe, Japan as containers are unloaded.
It is understood the vessel will berth at Lázaro Cárdenas on 29 January to start the vessel assessment process and to assess the total number of boxes lost and damaged.
The original incident was reported to have taken place around 430 nautical miles north east of Hawaii on 16 January in poor weather.
Claims consultant WK Webster said in a statement, “It is considered that upon berthing, the operation to discharge affected containers will be complex and cargo interests can expect some delay. We are pressing the vessel’s representatives to provide further information regarding the status of the containers affected by this incident.”
Nick Savvides
Managing Editor[/s2If]
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