Dozens of containers fall off ship, shutting down major California port
Journalists who flew over the scene reported seeing shoes and clothing floating in the water.
Several shipping containers fell off a cargo ship and into the water at the Port of Long Beach, California, on Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: AP/KABC-TV)
LOS ANGELES: Dozens of shipping containers fell from a huge vessel moored at a major California port on Tuesday (Sep 9), halting operations as crews scrambled to limit the damage.
Video showed containers toppling like dominoes from a huge ship as cranes moved overhead at the Port of Long Beach, near Los Angeles.
Several towers of containers appeared to have been involved in the incident from different areas of a Portugal-registered ship called Mississippi.
Aerial footage revealed several of the containers had crumpled as they smashed down onto what appeared to be an anti-pollution vessel, known as a STAX2, attached to the side of the Mississippi that captures emissions
It was not immediately clear what was inside the containers, but journalists who flew over the scene reported seeing shoes and clothing floating in the water.
Some of the 12m metal boxes appeared to have sunk, while others bobbed around on the water's surface, lying on top of each other.
Multiple container stacks still on board were leaning precariously.
When empty, a container can weigh between two to four metric tons depending on the size.
Local media reported boats were spraying water at the containers to try to prevent them from floating around the busy port.
The US Coast Guard said at least 67 containers had fallen into the water around 9am local time, but that no one had been hurt in the incident.
"Cargo operations have been temporarily suspended at the terminal as responders work to secure the containers," port spokesman Art Marroquin said.
An exclusion zone was established around the vessel, with emergency responders from the fire, police and coast guard in attendance.
The Mississippi arrived in Long Beach after departing on Aug 26 from the Yantian port in Shenzhen, China, according to vessel tracking websites.
The Port of Long Beach is one of the busiest in the United States, handling US$300 billion worth of trade every year, according to its website.
About 40 per cent of all shipping containers in the US come through it or the Los Angeles port.
It is one of the main import hubs for goods from Asia, and has connections with over 200 ports around the world.
