50 containers fell off Taiwan Evergreen ship near Peru

About 50 shipping containers on the Taiwanese Ever Lunar fell into the sea near Peru on Aug. 1, resulting in a temporary closure and halt to major operations at the local port, Taiwanese media reported.

The vessel was operated by Taiwan’s largest container shipper, Evergreen Marine Corp, which explained what happened in a statement, quoted by Taipei Times.

The Ever Lunar had been anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, which triggered the fall of the containers overboard.

All crew members onboard were safe and uninjured as the containers that tumbled had all been at the stern of the vessel.

Evergreen attributed the rolling to several possible factors, including a tsunami caused by the recent earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America, or a sudden influx of waves.

According to Taiwanese media and photos shared online, many goods came loose from the fallen containers and were seen floating on the water.

An official of the Port of Callao told Agencia EFE that the Ever Lunar had been carrying around 7,000 containers that held plastic products, the Taipei Times reported.

The authorities have ruled out the possibility that the items that tumbled out into the sea are hazardous and would cause pollution to the ocean, the official added.

Evergreen will work with the local port authorities to investigate the cause of the incident.

In an Aug. 2 post on X, Peruvian congresswoman Patty Chirinos said that the country will remain on alert and continue to monitor all official information on the incident.

Top images from Noticias Trujillo/X